Clad in red fishnet stockings and a corset, she exuded confidence while performing a sultry routine for the cameras, even executing the splits to showcase her dancing skills.

Footage of this performance was shared last evening by 19-year-old Bea Ernman, showing no indication of concern despite her older sister being detained by Israeli authorities at the same time, following the halt of their ‘freedom flotilla’ on its mission to deliver aid to Gaza.

It might not be evident from her social media presence, but the aspiring singer is the younger sister of activist Greta Thunberg—highlighting more than just a surname as the notable differences between the two sisters.

Previously known as Beata Thunberg, the performer has started using her mother’s maiden name – perhaps in an effort to put some distance between herself and her controversial older sibling. 

Bea, who has ADHD, has had to overcome the relentless mocking, bullying, and harassment often directed at the Thunbergs in response to the firebrand climate change activist’s efforts. 

In 2019, Greta acknowledged the toll her work took on Beata – then 13 – when she admitted ‘the one who suffers is my sister’. 

Six years later, Bea is following in her opera singer mother Malena Ernman’s footsteps in pursuit of a global music career, saying that her ‘voice was built from pain’ as she reflected on a recent performance at Stockholm’s Musikaliska – the same concert hall where Albert Einstein received his Nobel Prize over a century ago. 

Some in the audience ‘looked scared’ while others screamed and even ‘covered their ears’, the prima donna-in-training revealed on Instagram, but Bea has a thicker skin today.

‘I don’t care if people love my artistry or hate it, as long as I make them feel something,’ she wrote. ‘Not pity. Love or hate. That’s the point of being an artist.’ 

Her post appeared to be yet another milestone along Beata’s journey from being a neurodivergent teen – living in her sister’s shadow – to a confident, flamboyant performer ready to take on the world.

Beata Ernman was born on November 3, 2025, to former Eurovision contestant and mezzo-soprano Malena Ernman and Swedish film producer and screenwriter, Svante Thunberg. 

While her older sister Greta – who was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome as a young girl – took her father’s last name, Beata shares her surname with her mother in what was perhaps an early sign they would walk similar paths in life. 

Both Beata and Malena have also been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Syndrome (ADHD) and the mother-of-two reflected candidly on life in their neurodivergent family in the 2020 Thunberg memoir ‘Our House Is On Fire’. 

She hailed Greta and Beata’s ‘differentness’ as a ‘superpower’ – not a ‘handicap’ – as she admitted it is the ‘basis of all art’ in the book. 

‘Autism and ADHD and all the other neuropsychiatric functional impairments are not handicaps per se,’ Malena wrote. ‘In many cases, they can be a superpower, that out-of-the-box thinking you so often hear performers, artists and celebrities talk about.’ 

It was clear Beata was endowed with this superpower from an early age. 

When she was 13, she performed a rendition of her single Bara Du Vill (a Swedish phrase that translates to ‘Only if you want’) on Swedish prime-time TV show Bingolotto. 

According to News.com.au, the programme praised the teenager as a ‘giant talent’ at the time. 

While plugging the song on her own Instagram, Greta also expressed admiration for ‘my super talented sister’ in a Facebook post on April 2019 – a stance she would reiterate months later, while calling for kindness towards Beata. 

After her famous speech at the United Nations climate summit made her a household name, Greta – then 16 – told Swedish news outlet Dagens Nyheter how her ‘wonderful and strong’ sister had to bear the brunt of her activism work. 

‘The one who suffers is my sister,’ Greta said. ‘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.

‘The difference between me and the people who are left at home is that I am always travelling, inaccessible. People don’t know where I am staying, where I sleep at night, where I am. I have no daily life.

‘But for my sister at home, who tries to have a daily life … she is much more reachable.’ 

Around the same time, Beata admitted she was ‘going through something’ to her 14,000 Instagram followers in a raw and emotional post that was interspersed with photos and videos taken during various performances across Stockholm. 

While Beata felt she couldn’t be more specific about her stresses, she reportedly noted that ‘little things’ like unwanted comments and personal remarks can leave a lasting impact. 

‘Someone can write one nasty comment and think that they’re not gonna read it but most people read all of their comments,’ the precocious teen said. ‘And most people get upset.’

Despite the hateful messages that were directed at Beata, she continued supporting Greta by showing up for the older Thunberg’s Fridays for Future – or School Strike for Climate – action that turned the spotlight on the Swedish activist in 2018. 

In 2020, Beata was cast opposite Malena Ernman when she was chosen to play a young Edith Piaf in a musical, with her mother depicting the French singer in her later years. 

‘I have been dancing and singing for as long as I can remember,’ Beata reacted to the casting announcement, according to news agency DPA.

‘To be able to perform her immortal music is a dream come true,’ she said, referring to the iconic songstress Piaf. 

Since then, Beata – or Bea, as she prefers to be called – has travelled across Sweden for shows while steadily building an online presence as she eyes a career that extends beyond the European continent. 

In what was one of her most high-profile shows to date, the budding soprana stormed the gala premiere of Angelina Jolie’s latest film, the Maria Callas biopic directed by acclaimed Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larrain. 

Writing on Instagram, Bea said she was honoured to have been chosen to ‘interpret’ one of the legendary opera singer’s songs in Italian for the event. 

She later shared a snippet from the show at Biograf grand as Bea, dressed in a stunning, black halterneck gown, closed out her performance while the audience erupted in cheers. 

As her celebrity has grown, Bea has also grown more comfortable in her own skin – with the young singer embracing her body while blocking out any derogatory or critical comments. 

And, if her latest Instagram Story is anything to go by, she’s also found her voice – with Bea calling out Sweden’s entertainment industry for failing its younger artists ‘especially not if she is a girl, who has potential’. 

Bea posted a screenshot of what appears to be a message written on iPhone’s Notes app as she revealed that girl ‘gets no invitations, no applause, no hearts in the comments’. 

She reflected on the ‘loneliness’ that defines that girl’s life amid ‘constant scrutiny’ while suggesting to ‘remain in it without diminishing oneself’ is an act of bravery. 

It comes as Israel prepares to deport Greta and the ‘freedom flotilla’ activists that sailed towards Gaza carrying a ‘symbolic’ amount of aid to raise awareness of the humanitarian crisis. 

The 12 activists had left Italy on June 1, aiming to bring awareness of food shortages in Gaza, which the UN has called the ‘hungriest place on Earth’, after 21 months of war.

But the Israeli government had vowed to prevent the ‘unauthorised’ Madleen from breaching the naval blockade of Gaza, urging it to turn back.

Greta’s climate campaign began in August 2018 when she began skipping school once a week to stage solo protests outside Sweden’s parliament.

The protests quickly drew support and thousands of people have turned out at the climate rallies she has attended around the world.