Bodil Rosing

Bodil Rosing, born Bodil Frederikke Hammerich on December 27, 1877, in Copenhagen, was a Danish stage actress who built an extensive theatrical career before becoming a prolific presence in American silent and sound film. Her father was music dean Angel Hammerich, and her mother, Golla Hammerich, née Bodenhoff-Rosing, was a pianist. Rosing trained at the Royal Danish Theatre during the 1890s and went on to perform there for three years.

Her stage debut came in 1898 at the Dagmar Theatre, where she appeared in Henrik Christiernsson's comedy Gurli. Over the following years she accumulated a substantial list of roles at that venue, including parts in Cyrano de Bergerac, Zaza, and Kameliadamen, among many others. In 1904 she played Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew at the Casino Theatre, and her final appearance at the Dagmar Theatre was as Michelle in Camille in 1905.

In 1898, the same year as her stage debut, Rosing married Norwegian doctor Einer Jansen. The couple had four children before divorcing in 1919. During the early 1920s, while raising her children alone, she made stage appearances on Broadway, including the 1922 play Fools Errant.

Rosing had been retired from acting when she relocated to Hollywood in 1924, where her daughter married actor Monte Blue. Her return to performing began with a film role in Pretty Ladies in 1925. She subsequently signed a studio contract with MGM, where she was frequently cast in matronly parts — servants, housekeepers, cooks, and mothers. Among her most recognized film work was her portrayal of Janet Gaynor's faithful maid in F. W. Murnau's silent film Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans in 1927. When sound film arrived, she demonstrated considerable range by portraying characters of varied ethnicities and national backgrounds, appearing in approximately 85 films over the course of her career. Notable later credits included The Painted Veil in 1934, in which she played the wife of fellow Danish actor Jean Hersholt alongside Greta Garbo, a role for which she replaced the originally cast Beulah Bondi, and Frank Capra's You Can't Take It with You in 1938, in which she played Lionel Barrymore's German neighbor.

Rosing died of a heart attack on December 31, 1941, at the age of 64.