Who Was Taina Elg? Golden Globe-Winning Star of Les Girls and The 39 Steps Passes Away at 95
Trigger Warning: This article contains references to an individual's death.
Taina Elg, the Finland-born actress and dancer best known for her roles in Les Girls and the 1959 version of The 39 Steps, has died at the age of 95. Her family confirmed that she passed away on May 15 at an assisted care facility in Helsinki, her hometown, according to the Helsinki Times.
Born on March 9, 1930, in Helsinki to pianist parents, Taina Elisabeth Elg began her career in the arts as a child. She danced with the Finnish National Ballet and later studied ballet in Sweden and London. Her talent caught the eye of American film producer Edwin H. Knopf, leading to a seven-year contract with MGM.
Elg's breakout Hollywood role came in the 1957 musical Les Girls, directed by George Cukor and starring Gene Kelly. She played Angèle Ducros, a cabaret dancer, alongside Kay Kendall and Mitzi Gaynor. Elg and Kendall shared the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for their performance. The film also featured music by Cole Porter.
In 1956, she won the Golden Globe for Best Female Foreign Newcomer for her role in Gaby, where she starred opposite Leslie Caron. Her other MGM credits include The Prodigal (1955), Diane (1956), Imitation General (1958), and Watusi (1959).
Elg also starred in the 1959 remake of Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps. She played schoolteacher Miss Fisher, opposite Kenneth More as Richard Hannay. The role marked one of her most notable appearances outside the musical genre.
After her film career slowed, Elg found success on stage. She appeared in the 1974-75 Broadway revival of Where's Charley? with Raul Julia, earning a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. From 1982 to 1984, she starred in the original Broadway run of Nine, portraying the mother of the lead character Guido, played by Tommy Tune.
Elg made several TV appearances, including on One Life to Live (1980–81) as Olympia Buchanan, and on other soap operas like The Doctors, Guiding Light, The Edge of Night, and Loving. Her later film credits included The Bacchantes (1961), Hercules in New York (1970), Liebestraum (1991), and The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996), directed by Barbra Streisand.
She was married to Carl 'Poku' Björkenheim from 1953 to 1958 and later to educator Rocco Caporale from 1982 until his death in 2008. She had one son, jazz guitarist Raoul Björkenheim. Elg returned to Finland in 2008 and was awarded the prestigious Order of the Lion of Finland in 2004 for her contributions to the arts.
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