Ågot Gjems Selmer


Ågot Gjems Selmer, also Ågot Gjems-Selmer, was a Norwegian actress, writer, and lecturer.

Early life and education

Gjems-Selmer was born into a wealthy family in Kongsvinger Municipality, Norway. She was the eldest of nine siblings born to Svend Jørgen Gjems and Johanne Rolfsen. As a 12-year-old, the family relocated to Kristiania. She graduated in 1876 and decided to become an actor.

Career

While working as an actress, Gjems-Selmer performed at the Christiania Theatre, where in 1883, she played the role of Petra in the staging of Henrik Ibsen's An Enemy of the People, attracting critical acclaim.
She wrote a total of ten books, some translated into several languages including German, Dutch and Hungarian. Some were based on memories of her own childhood in Kongsvinger Municipality. These included Da mor var liten, describing how she became acquainted with Norwegian cultural celebrities including Jonas Lie, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Ole Bull, Aasmund Olavsson Vinje and Erik Werenskiold. Later, when she and her husband lived in Balsfjord Municipality for 19 years, her wrote about family life in the far north. One of her works was published in Germany as Die Docktorsfamilie im Hohen Norden.
While Gjems-Selmer was not among the leading Norwegian authors of her day, she was a recognized female intellectual and a useful source of detailed information. She was also active in the area of women's rights, supporting votes for women.

Personal life

In 1883, she married physician, Alfred Selmer who became the first resident district physician in Balsfjord Municipality, just south of the city of Tromsø. After nineteen years, they moved to Ås Municipality in Akershus. They had eight children, five reaching adulthood, including the singer Tordis Gjems Selmer, actor Alfred Gjems Selmer, and actor and writer Lillemor von Hanno.
After both her husband and their son died in 1919, she retired to Villa Soleglad at Ås in Akershus where she died in 1926.

Selected works

Smaapigernes bog Et hjem for mennesker: en Menneskeskildring i tre Handlinger Da mor var liden Kvinderne i Bjørnsons digtning. Essay Lillemor - Den gang -. Af mit livs digt
  • ''Mor fortæller''