Hildur Ingveldardóttir Guðnadóttir is an Icelandic composer, musician, singer, and cellist. She is known for her famous music albums; Mount A, Without Sinking, Leyfðu Ljósinu, etc. In 2019, She wrote the score for the critically acclaimed American psychological thriller film, ‘Joker.’
Wiki/Biography
Hildur Guðnadóttir was born on Saturday, September 4, 1982 (age: 37 years, as in 2019) in Reykjavík, Iceland and was raised in Hafnarfjörður. She was born into a family of musicians. At the age of 5, she started to play the cello. She attended the Iceland Academy of the Arts, and later, she got enrolled at the Berlin University of the Arts in Berlin, Germany. Her zodiac sign is Virgo.
Hildur Guðnadóttir playing cello
Family/Husband
The Academy Award winner Hildur Guðnadóttir grew up in a musical family. Her father “Guðni Franzson” is a music composer, a clarinet player, and a music tutor.
Her mother “Ingveldur Guðrún Ólafsdóttir” is an Opera singer who used to perform gigs at different places. Hildur Guðnadóttir performed her first-ever professional gig with her mother at the age of 10, at a restaurant in Reykjavík, Iceland. Her mother was the one who made her choose cello (a musical instrument) in her early childhood, to commence her music training. Her brother Þórarinn Guðnason (Guitarist and Keyboardist) is a member of Famous Icelandic band Agent Fresco.
Hildur’s brother Þórarinn Guðnason
Hildur is married to Sam Slater, an English composer, music producer, and sound artist.
Hildur with husband Sam Slater at the Critics’ Choice Awards
Hildur and Sam together have a son (aged 7 years old, in September 2019) whose name is not known.
Career
In her teenage, she joined some bands like Pan Sonic, Throbbing Gristle, Múm, and Stórsveit Nix Noltes. In 2006, she released her first solo album, ‘Mount A’ under the name, ‘Lost In Hildurness.’ In 2009, she recorded her second solo album, ‘Without Sinking’ under the UK-based audio-visual label, ‘Touch.’ Later, she also joined some American bands such as Animal Collective, Múm, The Knife, Sunn O))), etc. and toured with them. She made her debut as a musician with the film, ‘The Bleeding House’ in 2011. In 2013, Hildur made her TV debut with ‘Graduates – Freedom Is Not For Free.’ She also wrote the scores for two popular films; ‘Sicario’ (2015) and ‘Arrival’ (2016). Hildur also played the cello for a Blockbuster, ‘The Revenant’ (2015). She got her breakthrough in 2019 from the historical drama television miniseries, ‘Chernobyl.’ 
In the same year, she was also praised for her work in the American psychological thriller, ‘Joker.’
Awards
- Academy Awards for “Best Original Score” for “Joker”
- British Academy Film Awards for “Best Film Music” for “Joker”
Hildur Guðnadóttir posing with her British Academy Film Awards
- Golden Globe Awards for “Best Original Score” for “Joker”
Hildur Guðnadóttir with her Golden Globe Awards
- Grammy Awards for “Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media” for “Chernobyl”
Hildur Guðnadóttir with her Grammy Awards
- Primetime Emmy Awards in the category of Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited Series, Movie, or Special for ‘Chernobyl‘ (2019)
Hildur Guðnadóttir with the Emmy Award
- Premio Soundtrack Stars Award in the Venice Film Festival for the film, Joker (2019)
Facts
- At present, Hildur lives in Berlin with her husband Sam Slater and her 7-year-old son.
- Her favorite musicians and composers are- Laurie Anderson, Meredith Monk, and Pauline Oliveros.
- Hildur Guðnadóttir is the first solo female artist ever to win the Academy Award for “Best Original Score.”
