My Skarsgård (ex-wife of Stellan Skarsgård)

You know the Skarsgård men. Alexander, the Hollywood heartthrob. Bill, the terrifying Pennywise. Gustaf, the brooding Viking. Stellan, the legendary patriarch. Their faces are everywhere. But behind that famous family tree stands a woman who refused to be defined by the spotlight. Her name is My Skarsgård. And if you only know her as "Stellan's ex-wife," you are missing one of the most compelling stories in Swedish public life.

We are going to walk you through her full story. Not the tabloid version. The real one. From her quiet childhood in Kalmar to a 32 year marriage that shaped a dynasty, from a near fatal battle with alcohol to a second career helping others heal. This is My Skarsgård, in full.

Photo Credit: Per Kristiansen

Who Is My Skarsgård?

My Skarsgård is a Swedish physician, licensed alcohol and drug therapist, and former actress. She was born on July 3, 1956, in Kalmar, a small coastal city in southeastern Sweden. Her birth name was Sonja Marie Agnes Günther. "My" started as a nickname. During the 1990s she made it official, registering it as her legal first name.

She is best known to the public as the first wife of actor Stellan Skarsgård and the mother of six of his eight children. That label, while accurate, barely scratches the surface. My built a life that stands entirely on its own. She trained as a medical doctor. She acted in a handful of Swedish film and television productions in the 1980s and 1990s.

She survived cervical cancer. She survived alcoholism. She rebuilt herself as a therapist and founded her own treatment method. She remains, by many accounts, the quiet anchor of the Skarsgård family.

Early Life in Kalmar and the Road to Stellan

Kalmar in the 1950s and 1960s was a quiet place. My grew up there as the daughter of Nils Johan Fredrik Günther and Sonja Karin Marianne Svensson. She had at least two siblings, Johan Fredrik Günther and Anna Chatharina Günther. Not much is publicly documented about her childhood, and that seems intentional. My has always been a private person. She has given interviews about her addiction and recovery, but she rarely discusses her early years in detail.

What we do know is that she met Stellan Skarsgård when she was just 18 years old. She left Kalmar and moved north to be with him. They married on April 27, 1975. She was 18. He was 23. The marriage would last 32 years, ending in divorce on May 1, 2007.

That is a long time by any measure. Especially in the entertainment industry. During those three decades, Stellan's career exploded. He went from Swedish television to international cinema, working with directors like Lars von Trier, Steven Spielberg, and Kenneth Branagh. My was there for all of it.

She raised six children while her husband was often away on set. She pursued her own medical training. She held the home together.

The Skarsgård Children: A Family of Artists and Doctors

My and Stellan had six children together. Each one has carved out a distinct path, though most of them found their way to acting.

Here is the full list:

Name	Born	Profession
Alexander Skarsgård	August 25, 1976	Actor (True Blood, Big Little Lies, Succession)
Gustaf Skarsgård	November 12, 1980	Actor (Vikings, Westworld)
Sam Skarsgård	1982	Medical doctor
Bill Skarsgård	August 9, 1990	Actor (It, Barbarian, Nosferatu)
Eija Skarsgård	February 27, 1992	Model
Valter Skarsgård	1995	Actor (Lords of Chaos, IRL)

Sam followed his mother into medicine.

Eija built a career in modeling.

The other four became actors, though Alexander initially stepped away from acting as a teenager to focus on education, partly influenced by My's emphasis on academics.

Eija Skarsgård shared a beautiful picture with her mother My Skarsgård on Instagram:

Credit: Eija Skarsgård / Instagram

The family's creative and intellectual range is unusual. You do not often see a single household produce both Hollywood stars and a practicing physician.

Stellan has been open about not pushing any of his children into acting.

"I have never had ambitions for them, other than that they should be decent people," he told The Guardian in 2015.

My's role in that balance was significant. She provided the stability and the medical perspective that kept the family grounded.

My Skarsgård's Acting Career: Brief but Memorable

Before and during her marriage, My appeared in a small number of Swedish productions. Her most notable credit is Jim & piraterna Blom (1987), a Swedish family film. She also appeared in Gomorron (1992) and the talk show Efter tio (2006). She was never a career actress in the way her husband and sons are. Her screen work was occasional, almost like a side project. Her primary focus was always medicine and family.

