Valda Valkyrien (1895 – 1956) was a Danish prima ballerina and a silent film actress.
Born Adele Eleonore Freed in Reykjavík, Iceland, under the stage name Valda Valkyrien she was prima ballerina of the Royal Danish Ballet. She married Danish nobleman and author, Baron Hrolf von Dewitz and in 1912 began appearing in motion pictures for Nordisk Film productions of Copenhagen.
With World War I raging in Europe, in 1915 a New York City publisher released her husband’s book titled War’s New Weapons which received considerable publicity. That same year, Thanhouser Studios capitalized on her husband’s success and her aristocratic title, billing her as Baroness von Dewitz in a film about Norse mythology titled The Valkyrie. The resulting success brought Valda Valkyrien an offer from the Fox Film Corporationand in 1916 she signed on to make feature-length productions.
Her career only lasted a few years. Most of Valkyrien’s films exist only in fragmentary form or survive only via movie still photographs.
Valda Valkyrien in The Valkyrie, 1915 via
Valda Valkyrien in or as The Valkyrie, 1915 via
Valda Valkyrien via
Valda Valkyrien via
FROM THE BYGONE 