Whatever Happened To Alicia Vikander?

Alicia Vikander is an Academy Award-winning actor who was born in Sweden and began her career as a trained ballet dancer before making the transition into acting. Her acting credits date back to the early 2000s when she appeared in Swedish TV series and movies, but she made an impact on American audiences years later by starring in films such as "Ex Machina," "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.," and the groundbreaking period drama "The Danish Girl," for which she took home her Oscar.

Vikander values her privacy and was not a tabloid mainstay like some of her peers, which meant she managed to fly under the radar for quite some time. Her relationship with fellow actor Michael Fassbender put her in the spotlight once more, but the couple did their best to protect their peace, marrying in a private ceremony in 2017. Vikander and Fassbender then shared the exciting news of their family's expansion in 2023. Meanwhile, Vikander continued working in film, TV, and even lending her voice to charity.

In recent years, Alicia Vikander has continued to appear in critically acclaimed films such as "Firebrand" and award-winning TV series like "Irma Vep," all while maintaining a delicate balance between work and motherhood, which is no small feat. By the looks of things, the actor still has a long and fruitful career ahead of her, and she has already accomplished so much. Read on to learn more about what Alicia Vikander has been up to.

At the height of her career, Alicia Vikander delivered award-winning performances in films like "Ex Machina," "Pure," and "Anna Karenina," including an Oscar win for her role in "The Danish Girl." But accolades were not the only thing Vikander gained during this time, she also met the love of her life.

Vikander and Michael Fassbender portrayed a married couple in the movie "The Light Between Oceans," and life imitated art, as they fell in love. They joined the list of actors who fell for their on-screen love interests, but while their onscreen chemistry was undeniable, the pair was tight-lipped about their real-life romance. "I think we've made a clear statement that we keep certain things just between us," Vikander told Entertainment Weekly. "It was very easy to unite, but that's quite personal."

The couple didn't keep their relationship under wraps for too long, however, making it red carpet official at the Golden Globe awards in 2016. In October the following year, Vikander and Fassbender tied the knot in a small but lavish ceremony in Ibiza. After exchanging vows and celebrating with friends and family, the couple took off for Italy for their honeymoon, kicking off many years of wedded bliss. In 2018, Vikander told Vogue, "I feel I'm more happy and content than I've ever been."

Alicia Vikander never saw herself as an action star, but when the opportunity came along to play Lara Croft in the 2018 film "Tomb Raider," the actor stepped out of her comfort zone. While she had mostly appeared in dramas, Vikander had long been a fan of films like "Indiana Jones" and wondered what stepping into an action-packed role would entail. "I was always curious of what it would be like to do those kinds of action sequences and stunts," Vikander told Refinery 29.

Vikander is one of many actresses who did some serious training for a role. Preparing to play the protagonist of the famed video game series involved lots of training, including lifting weights, rock climbing, and even mixed martial. Vikander's intense workouts resulted in her gaining an impressive 12 pounds of muscle. "I've always been very petite, and it was very empowering to see that it worked," Vikander explained. Even more impressive was that Vikander did many of her own stunts in the film, aside from the ones that were deemed too dangerous. "I really wanted to throw myself out there and kind of check how much I could do," she told The Backstage Experience.

Vikander's role in "Tomb Raider" also inspired her to revisit the video game that the film was based on. She'd played the game as a child growing up in Sweden but hadn't been much of a gamer in her adult life. "I think for the last 15 years I haven't played that much until this, and I really enjoyed playing the rebooted games," the actor said.

In 2020, Alicia Vikander used her platform to do some important work for the charity Save the Children. Beloved children's book heroine Pippi Longstocking had become the face of a new campaign, "Pippi and Friends," which aimed to bring awareness and raise money for girls who had been displaced. Vikander was called upon to voice the character in a series of audiobooks. "I was so thrilled when they called me up and asked me, because I grew up with these books and I love these books still," Vikander shared with Virgin Radio U.K.

