Tatiana Elf

Tatiana Elf is a versatile author and screenwriter living in Helsinki. She has been the head writer and creator of various popular and critically acclaimed Finnish crime drama series (Roba, Fast), winning the award for best drama for Keisari Aarnio in 2018. She has also created, written and directed several reality and entertainment series (Love Connection, Dancing with the Stars, Supertähdet). She started her career by writing for the most popular daily TV drama (Secret Lives) in Finland.

She was born in South-Africa and is half Finnish, half Slovakian. She has a BA in Psychology and Sociology from London Metropolitan University and an MA in Philosophy from University of Helsinki. Her studies help her create interesting and complex characters both for screen and novels, especially when it comes to crime writing. She is passionate about research and the complexity of the human mind. She is praised for her candid portrayal of caregiving, especially in her autobiographical novel and her dramedy series (Goldfish) based on her mother with Alzheimer's. She uses emotional authenticity and humor even with darker themes.

In her free time, she enjoys reading, solo travelling, home renovation, binge-streaming series and caring for her friend’s pets. She is quite accident prone and therefore a constant source of worry to her friends.

Photo credit: Anna Cappelli