The European Film Academy has announced that it will present Liv Ullmann with the European Lifetime Achievement award for her outstanding body of work as an actress, director and screenwriter.
Born in Tokyo, Ullmann grew up in Canada before moving to Norway with her mother and sister.
After her acting training, she eventually joined the ensemble of the Norwegian National Theatre in Oslo and was already a recognised actress when she met Ingmar Bergman in the mid-1960s.
Working with the Swedish director, and alongside the likes of Bibi Andersson, Erland Josephson and Max von Sydow, brought Ullmann international fame and recognition.
Throughout her varied career, she has received two Oscar nominations – for Face to Face in 1977 and The Emigrants in 1973 – as well as an honorary award from the Academy in 2022.
Speaking in a press release, the European Film Academy said: “Liv Ullmann has helped to shape our understanding of European film.
“She has won virtually every award there is, among these the honorary Norwegian Amanda and Swedish Guldbagge Awards, honorary awards at the festivals in Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Karlovy Vary and San Sebastian, the European Film Academy’s European Achievement in World Cinema Award and an Honorary Oscar.”
Ullmann is also a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, co-founder and honorary chair of the Women’s Refugee Commission and a dedicated supporter of other charitable organisations.
She will be recognised at the 38th European Film Awards Ceremony on 17 January 2026 in Berlin.