Vikander emphasized the importance of the Save the Children initiative, explaining that globally, girls are being displaced from their homes and native country at a higher rate than at the end of World War II. She also explained that Pippi Longstocking was a great choice for the initiative, as the character bravely navigated the world without parents to guide her. "Pippi was one of the first very strong female role models I had in my life," the actor revealed. Despite the fact that hearing her recorded voice was an uncomfortable experience, Vikander was moved that she was asked to narrate the books. "I see this as a very privileged project and to be able to raise awareness and be part of it is huge," she said.

Alicia Vikander is an accomplished actor whose talent earned her an Academy Award before she was even 30 years old. But being in the spotlight was not always fun for Vikander, and in 2022 she opened up about a rough patch she'd gone through during the height of her career. The Swedish-born actor found herself lonely and questioning her career choice while shooting the 2014 film "Seventh Son" in Canada. "If I didn't have my friends to call, it would have been difficult," Vikander shared with The Times, adding, "I've seen what can happen to people in my industry."

The actor acknowledged that she had an enviable career but admitted that she was quite sad when she should have been celebrating her success. "I kept telling myself, 'Take it in. It is incredible,'" Vikander said, but all the time spent away from her loved ones was taking its toll. "I didn't know what to do. There were all these first-class flights, five-star rooms. But I was always by myself," the actor explained.

Many performers relish the attention they receive from the media and their fans, but Vikander instead found herself in a bit of an existential crisis. There was a significant dissonance between her true self and the version of herself that appeared in interviews and on screen. "It felt like another person," Vikander admitted, having since come to terms with her fame and success.

Alicia Vikander and her husband Michael Fassbender are notoriously private about their personal life, but in 2021 Vikander announced the birth of the couple's first child, a son. "I now have a whole new understanding of life in general," the actor shared with People. "That's pretty beautiful, and obviously will give a lot to any of my work in the future."

While Vikander was clearly over the moon with joy about becoming a mother, she later revealed that it had not been an easy journey. The actor revealed that she had suffered a miscarriage before her son was born, which had also been a plot point in her film, "The Light Between Oceans." "[The miscarriage] was so extreme, painful to go through and, of course, it made me recall making that film," Vikander told The Times.

She went on discuss the strange feeling of having gone through such a traumatic experience while being expected to continue working or walking the red carpet. "Sometimes you go through things that are tough in life and if you have an office job you can step away for a bit," she mused, explaining how she and fellow actors are still expected to attend red carpets and entertain the crowd. Vikander's story did have a happy ending, but she acknowledged it was hard won: "We have a child now, but it took us time."

Throughout her career, Alicia Vikander has taken on many different roles across various genres including period dramas, sci-fi, and action films. Her 2022 star turn in the HBO miniseries "Irma Vep" may have been her most unique project to date. The satirical comedy is a remake of the 1996 film of the same name, which, incidentally, tells the story of an actor working on a remake of the classic silent movie series "Les Vampires" from 1915. Vikander played Mira, an actor who, in order to get into character as Irma Vep, dons a catsuit and prowls the streets of Paris at night.

In addition to her starring role, Vikander also acted as the executive producer of the series, and she loved working with writer and director Olivier Assayas behind the scenes. "We'd have long discussions about thoughts and ideas, regarding story or different characters or how to shoot things," Vikander told Collider.

One aspect of the show that was built into Vikander's character was her costume, a form-fitting black catsuit that helped the actor fully embody the role. "With a very distinct costume like this one, all the things that remind me that I'm me are erased," Vikander explained, adding, "Even if I look in a mirror, I can almost not see myself anymore."

One of Alicia Vikander's most important off-screen roles is that of a supportive wife to her husband, actor Michael Fassbender. While Fassbender is well-known for his roles in films like "Inglourious Basterds," "Steve Jobs," and the "X-Men" franchise, he is also an accomplished racecar driver, having competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France. Vikander thought she would be frightened watching her husband race, but she found she was super enthusiastic about cheering him on. "Oh my God, I get like so excited," she told James Corden on "The Late Late Show." "I remember in the beginning I thought I was gonna be like terrified but instead I go up there and I'm like, 'You go!'"

