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Anna Björnsdóttir (born 4 July 1954), also known as Anna Bjorn, is an Icelandic graphic designer, yoga instructor, documentary filmmaker, model, actress and beauty pageant title holder. In 1974, she represented Iceland in Miss Universe in Manila and was voted Miss Congenial by her fellow contestants.

Career

In the 1970s and 1980s, Anna had a successful modeling career, being represented by the Ford Modeling Agency in New York and Nina Blanchard in Los Angeles. She was featured in a great number of television commercials both in Europe and the United States and held exclusive contracts with Noxema and Vidal Sassoon. During that time she studied acting in Los Angeles and appeared in several films and television shows in the United States, such as More American Graffiti and The Sword and the Sorcerer and Get Crazy.

In 1982, Anna co-produced, filmed and edited the documentary From Iceland to Brazil, about Icelandic immigrants to Brazil in the 1870s, and in 1987, she produced and directed the documentary Love & War, about the "war brides" of Iceland.

She became a certified yoga instructor in 1994, having practiced yoga since the late 1970s. She opened her own yoga studio, Yogastöð Vesturbæjar/Yoga West, in Reykjavík, Iceland, in 1994 and sold the company in 2007.

In 2003, Anna graduated from the Iceland Academy of the Arts with a BA degree in graphic design. Since then she has worked as a freelance graphic designer, focusing on logo and book design.

Personal life

Anna was married to musician Jakob Frímann Magnússon.

She divides her time between Europe and the United States. Her partner since 1994 is advertising CEO Halldór Guðmundsson.

In 2011, The Boston Globe claimed that she gave the FBI information that led to gangster and fugitive Whitey Bulger's capture. A reward of US$2 million had been offered for information leading to his capture.

References

1. ^ "Former Beauty Queen To Receive $2 Million For Turning Whitey In". HuffPost. 2011-10-10. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
2. "Hún var vinsælust þeirra allra". Vísir (in Icelandic). 22 July 1974. Retrieved 20 April 2022 – via Tímarit.is.
3. Katrín Pálsdóttir (27 February 1986). "Ford-fyrirsætur". Vikan (in Icelandic). p. 5. Retrieved 4 May 2022 – via Tímarit.is.
4. "Íslensk kvikmyndastjarna". Vikan (in Icelandic). 24 December 1981. p. 25. Retrieved 4 May 2022 – via Tímarit.is.
5. Ómar Valdimarsson (7 November 1983). "Málið er ekki að meika það". Helgarpósturinn (in Icelandic). pp. 12–13. Retrieved 4 May 2022 – via Tímarit.is.
6. "Jógastöð Vesturbæjar í nýtt húsnæði". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 13 September 2002. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
7. "Jakob Frímann Magnússon". Alþingi (in Icelandic). Retrieved 2023-01-08.
8. Kristjana Björg Guðbrandsdóttir (10 October 2015). "Nágranninn hættulegasti glæpamaður Bandaríkjanna". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 20 April 2022.

Filmography

Film

Television

External links

• Anna Bjorn at IMDb

• 1954 births
• Living people
• 20th-century Icelandic actresses
• Icelandic graphic designers
• Women graphic designers
• Icelandic expatriates in the United States
• Icelandic female models
• Icelandic film actresses
• Icelandic television actresses
• Miss Universe 1974 contestants