Three Globally Known Faces You Probably Didn’t Know Were From Hafnarfjörður
1. Stefán Karl Stefánsson – Robbie Rotten, the Internet’s Favourite VillainBirthplace: Hafnarfjörður, 1975Global claim to fame: Played Robbie Rotten in Nickelodeon’s “LazyTown” (2004-2014), a children’s show broadcast in 180+ countries.Meme legacy: His performance of “We Are Number One” became a 2016-17 viral remix phenomenon, raising over $170 k for pancreatic-cancer charities before he died in 2018.Hafnarfjörður footprint: Began acting at the local Bæjarleikhúsið (Town Theatre) at age 10; returned annually to direct youth musicals even while starring on Broadway.
2. Hera Björk – Eurovision Power-Vocal QueenBirthplace: Hafnarfjörður, 1972Global claim to fame: Represented Iceland in Eurovision 2010 with “Je ne sais quoi”, finishing 3rd in the public vote; has since sung on 14 Eurovision stages as both contestant and backing vocalist for Denmark, Sweden and Malta.Viral moment: Her 2021 “Icelandic lock-down concert” live-stream reached 3 million viewers in one night, trending on YouTube in 28 countries.Hafnarfjörður footprint: Still owns the bright-blue childhood home on Strandgata and hosts the annual “Hera & Friends” Christmas street gig that donates ticket proceeds to the town’s music school.
3. Anitta (Anna Júlía Frímannsdóttir) – Brazilian Pop Superstar with Icelandic DNABirthplace: Rio de Janeiro, 1993 – but her mother, Márcia Frímannsdóttir, was born and raised in Hafnarfjörður before emigrating at 19.Global claim to fame: First Brazilian solo artist to enter the UK Top 10 (“Envolver”, 2022); 65 million Instagram followers; Spotify’s most-streamed female artist in Portuguese.Icelandic link: Holds dual citizenship, spent every second summer in Hafnarfjörður learning Icelandic at Árskóli school; filmed parts of her 2021 “Girl from Rio” video on the lava fields of neighbouring Álftanes.Hafnarfjörður footprint: In 2022 she quietly donated 5 million ISK to the town’s sports club, FH, to fund girls’ football kits, citing “grandma’s fishing village spirit”.
Honourable mentions– Arnar Jónsson (actor) – “Beowulf & Grendel” (2005), Canadian TV staple.– Magnús Scheving (creator of LazyTown) – raised in nearby Borgarnes but opened his first gymnastics hall in Hafnarfjörður and still counts the town as his professional base.
