I LAND AND PEOPLE Alar Kivilo
Estonians are also stars in pop culture. Director of Photography Alar Kivilo (60) is the only Estonian who is a member of the American Film Academy, which selects Oscar winners. Born in Canada, the son of war evacuees, Kivilo has worked with Bruce Willis, Keanu Reeves, Cameron Diaz and Sandra Bullock. The latter won an Oscar in 2009 for her role in the film “Blind Side”, for which Kivilo was the Director of Photography. To date, Kivilo has made nearly 20 feature films and is among the leading cameramen in Hollywood.
Kalev Mark Kostabi
In modern painting, waves have been created by Kalev Mark Kostabi (52), who is considered scandalous and provocative, yet his works hang in some of the most famous museums and private galleries in the world. Born in 1960 in Los Angeles and the son of Estonian immigrants, Kostabi shot into the art world like a meteorite. Many consider him to be a narcissistic weirdo who knows no limits when it comes to self-promotion. One of his performances culminated in a fight with a television show host. Yet Kostabi has appeared on most of the leading American television shows, from 60 Minutes to Oprah Winfrey. Kostabi mainly provokes arts audiences due to the fact that he lets anonymous helpers paint his works on the basis of sketches and just picks up the brush to sign the works. In this way, Kostabi Manufacturing produces 1,000 paintings a year. Now Kostabi lives mostly in Italy.
In every way Ilon Wikland (83) is the opposite of Kostabi. Having fled during WWII to Sweden, Wikland became famous as the illustrator of books by the children’s author Astrid Lindgren. Wikland has brought characters such as Karlsson, the Bullerby children and other beloved Lindgren characters to life through her drawings.
Ilon Wikland
The hottest Estonian name in show business today is the singer and songwriter Kerli (born Kerli Kõiv), who resides in Los Angeles. In addition to high rankings in Billboard and other charts, she is the most watched Estonian artiste on Youtube (see separate story, pp 72-76).
Kerli
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LIFE IN ESTONIA I 2013 SUMMER
In the commercial entertainment business, the most famous actress with Estonian blood is probably the sexy schoolgirl of “American Beauty” (1999) played by Mena Suvari (34). Born in America Mena’s father is the Estonian psychiatrist Ando Süvari.