Who is Susanna Roman? Björn Andrésen’s ex-wife pays tribute to ‘Death in Venice’ star

Swedish actor and musician Björn Andrésen died on Saturday, October 25, 2025, at the age of 70. The cause of death remains undisclosed. Kristian Petri, the co-director of The Most Beautiful Boy in the World, confirmed the news to Swedish publication Dagens Nyheter. The Most Beautiful Boy in the World is a 2021 documentary based on Andrésen’s life.

In the aftermath of his demise, his ex-wife, the Swedish poet Susanna Roman, 63 (@sannoman), paid tribute via an Instagram post.

“Hey, Bjorn. Made a movie about you and Robin the night you died, and I couldn't sleep. Will return with words when I have found some that work. Right now, I'm unreal. When the body rises, I follow along to the outer edge,” the English translation of the Swedish caption reads.

It was accompanied by a reel comprising moments from Björn Andrésen’s personal life.

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More about Björn Andrésen’s ex-wife and children

According to Famous Birthdays, Björn Andrésen exchanged wedding vows with Susanna Roman in 1983. They got divorced in 1987. During their four-year marriage, the couple had two children, a daughter named Robine (born in 1984) and a son named Elvin (born in 1986).

Unfortunately, Elvin died of sudden infant death syndrome, nine months after his birth. As per Daily Mail reports, the actor was lying beside the infant in a drunk state, while his wife was off to the kindergarten with their daughter when the tragedy occurred.

During a 2020 interview with The Guardian, Andrésen stated:

“Their diagnosis is sudden infant death syndrome, but my diagnosis is lack of love. I descended into depression, alcohol, and self-destruction in all ways imaginable — it was an ego trip. Poor me, me, me.”

Björn Andrésen also shared his belief that he would meet his son in the afterlife.

Meanwhile, Susanna Roman shared in a July 2025 Instagram post about her father’s first impression of Bjorn.

“After Dad met Björn for the first time, he told Mom, ‘Is she going to get the same hell as you?’ But I didn't get that. I got another one. And a lot in between... well, what to actually call it... good food, lots of fun and two kids. Luckily, there is humor,” she captioned with a clip of Andresen with their kids.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Björn Andrésen was born in January 1955 in the Swedish capital, Stockholm. His mother, Barbro Elisabeth Andresen, took her own life when he was 10. Meanwhile, his father died in an accident. He was raised by his maternal grandparents in Stockholm.

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In brief about Björn Andrésen’s career

Björn Andrésen was only fifteen when he was cast in Italian filmmaker Luchino Visconti’s Death in Venice, released in 1971. He played the role of Tadzio. The movie was an adaptation of a 1912 novella of the same name written by German author Thomas Mann.

Visconti later described Andrésen as “the most beautiful boy in the world,” an expression that marked the rest of his life and career. Speaking to The Guardian in 2003, the actor-musician stated:

“I felt like an exotic animal in a cage.”

Later, in 2020, he further told the publication about the misconduct he reportedly suffered at the hands of his film’s director.

“Luchino was the sort of cultural predator who would sacrifice anything or anyone for the work,” Björn said at the time.

Andrésen added that Death in Venice “screwed up my life quite decently.”

Notably, the actor was cast in a supporting role in American filmmaker Ari Aster’s 2019 folk horror movie Midsommar. Later, Björn Andrésen, who was also a pianist and a music teacher, toured with the dance band Sven Erics across Japan.

In 2021, the documentary The Most Beautiful Boy in the World chronicled Björn Andrésen’s meteoric rise to fame and the subsequent struggles that followed. The film went on to win the World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival that year. Over the course of his career, Andrésen appeared in more than 30 films and television shows, including the 2005 series Lasermannen.