Finnish-American actress Taina Elg, one of the stars of old Hollywood, has died. She was 95.
The glamorous, multi-talented actress and dancer was perhaps best known for co-starring with Gene Kelly in the musical Les Girls. She also starred in a 1959 adaptation of the spy thriller The 39 Steps.
She died at an assisted care facility in Helsinki, her family told the Helsinki Times.
Born into a musical family - her parents were both pianists - the Helsinki native trained in ballet in her youth, studying in Helsinki, Stockholm, Gothenburg, and London.
It was in London that Elg was discovered by American film producer Edwin H. Knopf, who presented her with a seven-year contract with MGM.
Elg made her debut in the Biblical epic The Prodigal (1955), followed by Diane (1956), and then received a Golden Globe for best female foreign newcomer in Gaby (1956).
Her breakthrough came in the colorful musical film Les Girls (1957), alongside legendary dancer-actor Gene Kelly, Mitzi Gaynor, and Kay Kendall, with iconic composer Cole Porter providing the score. Elg won a Golden Globe for her performance, sharing the honor with Kendall.
She later appeared in Imitation General (1958), a war comedy starring Glenn Ford and Red Buttons. Another star turn came in the 1959 remake of Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps, in which Elg appeared as a schoolteacher who becomes involved with a British diplomat played by Kenneth More.
Her last movie under contract with MGM was the 1959 African adventure Watusi, co-starring George Montgomery.
After her film career peaked in the late 1950s, Elg turned to TV and the stage, appearing in Broadway shows like Look to the Lillies, West Side Story, The Sound of Music, A Little Night Music, and Where's Charley?, which earned her a Tony nomination, also showing up in soap operas like One Life to Live, The Doctors, Guiding Light, and The Edge of Night and Loving.
Elg's other movies include the 1961 Italian fantasy-adventure The Bacchantes (1961), Arnold Schwarzenegger's film debut Hercules in New York (1970), Liebestraum (1991) and Barbra Streisand’s The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996).
In 2004, Elg was honored by her native Finland with the Order of the Lion of Finland.
Elg spent over three decades living in Manhattan but returned to her native Finland in 2008 after the death of her second husband, Rocco Caporale. A previous marriage to economist and importer Carl “Poku” Björkenheim ended in divorce.
Her son is the jazz guitarist Raoul Björkenheim.
