Happy 40th Birthday to Babsan!
Lars-Åke Wilhelmsson is reflecting on the missteps that shaped his iconic character – and navigating single life at 67.
“Who has time for me? Do I need someone to carry my bags around while I’m working?” the drag display legend pondered.
Photo: Caisa Rasmussen/TT / Caisa Rasmussen / TT NYHETSBYRÅN
Photo: MATTIAS BARDÅ / EXP
Photo: SVEN LINDWALL
Babsan.
Photo: CHRISTIAN ÖRNBERG
Lars-Åke Wilhelmsson formed the drag show group Surprise Sisters in Gävle in the late 1970s. The group quickly gained popularity, performing successful and provocative shows at Stockholm’s Hasselbacken.
“Back then, I didn’t really do characters. I would go on stage and mime as Marilyn Monroe or Carmen Miranda with a fruit hat on my head,” Wilhelmsson recalled.
He soon moved to the capital and became a fixture in Stockholm’s nightlife, working as a male stripper at the Bacchi Wapen club in addition to his drag performances.
Wilhelmsson’s first television job came in 1986 with the sketch program “Kullagret,” alongside Johannes Brost and Mona Seilitz. It was there that the foundation for the character now known as Babsan was laid, though she was initially called Baby Doll Karlsson, a more ditzy blonde persona.
“I came down, sitting on a crescent moon and people wondered ‘who is this girl?’” Wilhelmsson said. “I wasn’t known at all then.”
He embraced the character and continued to develop her on stage. Years later, when Baby Doll Karlsson appeared on the newly launched ZTV, program host Anders S Nilsson couldn’t remember her name.
“Now comes Bab… Babsan!” Wilhelmsson chuckled, recalling Nilsson’s slip of the tongue.
An early photo of Babsan from 1996.
Photo: PAUL HANSEN / EXP
Nilsson’s mistake proved fortuitous. Wilhelmsson embraced Babsan – the new name helped the character find its final form.
“I had seen Dame Edna and felt that Babsan was more of a lady than Baby Doll. I asked my wigmaker to make a copy of Dame Edna’s wig, but I didn’t wish blue hair, I wanted pink,” Wilhelmsson explained.
The rest is history. Babsan got her own TV show, “Babbla med Babsan,” which first aired on ZTV. The show’s success speaks to the enduring appeal of drag performance in Swedish entertainment.
“Then Jan Stenbeck actually demanded that it be moved to TV3. After that, everyone knew Babsan,” Wilhelmsson said.
A Critique of the Current Scene: “No Warmth Left”
Since then, Babsan has spread glitter and glamour in television programs, toured with After Dark, and competed in the Melodifestivalen (with the song “Ge mig en spanjor” in 2011).
Even today – 40 years after the first seeds of the character were sown – Lars-Åke Wilhelmsson travels the country performing as Babsan at everything from inaugurations to schlager evenings.
Annons
“Today, I think it’s most fun when they call from some 60-plus fair in Valbo. You know, Lions and PRO. Because they are so grateful and fun and cheeky. They beat the gay audience, which I think has grow quite cold and callous. There’s no warmth left,” he said.
At 67, Wilhelmsson has no plans to leisurely down. His next big project is a production of “Cabaret” at the Gävle Theater in 2027 – Wilhelmsson will direct and also be responsible for costumes and props.
The only thing he doesn’t really have time for is love. He was previously married to his friend Jonathan Salminen, who was 31 years his junior – primarily for financial reasons, and they divorced in 2024.
He has a dating app, but it’s not going well.
“I’ve posted pictures of both myself and Babsan, but people think someone has faked a profile. Hello, it’s me – I’m also a little horny sometimes,” Lars-Åke Wilhelmsson laughed.
“But despite my age, I’m doing pretty well with that. But unfortunately, I have no one to wake up with in the mornings.”
Do you miss that?
“Sometimes. I no longer have a dog after I had to put down my border terrier Brisse last year. It’s very empty. But God, it’s hard to get another person in here, who’s going to hang their pants and jackets in my closets. Then we’ll have to kick Babsan out!”
