Uri, Helene

The Norwegian author and linguist Helene Uri was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and grew up in Bærum and Hageby, Oslo. Her parents were both natural scientists. Helene Uri read linguistics at the University of Oslo where she was awarded a Ph.D. in 1996 with a dissertation about aphasia and language impairments caused by brain damage. She was well acquainted with the problem as her own sister lost her language ability at the age of thirty-four. Uri was linguistics amanuensis at the University of Oslo between 1998 and 2005. She left after a conflict with the head of department and became a full time author. Uri has been a member of the Norwegian language council, and in 2008 she was elected to the Norwegian Academy.