Malin Maria Åkerman (born May 12, 1978) is a Swedish–Canadian actress, model and singer. Born in Stockholm, Sweden, Åkerman moved to Canada at the age of two. As a child, she appeared in several television commercials and won a model contract at age sixteen. Åkerman subsequently began her acting career, debuting on the Canadian television series Earth: Final Conflict in 1997, followed by many small parts on television and in films, including The Utopian Society (2003) and Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004).
Åkerman gained her first starring role as Lila in The Heartbreak Kid (2007), opposite Ben Stiller. The following year she played a supporting role in the romantic comedy 27 Dresses (2008) with Katherine Heigl. In 2009, Åkerman got her big break when she was cast as Silk Spectre II in the superhero film Watchmen, for which she received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Other notable films include The Proposal, Couples Retreat, and The Bang Bang Club.
In 2010, Åkerman had a supporting role in the comedy film Elektra Luxx, which tells the story of a retired porn star of the same name, played by Carla Gugino. It was directed and written by Sebastian Gutierrez and serves a sequel to 2009's Women in Trouble. Åkerman played Trixie, a drug-store clerk who falls in love with Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character. She was offered the role when she went to the screening of Women in Trouble; Gutierrez told her that he had written a sequel, and had a part in mind for her. She then read the script and accepted the role. The film was shot in just ten days. It premiered on March 11, 2011 in limited release. It received mixed reviews from critics, holding a score of 50 out of 100 based on 12 critical reviews, according to the film review aggregator Metacritic. Critics described the film as a "bizarre sex comedy full of meandering subplots, some occasional wit, and, unfortunately, not a whole lot of funny jokes." In the film The Bang Bang Club, Åkerman starred in the lead female role as Robin Comley. The film premiered during the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. It had its US premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 21, 2011. She also co-starred in the romantic comedy film The Romantics.
Åkerman will star opposite Bruce Willis and Forest Whitaker in the upcoming Catch .44. Filming began on July 11, 2010. In September 2010, Variety reported that Åkerman will star opposite Ethan Hawke in the thriller The Numbers Station. The same month, it was announced that she will star opposite Jennifer Aniston in Wanderlust. She will also star in the independent film Criminal Empire for Dummy's with Gary Oldman and Milo Ventimiglia. Åkerman replaced Lindsay Lohan as the title character in Inferno: A Linda Lovelace Story, based on the life of porn star Linda Lovelace.Other upcoming projects include Medallion and The Giant Mechanical Man.