The irony is that, while Fassbender is clearly very adept at driving, Vikander was quite a late bloomer in that area. While filming "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.," in which Vikander played a car mechanic, she was nervous about admitting she didn't know how to drive. "I was kind of prepping myself to tell them throughout the day but then I just got the part," the actor told ABC News. "And then I just told them that I don't even have a driver's license."

Alicia Vikander was born in Sweden, while her husband Michael Fassbender was born in Germany and raised in Ireland, and their respective acting careers have taken them all over the world. The couple settled down in London for some time, but in 2023 Vikander opened up about why she and her family relocated to Lisbon, Portugal. The actor explained that her husband had wanted to leave the U.K. for a while, but she wasn't completely convinced. "I wasn't really ready, but then Brexit happened," Vikander told The Hollywood Reporter. "I was very sad."

Leaving London may have been a tough move for Vikander, but she fell in love with Portugal after visiting Lisbon with Fassbender. They made the jump within weeks of returning from their trip. "The weather obviously is a bit better than in Sweden and Ireland," she said, adding, "It is a smaller city, but the people are so friendly." It also didn't hurt that Vikander's new home was less than half an hour away from the seaside. "In Lisbon, it was pretty wild sitting on a Sunday at a beach club in February," she told The Guardian.

In 2023, Alicia Vikander starred opposite accomplished actor Jude Law in the period drama "Firebrand," about the last wife of Henry VIII, Catherine Parr. Vikander earned critical acclaim, and an eight-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival, for her portrayal of Parr, although before she landed the role she was completely unaware of the woman herself. "I had this moment where I was embarrassed when I first read the script. I didn't know anything about this woman," she revealed to Elle.

Vikander learned that Parr was the first woman to ever be published under her own name in Britain, so the actor had some serious studying to do. "I went back and read her books, which was so interesting because it was an incredible way of getting personal contact with someone who lived 500 years ago," Vikander said. The nature of domestic abuse portrayed in the film was intense, but Vikander felt sad when shooting wrapped. "It was a very tough subject, but we had a great time," she shared with Elle.

In 2024, Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender welcomed their second child together. Vikander casually announced she'd given birth again during an interview that same year, when she likened the nine months of pregnancy to a marathon. "Going through it a second time was definitely harder for me," she said during an interview with Elle. The actor also spoke about the admiration she had for any woman who'd gone through the experience, noting that she'd played characters who gave birth for four different roles before she had children of her own. "I felt like such an imposter," she shared.

Vikander later spoke about juggling motherhood with her acting career and the challenges of preparing for a role with two young children. "My 3-year-old is wondering what's going on, because I'm locking the doors and talking to myself," she told Variety. The actor, who usually keeps mum when it comes to her family life, also shared some cute details about her children's language skills. "My 6-month-old doesn't speak much, but my 3-year-old speaks Portuguese, English and Swedish," she said. Her older child had also picked up some Spanish, and Vikander joked, "He's giving me language courses now!"

In 2024, "The Assessment," a dystopian thriller starring Alicia Vikander and the Elizabeth Olsen, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. The two actors had never worked together before, but they formed a connection pretty quickly, first meeting on Zoom and then in person. "We did have a bit over a week together and then we did hang out a lot," Vikander shared on Josh Horowitz's "Happy Sad Confused" podcast. "It was lovely," Olsen chimed in, adding, "Not every job, when you're on location, people continue to find time."

Vikander and Olsen also found they had a lot in common, including not being on social media, a love for interior design, and a background in dance. The two stars also admitted to sharing a dislike of watching their own projects alone with their respective partners. In general, there are certain movies you should not watch with your significant other, but if you starred in the film, you're more concerned with your individual performance than the experience, according to Olsen. "I enjoy seeing it with him in the cinema," Vikander said, and Olsen, who is married to musician Robbie Arnett, added, "But not in private."