WHILE Greta Thunberg has made headlines for climate and Palestine campaigning over the past half-decade, her lesser known sister forged her own path.
Ditching the famous surname of her activist sister, Beata Ernman has stepped out Greta’s shadow through a career as a singer, actress and model.
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Greta Thunberg, who rose to prominence over her school climate strikes as a teenager, found her way into the news again this month as member of the crew of the “Freedom Flotilla”.
The vessel was stopped from reaching Gaza by Israeli forces, and Thunberg has since been deported from Israel.
But while the climate activist bemoaned her “kidnapping” this week, Beata shared pics from her latest photo shoot on Instagram.
There is little on her social media feed that would suggest she’s related to Greta.
The risque photos are a stark contrast from the assiduous activist image carefully curated by her older sister.
Beata – who goes by the name Bea – has instead opted to follow in her mother’s footsteps to pursue a career in performing arts.
She even uses her mother’s surname, in contrast to Greta.
Bea, who was born in November 2005, has grown a following of 10,400 followers on her Instagram account.
But over the years, she has faced relentless mocking and bullying over her sister’s campaigning.
Greta once reflected that Bea is “the one who suffers” as a result of her climate activism.
Back when she was 16, she told Swedish media: “She is 13 years old and she has been subjected to systematic bullying, threats and harassment.
“The people who write threats and hate to me do it to the whole family, even to her.”
Now aged 19, Bea projects a much more confident image to the world on her social media feeds.
The daughter of former Eurovision contestant Malena Ernman and film producer Svante Thunberg, Bea has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Syndrome (ADHD), the MailOnline has reported.
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Her sister Greta was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome as a child.
But despite walking a different path in life to her activist sister, Bea’s work still doesn’t shy away from addressing political themes.
Talking about her single I Found Your Father’s Gun, the teen told her followers: “When people objectify girls, they reduce us to body parts — They treat us like multiple girls add up to one man. So in this song, I use their own language against them.
“I objectify him by sexualizing his father, to expose the absurdity, the cruelty, and the double standard, associating him with another man, to flip it, as if 10 men were treated like 1 girl.
“Beneath the metaphor is something real: Men need to stop taking advantage of girls who are too young to fight back.
“This song is what it sounds like when we do. When the object speaks. Twice as brutal as the offense itself, right? Right.”
Bea’s love of the performing arts goes back years.
When she was just 13 years old, she performed one of her songs on the Swedish prime-time TV show Bingolotto.
Greta has also expressed her admiration for “my super talented sister” on social media in the past.
Bea has previously shown up to support her sister when Greta surged to fame with her school climate strikes – with the two sisters pictured at demonstrations together.
The teen singer was also once cast as a young Edith Piaf in a musical that also starred her mother.
“I have been dancing and singing for as long as I can remember,” she said in response to the casting announcement.
“To be able to perform her immortal music is a dream come true.”
Greta Thunberg was deported from Israel this week after the country’s naval forces stopped the “Freedom Flotilla” from reaching Gaza.
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