Kerstin Hilldén

Kerstin Elizabeth Hilldén was born at Mölndal Hospital in Mölndal on 22 June 1988,[2] the second child to Arne Hilldén, a doctor in geology, and Mary-Ann Hopkins, a music and mathematics teacher. She is the younger sister of Johan Hilldén who was born in 1986,[3] both siblings grew up in Mölnlycke, about 10 km (6.2 miles) from Gothenburg. Hilldén's maternal grandparents, Mary & George Hopkins, were both singers in a church choir in Karlskrona, Blekinge. George Hopkins was of English origin while Mary was born in Jämtland.

As a child, Hilldén had already been on scene at the Gothenburg Opera.[4]

In 2011, Hilldén attended Wendelsbergs folkhögskola, later, in 2014, studying at Balettakademien[1] in Gothenburg. In 2015, Hilldén was accepted into the Royal Academy of Music in London.[1]

Hilldén's first musical was the adaptation of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables, which was played in Swedish at the Wermland Opera in 2016.[5] Hilldén played the role of Eponine[6] which she described as "one of [her] favourite characters along with Javert and Valjean". She further stated that Eponine was a character with "which [she] could identify [herself] with".[5]

Hilldén has played major roles in other musicals such as "Sophia" in Sound of Music, "Miss Honey" in the musical adaptation of Roald Dahl's novel Matilda, and Cabaret[7] based on the 1966 musical of the same name. Sound of Music and Matilda were both played at the Malmö Opera, however Cabaret debuted on 2 October 2022 at the Gothenburg Opera.[4]

Hilldén has also played minor parts/roles in several other musicals such as Festkväll (English: Party Night) at the Gothenburg Opera, A Talent To Amuse at St. James Theatre, and Curtain Up! Prince of Wales Theatre.[1]

In 2020, she was part of a group of members of the Gothenburg Opera to participate and performed at Lotta på Liseberg.[8]

Hilldén is in a relationship with fellow musical actor Isak Bendelin.[2]