Sonja Henie

In the 11th episode of 200 Norwegians, you’ll meet one of Norway’s greatest athletes of all time: figure skater Sonja Henie. Not only did she dominate the sport with an unbeaten streak of three Olympic gold medals and ten world championships, she also reinvented herself as a Hollywood star and global diva with her lavish ice shows and musical skating comedies.

How did she transform figure skating? How did she shape America’s idea of spectacle? And why did she remain such a controversial figure back home in Norway?

In this episode, we trace a career that was not just larger than life—but, as sports historian Philip Harsh puts it, “larger than many lives.”