That choice says something about her priorities. She could have leaned into the Skarsgård name and built a public profile. She did not. She chose a different kind of life. One that involved medical school, raising six children, and eventually confronting her own demons in private.

The Hidden Battle: Alcoholism, Cancer, and a Near-Death Experience

Here is where My's story becomes truly remarkable. For years, she struggled with alcohol addiction. It started slowly. She has said she did not realize she had a problem for a long time.

"It went on for a long time, I had no idea I would develop a problem," she explained in a Swedish podcast.

The drinking escalated when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. The fear and anxiety of the diagnosis overwhelmed her, and alcohol became her way of coping.

"I do not blame it, but my brain knew what the solution was for me to handle the fear and anxiety I felt," she said.

The addiction took hold. It nearly killed her. She has admitted that she had accepted the thought that she would die. That is how sick she was.

The alcoholism also contributed to the end of her marriage. My and Stellan divorced in 2007. She has been clear that the family, including Stellan, supported her throughout.

"It was important for me to anchor this with my children and with Stellan, that I wanted to talk about it. They were so encouraging," she said.

Stellan reportedly feared a media storm, but that never happened. My was met with respect.

Recovery and the Birth of the MyLife Method

My got sober. She has been open about the shame and guilt she felt during her active addiction, and how that shame kept her from seeking help for far too long.

"I had such enormous feelings of guilt and shame, especially when I drank. And that was probably what prevented me from seeking help until the very last," she said.

Once she got help and had been sober for a few years, she decided to turn her experience into something useful.

She went back to school and trained as an alcohol and drug therapist. She worked at a large treatment center for several years. Then she decided to go her own way. She founded the MyLife method, a treatment program that combines contemporary research, proven therapeutic methods, and her own lived experience.

The MyLife method starts with a weekend course for a maximum of ten participants. It includes lectures, conversations, and group exercises. The setting is a beautiful early 20th century villa near the coast, with forest and walking paths nearby. After the weekend, participants can continue to an intensive week and individual follow-up sessions. My offers anonymity, integrity, and personal engagement. She is available practically around the clock for those in the program.

The program is designed for people who are worried about their alcohol or drug consumption, or that of a loved one. It also serves companies that want to help employees showing signs of dependency. My has said that women over 60 are the fastest-growing group seeking her help, a trend she finds both concerning and motivating.

Frequently Asked Questions About My Skarsgård

Let's debunk the things you may want to read about My Skarsgård:

What is My Skarsgård's net worth?

Her personal wealth is modest by celebrity standards. In 2022, her assessed earned income in Sweden was 188,900 kronor, which works out to just under 16,000 kronor per month. That places her at the bottom of the Skarsgård family earnings list. Her ex-husband Stellan has an estimated net worth of around $50 million, and her son Alexander sits at approximately $14 million. One of our sources estimates My's net worth at "more than $100 thousand," though that figure is not verified and likely reflects a rough guess rather than documented assets. The disparity makes sense. My spent her career as a physician and addiction therapist in Sweden, not as an international film star. Her income reflects a life of service, not celebrity.

How old is My Skarsgård and where was she born?

She was born on July 3, 1956, in Kalmar, a coastal city in southeastern Sweden. That makes her 69 years old as of 2026. Her birth name was Sonja Marie Agnes Günther. "My" was a nickname she carried for years before officially registering it as her legal first name during the 1990s. Her children carry Günther as a middle name. Bill Skarsgård's full name is Bill Istvan Günther Skarsgård, a direct nod to his mother's family line.

When did My Skarsgård and Stellan Skarsgård divorce?

They married on April 27, 1975, when My was 18 and Stellan was 23. The marriage lasted 32 years, ending in divorce on May 1, 2007. My has been direct about the reason. Her alcoholism, which developed during the marriage, drove them apart. Stellan remarried in 2009 to American screenwriter and producer Megan Everett, with whom he has two more sons. My has not remarried and leads a private life in Sweden.

Did My Skarsgård have cancer?

