Maria Annus | |
---|---|
Born |
Maria Soomets 21 February 1979 Tallinn, Estonia |
Nationality | Estonian |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 2002 – present |
Spouse(s) | Robert Annus (2016 – present) |
Children | 1 |
Maria Annus (until 2016, Maria Soomets; born 21 February 1979) is an Estonian stage, television and film actress.
Maria Annus was born Maria Soomets in Tallinn in 1979. She has an older brother, Simmo Soomets, born in 1974. She attended primary and secondary schools in Tallinn and in her youth sang with the Ellerhein Girls' Choir. After secondary school, she studied acting at the EMA Higher Drama School (now, the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre), graduating in 2002.
Following graduation from EMA Higher Drama School, Annus (then, Soomets) became engaged as an actress at the Ugala theatre in Viljandi in 2002. Her first stage role at the Ugala was the character of Sonja in a 2002 production of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya. She would remain an actress at the Ugala until 2007. Among her more memorable roles at the Ugala are in works by: Hella Wuolijoki, Woody Allen, August Gailit, Nikolai Gogol, Jean Anouilh, Brian Friel, Leo Tolstoy, Oskar Luts, Antonio Buero Vallejo, and Charles De Coster, among others.
In May, 2008, Maria Annus became engaged at the Vanemuine theatre in Tartu. Her first role as an actress with the theatre was as Emma Kent in a production of Edward Taylor's 1992 thriller Murder by Misadventure. Annus would go on to perform in stage appearances in productions by such varied international authors and playwrights as: Shakespeare, Franz Kafka, Ödön von Horvath, Martin Crimp, Harper Lee, Ray Cooney, and Robert James Waller; as well as in roles by works of such Estonian authors and playwrights as: Uku Uusberg, Urmas Lennuk, Mihkel Raud, Tiina Laanem, Loone Ots, Janno Põldma, and Heiki Ernits.