Emma Wiklund

Emma Wiklund is a Swedish model, actress, and television presenter who became one of the defining faces of 1990s high fashion. Born Emma Sjöberg in Danderyd, Sweden, she walked runways in Paris and Milan for designers like Gianni Versace, Thierry Mugler, and Claude Montana, and appeared on multiple covers of Elle magazine. Her global visibility jumped in 1992 when she starred in George Michael's music video "Too Funky."

Wiklund is also known to European cinema audiences as police officer Petra in Luc Besson's Taxi franchise, a role she played across four films from 1998 to 2007. In recent years she has built a skincare brand called Emma S., named after her modeling nickname, and continues to appear in Swedish media. She lives in Stockholm with her husband, television personality Hans Wiklund. [edit]

Emma Wiklund grew up in Danderyd, a suburb just north of Stockholm, in a family that had no connection to fashion or entertainment. As a teenager she was scouted by a modeling agency, and by the late 1980s she was already working in Stockholm, doing catalog shoots and small runway shows.

Her big break came when she moved to Paris in the early 1990s. Within a year she was walking for the biggest houses in the business, including Versace, Mugler, Montana, Alaïa, and Lanvin. She quickly became a regular on the couture circuit, known for her statuesque frame and cool Scandinavian look.

In Sweden, she became a household name through a long-running campaign for minimjölk, the country's low-fat milk. The ads ran for years and made her face familiar to millions who never picked up a fashion magazine.

The George Michael video for "Too Funky" in 1992 was her first taste of global fame. It featured a parade of supermodels, and Wiklund's segment helped her land campaigns and editorials around the world. But she never moved to New York or Los Angeles. She kept her base in Stockholm and commuted to Paris and Milan for work. [edit]

Wiklund's modeling career peaked in the mid-1990s, when she was a fixture at Paris Fashion Week. Her closest professional relationship was with Thierry Mugler, who cast her in some of his most theatrical shows. She wore his original robot suits, and once described being "turned into an insect, a robot" for his presentations, calling the experience transformative.

In 1998 she made her film debut as Petra in Taxi, a French action-comedy produced by Luc Besson. The movie was a hit, and she returned for three sequels: Taxi 2 in 2000, Taxi 3 in 2003, and Taxi 4 in 2007. The role made her a recognizable face across Europe, and she remains best known for it.

After the Taxi series ended, Wiklund shifted to television presenting in Sweden, hosting several shows. In the 2020s she launched her own skincare line, Emma S., named after her modeling nickname. The brand sells online and through select retailers, and Wiklund promotes it heavily on Instagram.

In February 2024 she appeared in Vogue Scandinavia to comment on Zendaya wearing an archival Mugler robot suit at the Dune: Part Two premiere, drawing on her own experience with the original designs. In March 2025 she appeared on Swedish TV4 to talk about aging as a former model. [edit]

Emma Wiklund is remembered as one of the original 1990s supermodels, associated with the high-fashion world of Paris and Milan. Her public image blends her fashion legacy with her more recent role as a skincare entrepreneur. She has spoken candidly about aging as a woman in the public eye, acknowledging the shock of seeing oneself age. Her social media voice is personal and brand-focused, mixing family updates with skincare promotion and social advocacy. She has no official fandom name, but she is respected as a pioneer who helped define an era of modeling. [edit]

Emma Wiklund's fanbase is a diffuse but devoted community, scattered across Instagram, modeling archives, and the enduring fandom of the Taxi films. There is no formal fandom name, and no organized fan club or coordinated campaigns exist; her followers engage primarily through her personal social media and her skincare brand, Emma S., which carries her modeling nickname into a commercial relationship with her audience. This direct, brand-centric connection is the closest thing to a collective identity, though it is not a fan-created moniker.

Her legacy is anchored in verified, legendary fashion moments, Thierry Mugler transformed her into an insect and a robot for his theatrical runway shows, and her appearance in George Michael's 1992 video for "Too Funky" sealed her place among the era's supermodels. More recently, when Zendaya wore a Mugler robot suit in 2024, media and Wiklund herself revisited her original moments, creating a cross-generational fashion narrative. Her role as Petra in the Taxi franchise remains a beloved piece of European pop culture, though no extraordinary fan reactions or viral incidents are documented.

As of August 2026, iFANN's Global Fame Engine has evaluated Emma Wiklund, but she does not currently hold a placement in the published rankings, neither in the Global Top 1,000 nor in any Top-100 scope list. Her fame remains substantial but unranked, a quiet but enduring presence in fashion and film history.[edit]

Wiklund's modeling nickname "Emma S." later became the name of her skincare brand. She wore Thierry Mugler's original robot suits decades before Zendaya's 2024 archival moment. She was the face of Swedish minimjölk (low-fat milk) advertising for years. Her youngest child was accepted to Copenhagen Business School, a fact she shared in her Instagram bio. She publicly supports the LGBTQ+ community. In a 2022 Vogue Scandinavia homage to Mugler, she recalled being "turned into an insect, a robot" for his shows. Mugler's theatrical transformations are a cornerstone of her modeling mythology, frequently cited in retrospectives of her career. Her appearance in George Michael's 1992 video for "Too Funky" is a landmark pop-culture moment, placing her among the era's top supermodels. Her participation in Christian Lacroix's Spring 1994 and Spring 1996 couture shows is documented in fashion archives, further cementing her high-fashion legacy.[edit]

Emma Wiklund is married to Hans Wiklund, a Swedish television personality and sports journalist. The couple has children together, though they keep most family details private. In recent years, Wiklund has shared that her youngest child was accepted to Copenhagen Business School. The family lives in Stockholm, where Wiklund runs her skincare business. She has spoken about the challenge of balancing motherhood with her career, but has not shared many details about her parents or siblings publicly. [edit]

Thierry Mugler was a frequent collaborator and mentor who shaped Wiklund's modeling career. Luc Besson directed her in the Taxi franchise. George Michael featured her in his "Too Funky" music video. Her husband, Hans Wiklund, is a Swedish television personality. [edit]

Emma Wiklund has kept her personal life largely private. Her only publicly documented relationship is with Hans Wiklund, a Swedish television personality and sports journalist. The couple married at some point in the 1990s, though the exact date is not public. They have children together, and she adopted his surname professionally. As of 2026, Wiklund is married to Hans Wiklund, and there is no public evidence of separation or divorce. [edit]

iFANN currently estimates Emma Wiklund's net worth at $25 million. The bulk of her wealth comes from her lucrative 1990s modeling career, when she worked with top fashion houses like Versace and Mugler. She also earned from her acting roles in the Taxi franchise, which was a commercial success in Europe. In recent years, her skincare brand Emma S. has added to her income, along with television presenting work in Sweden. While exact figures are not public, her long career in high fashion and film has provided a solid financial foundation.[edit]