Yes. In 1998, at age 42, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. The diagnosis terrified her. Stellan was often abroad filming, and she felt isolated at home in Stockholm. She turned to alcohol to manage the fear. What started as a way to cope with anxiety escalated into a full addiction. She has said she was "deathly afraid the whole time" and used vodka to numb the dread.

How long has My Skarsgård been sober?

She has been sober since 2006, which means roughly 20 years of continuous sobriety as of 2026. Her turning point came around Christmas that year. Her brother found her hiding in a closet clutching a bottle of punch and told her she needed help. Those words landed. She had been vomiting blood and believed she had developed cirrhosis. As a doctor, she knew exactly how close she was to dying. Getting sober was not a straight line, but she committed to it. Within a few years, she had trained as an addiction therapist and began building the MyLife method.

What is the MyLife method?

The MyLife method is a structured treatment program My developed after her own recovery. It combines contemporary research, proven therapeutic methods, and lived experience. The program runs at Myggebo, a early 20th century villa in the Stockholm archipelago that was once the family's summer home and is now My's permanent residence and workplace. The first step is a weekend course for a maximum of ten participants. It includes lectures, conversations, and group exercises. Participants can continue to an intensive week and individual follow-up sessions. My is available practically around the clock for those in the program. She has noted that women over 60 are the fastest-growing group seeking her help, a trend she finds both concerning and motivating.

How many grandchildren does My Skarsgård have?

Through her six children, My has eight grandchildren. Stellan has spoken warmly about watching them grow into distinct personalities.

"All my eight kids, they're very different too," he told PEOPLE. "There are some things in common, but they all have personalities".

My's role as a grandmother is one she keeps largely out of the public eye, consistent with her preference for privacy.

Did any of My Skarsgård's children struggle with addiction?

Yes. Her son Gustaf Skarsgård has spoken openly about his own alcohol problems. He started drinking at 12 and struggled with substance abuse until he was around 30. He attended his mother's sobriety course. Her youngest son, Valter Skarsgård, took the course even before he had started drinking. Valter has said that watching both his mother and his brother go through addiction gave him a realistic and cautious view of alcohol.

"I got to see the warning flags quite early," he said.

Valter has also described how his mother's addiction shaped his childhood.

"Incredibly much, my whole personality of course," he said, explaining that her drinking lasted through basically his entire upbringing.

What acting roles did My Skarsgård have?

Her screen credits are few but notable within Swedish cinema. She appeared in Jim & piraterna Blom (1987), a Swedish family film, and had roles in Gomorron (1992) and the talk show Efter tio (2006). Acting was never her primary career. She chose medicine and family over a public profile, and her film work reflects that priority.

Is My Skarsgård still involved with the Skarsgård family?

Yes, and by all accounts the relationship is warm. Stellan has described the family as close. My's children speak about her with respect and gratitude, even when discussing the difficult years. Gustaf and Valter have both publicly acknowledged how her addiction affected them, but neither frames it as a rupture.

Valter put it plainly:

"I'm so grateful for the family I have now and how everything is today".

My attended family events and remains a central figure in the lives of her children and grandchildren. The Skarsgård name may belong to Stellan and the actors who carry it, but the family's emotional center has always been My.

My Skarsgård Today: Sobriety, Service, and a Quiet Legacy

As of 2026, My has been sober for 20 years. She continues to run her therapy practice and the MyLife method. She lives in Sweden, far from the Hollywood spotlight that her ex-husband and sons inhabit. She has eight grandchildren through her children. Stellan, now 74, is a grandfather of eight and speaks warmly of watching his grandchildren grow into distinct personalities.

My's income from her medical and therapeutic work is modest by celebrity standards. But money is not the measure of her contribution. Her legacy is measured in lives changed, in a family held together through difficult years, and in the courage it took to speak openly about addiction in a culture that still stigmatizes it.

She has said that she feels enormous pride in having pulled herself out of addiction and built a beautiful life.

"I felt an enormous pride that I managed to get out of it and got such an enormously fine life," she said.

That pride is earned. My Skarsgård did not just survive. She transformed. And in doing so, she became something more than a footnote in someone else's story. She became the author of her own.