Hildur Guðnadóttir

Biography

Hildur Ingveldardóttir Guðnadóttir is an Icelandic composer, cellist, and musician celebrated for her haunting, emotionally resonant film and television scores. She was born on September 4, 1982, in Reykjavík, Iceland, into a family of musicians — her father, Guðni Franzson, is a clarinetist and composer, and her mother, Ingveldur Gunnarsdóttir, is an opera singer. Growing up in a deeply musical household, Hildur began playing the cello at the age of five and went on to study composition and new media at the Iceland Academy of the Arts and later at the Berlin University of the Arts.

Career

Hildur Guðnadóttir began her career as a performer and collaborator, working with avant-garde and experimental musicians. She contributed to projects by artists such as Pan Sonic, Múm, and Jóhann Jóhannsson, before transitioning into composing for film and television, where she found her international breakthrough.

Her early work as a film composer included contributions to “Sicario” (2015) and “Arrival” (2016), assisting her friend and mentor Jóhann Jóhannsson. However, her solo compositions soon garnered major acclaim, beginning with her chilling and powerful score for the miniseries “Chernobyl” (2019). The score’s haunting minimalism and use of industrial soundscapes earned her an Emmy Award and a Grammy Award, cementing her reputation as a leading voice in contemporary composition.

Her next major success came with “Joker” (2019), directed by Todd Phillips and starring Joaquin Phoenix. The score, built around deep cello tones and emotional intensity, became one of the film’s most defining elements. For her work, Hildur won the Academy Award, Golden Globe, and BAFTA Award for Best Original Score — making her the first solo female composer to win an Oscar in that category in over two decades.

She later composed the acclaimed scores for “Tár” (2022), “Women Talking” (2022), and “A Haunting in Venice” (2023), further showcasing her versatility and emotional precision.