Åkerman was born in Stockholm, Sweden to a model mother, Pia, and an insurance broker father, Magnus.^[1][2] Her family emigrated from Sweden to Canada when she was two years old.^[3] After her parents' divorce, her father returned to Sweden, and Åkerman stayed in Canada with her mother.^[4] She lived in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario for a short while, attending Parliament Oak Primary School, then Niagara District Secondary School until Grade 11, and then graduating at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School in St. Catharines, Ontario. Åkerman also attended North Toronto C.I. in mid-town Toronto, as well as Dante Alighieri Academy for her OAC year, before earning a place to attend York University – at the same time actress Rachel McAdams attended. It didn't take long for Lindsay Lohan's replacement for the Linda Lovelace biopic, Inferno, to be announced.
"We are casting Malin Akerman for the role of Linda Lovelace," director Matthew Wilder tells E! News. "We are currently in negotiations and working out the legalities of bringing her on board."
On Saturday, Wilder announced his decision to move away from Lohan in the lead part. Ultimately, the director said the issue came down to "the impossibility" of insuring the troubled actress "and some other issues."
With Akerman in the part, Wilder believes the stalled project will get back on track with plans to shoot in the first quarter of 2011.
Lohan has been in and out of jail and rehab over the past year and is currently living at a sober living facility in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
"We have stuck by Lindsay very patiently for a long time with a lot of love and support," Wilder said.