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Greta Thunberg.

Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg

Greta Thunberg — Activist
Born Stockholm, Sweden
Citizenship Sweden
Age 23 yr Today

9 min read

Reading time

1,695

Words

Published

16

Awards

TL;DR

Greta Thunberg was only 15 when she started skipping school to protest climate inaction outside the Swedish parliament in August 2018. Her solitary strike grew into the global Fridays for Future movement, mobilizing millions. In December 2019, Time magazine named her Person of the Year, and in 2020 the documentary I Am Greta chronicled her journey. She continues to advocate for climate action, joining protests in Summer 2024.

Identity & family.

KIN · 3

Names, aliases, and relatives of Greta Thunberg — birth name, kin, and personal ties.

Birth Name Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg
Aliases Greta
Parents
Malena Ernman Svante Thunberg
Siblings
Beata Andersson

At a glance.

STATS

Greta Thunberg by the numbers — life, work, and family.

23 Age
16 Awards

Who is Greta Thunberg?

BIOGRAPHY

Greta Thunberg — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.

Early life

Diagnosed with Asperger syndrome and selective mutism as a child, Greta Thunberg, born on 3 January 2003 in Stockholm to opera singer Malena Ernman and actor Svante Thunberg, found her focus in confronting climate change.

Granddaughter of actor Olof Thunberg, she grew up in a family of performers, becoming a fan of David Attenborough’s documentaries and naming Forrest Gump among her favorite films.

Career

In August 2018, at age 15, Greta Thunberg began the School Strike for Climate outside the Swedish parliament. Her lone protest inspired students worldwide, leading to the formation of the Fridays for Future movement. In January 2019, she delivered a pointed speech at the Davos Conference. Time named her Person of the Year in December 2019. The same year, she crossed the Atlantic by sailboat to address the UN Climate Action Summit, a journey captured in the 2020 documentary I Am Greta. In 2021, she fronted the BBC series Greta Thunberg: A Year to Change the World. She has received numerous awards, including the Right Livelihood Award and honorary doctorates from the University of British Columbia and the University of Helsinki.

Personal life

Greta Thunberg lives in Sweden with her parents and younger sister Beata Andersson. She has been open about her autism diagnosis, calling it a gift that helps her see the world clearly. In her free time, she enjoys watching David Attenborough documentaries and lists Forrest Gump as a favorite film. A humorous moment occurred in December 2019 when, after a Mastermind contestant mistakenly answered Sharon to a question about her, she briefly changed her Twitter display name to Sharon. She has also been active in supporting Palestinian rights, marching in European protests in Summer 2024.

Legacy

Greta Thunberg transformed individual protest into a global movement. Her Fridays for Future strikes mobilized millions of students worldwide. Time named her Person of the Year in 2019 and included her in BBC 100 Women. She received the Right Livelihood Award. Honorary doctorates from the University of British Columbia and the University of Helsinki honor her impact. Her speech collection No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference became a bestseller. She proved that one person’s courage can spark a global revolution.

Awards & honors.

AWARDS · 16

Every award, honor, and recognition received by Greta Thunberg — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.

  • Goldene Kamera
  • Fritt Ord Award
  • Rachel Carson Prize
  • About You Awards
  • Ambassador of Conscience Award
  • Fellow of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society
  • Geddes Environment Medal
  • Right Livelihood Award
  • Honorary doctor of the University of Mons
  • BBC 100 Women
  • Time Person of the Year
  • Nature's 10
  • Human Act Award
  • Prix Liberté
  • honorary doctorate from the University of British Columbia
  • doctor honoris causa of the University of Helsinki

Notable quotes.

QUOTES · 10

A wall of memorable lines from Greta Thunberg — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.

  • What’s the Point in Educating Ourselves and Learning the Facts When the People in Power Refuse to Listen, to Be Educated and Pay Attention to the Facts? Everywhere I’ve Been the Situation Is More or Less the Same: the Numbers of Politicians and Celebrities Who Want to Take Selfies Are the Same, and the Lies Are the Same.

  • Our Civilization Is Being Sacrificed for the Opportunity of a Very Small Number of People to Continue Making Enormous Amounts of Money.

  • Until We Have the Technologies That at Scale Can Put Our Emissions to Minus Then We Must Forget About Net Zero or ‘Carbon Neutrality’.

  • We Should Abandon the Illusion That Our Politicians Will Come to the Rescue of Planet Earth, Especially Those Who Delight in Calling Themselves Climate Leaders. Time and Again They Have Betrayed the Faith That Has Been Placed in Them – Using Greenwashing and PR Strategies Disguised as Politics.

  • China Is Still Categorized as a Developing Nation by WTO, They Manufacture a Lot of Our Products and so On. but That’s of Course No Excuse for Ruining Future and Present Living Conditions. We Can’t Solve the Climate Crisis Unless China Drastically Changes Course.

  • If We Can Save the Banks, Then We Can Save the World.

  • I Only Speak When It Is Necessary.

  • You Are Never Too Small to Make a Difference.

  • Our House Is on Fire!

  • How Dare You!

Did you know?

FACTS · 11

Little-known facts about Greta Thunberg — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.

  1. She is on the autism spectrum, diagnosed with Asperger syndrome and selective mutism.

  2. In December 2019, British actress Amanda Henderson mistakenly answered Sharon on a Mastermind celebrity episode. She briefly changed her Twitter name to Sharon.

  3. She made the cover of Time magazine’s Person of the Year December 2019 issue.

  4. When she came to the United States to address global warming, she traveled by boat to reduce carbon emissions.

  5. She is a fan of David Attenborough’s documentaries.

  6. She is the granddaughter of Olof Thunberg and daughter of Malena Ernman and Svante Thunberg.

  7. One of her favorite films is Forrest Gump 1994.

  8. Greta was only 15 when she launched the School Strike for Climate, an international movement of students skipping Friday classes to demand action on climate change.

  9. She is the founder of the global movement Fridays for Future.

  10. In Summer 2024, Greta marched in European protests supporting Hamas and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

  11. In January 2019, Greta delivered a four-minute climate change speech to leaders at the annual Davos Conference in Switzerland.

You wanted to know.

FAQ · 31

Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Greta Thunberg.

Audited & updated by

Olivia Brooks

Senior Staff Writer & Biography Editor

Olivia has 6 years of experience writing biographical profiles and still approaches every subject like it's the first one. She covers everyone from debut musicians to Hall of Fame athletes to novelists most people have never heard of. She finds something worth reading in all of them. Her drafts tend to come in already clean, which her editor appreciates. She says good writing is just good thinking written down. Hard to argue with that.

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