Died 1926 Grandchild Tertit von Hanno Aasland | Spouse Alfred Selmer | |
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Children Lillemor von Hanno, Alfred Gjems Selmer, Tordis Gjems Selmer People also search for Lillemor von Hanno, Alfred Gjems Selmer | ||
Ågot Gjems Selmer, also Ågot Gjems-Selmer, (1858–1926) was a Norwegian actress, writer, and lecturer.
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Biography
Gjems-Selmer was married to the physician, Alfred Selmer (1851–1919). They had eight children, five reaching adulthood, including the singer Tordis Gjems Selmer, the actor Alfred Gjems Selmer, and the actor and writer Lillemor von Hanno.
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 married Alfred Selmer the same year. 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 in the south east. These included Da mor var liten (When Mother was Little), describing how she became acquainted with Norwegian cultural celebrities including Jonas Lie, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Ole Bull, Aasmund Olavsson Vinje and Erik Werenskiold. Later, she and her husband lived in Balsfjord in the Tromsø region for 19 years, leading her to write about family life in the far north. One of her works was published in Germany (with several reprints) as Die Docktorsfamilie im Hohen Norden (The Doctor's Family in the Far North). She toured Scandinavia lecturing on Vore børns sedelige opdragelse (Our Children's Proper Upbringing) and Hvad kan vi gjøre for at utrydde krig? (How Can We Eradicate War?), the latter aimed at ensuring peace in what became the First World War.
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.