Table of Contents
- Early Life and Tragic Loss
- Death in Venice: Fame at 15
- Visconti’s Gaze and the Cost of Beauty
- Life After the Spotlight
- Legacy and Final Years
- Sources
Early Life and Tragic Loss
Bjorn Andresen was born on January 26, 1955, in Stockholm, Sweden. His early years were marked by instability and sorrow. His biological father, an artist, died in an accident when Bjorn was just two. His mother, Barbro Andresen—a poet and artist—died by suicide when he was only 10. Raised by his stepfather, Per Andresen, Bjorn found solace in music, beginning piano studies at age 6 and later playing in a dance band.
Death in Venice: Fame at 15
In 1970, everything changed. At just 15, Bjorn was plucked from obscurity by legendary Italian director Luchino Visconti to star as Tadzio in Death in Venice, the film adaptation of Thomas Mann’s 1912 novella. With his long blond hair, high cheekbones, and ethereal presence, he embodied the object of obsession for composer Gustav von Aschenbach, played by Dirk Bogarde.
The film premiered in 1971 and instantly catapulted Andresen into global fame. Visconti famously dubbed him “the most beautiful boy in the world”—a label that would haunt him for decades.
Visconti’s Gaze and the Cost of Beauty
Despite the film’s critical acclaim, Andresen later described the experience as deeply traumatic. During his screen test, Visconti asked him to strip down to his swimsuit and pose in ways that made the teenager deeply uncomfortable. “I wasn’t prepared for that,” Andresen recalled in a 2021 interview for the documentary The Most Beautiful Boy in the World.
He accused Visconti of sexualizing him: “When I watch it now, I see how that son of a bitch sexualized me.” At the 1971 Cannes Film Festival, where the film was nominated for the Palme d’Or, Visconti took the teen to a gay club—an experience Andresen described as overwhelming and invasive.
Life After the Spotlight
Andresen’s fame reached fever pitch in Japan, where he became a teen idol—appearing in commercials, releasing records, and even inspiring fans to carry scissors to snip locks of his hair. He briefly dated a young Carrie Fisher in 1976, who told him she’d carried his photo in her wallet.
Yet, he never embraced stardom. “All that he could think about was he would be late for his rehearsal,” said his daughter Robine Roman. “Music was his life. Acting just happened.”
Over the years, Andresen returned to his musical roots, composing jazz and bossa nova, arranging music for Swedish theater—including a local production of The Rocky Horror Show—and managing a small theater in Stockholm.
Legacy and Final Years
Though he continued acting sporadically—including a haunting role in Ari Aster’s 2019 horror film Midsommar—Andresen remained ambivalent about his image. In 2003, a photo of his shirtless teenage self appeared on the cover of Germaine Greer’s book The Boy without his consent. “I can’t wait to age,” he told The Evening Standard. “I’m looking forward to the peace and quiet.”
Bjorn Andresen died on October 25, 2025, in a Stockholm hospital at age 70. The cause was cancer. He is survived by his daughter Robine Roman, two granddaughters, and his sister Annike Andresen. His son, Elvin, died in 1986 from sudden infant death syndrome.
