Alicia Amanda Vikander (born 3 October 1988) is a Swedish actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, and nominations for two Golden Globe Awards and three British Academy Film Awards. Born and raised in Gothenburg, Vikander began acting as a child in minor stage productions at the Gothenburg opera house and trained as a ballet dancer at the Royal Swedish Ballet in Stockholm. She began her acting career in Swedish short films and television series and first gained recognition for her role in the drama series Andra Avenyn (2008–2010). She made her feature film debut in Pure (2010), for which she won the Guldbagge Award for Best Actress. She gained wider recognition in 2012 for playing Kitty in Joe Wright's adaptation of Anna Karenina and Queen Caroline Mathilde in the Danish film A Royal Affair. Vikander achieved global recognition for her roles as Vera Brittain in Testament of Youth (2014), a humanoid robot in Ex Machina (2014), for which she