Bea Uusma


Mari Beatrice "Bea" Uusma, previously Uusma Schyffert, is a Swedish author, illustrator and medical doctor.
Uusma was born and raised in Lidingö in Stockholm County. In 1999 she wrote and illustrated a children's book about the American astronaut Michael Collins titled The Man Who Went to the Far Side of the Moon: The Story of Apollo 11 Astronaut Michael Collins. In the mid-1990s she became interested in S. A. Andrée's Arctic Balloon Expedition of 1897 and tried to find out what happened to the expedition members. This research resulted in the book The Expedition, published in English by Head of Zeus in 2014, and for which she was awarded The August Prize in 2013.
After working as an illustrator for several years Uusma started studying medicine and is now working as a medical doctor in Stockholm. She says her medical knowledge was useful in her research for The Expedition.
Uusma was awarded the August Prize, a Swedish literary award, for non-fiction for The Expedition in 2013.
She was married to Swedish comedian Henrik Schyffert between 1996 and 2012. They have two children. Uusma is the sister of Swedish actress Martina Haag.

English bibliography

Awards