Greta Thunberg is a Swedish climate activist and student, widely regarded as one of the most influential environmental campaigners of the 21st century. Through protests, speeches, and global movements, she has become a leading voice demanding urgent action against climate change.

Greta Thunberg was born on January 3, 2003, in Stockholm, Sweden. Her full name is Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg. She is the daughter of actor and producer Svante Thunberg and opera singer Malena Ernman. She has a younger sister named Beata Thunberg. Born under the zodiac sign Capricorn, Thunberg is 22 years old.

Greta Thunberg first learned about climate change at the age of eight and stated that she could not understand why so little action was being taken. At the age of eleven, she fell into depression and stopped speaking. She was later diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and selective mutism. Thunberg has explained that she speaks only when necessary due to selective mutism and has described being on the autism spectrum as an advantage, saying that she sees issues in black and white.

Greta Thunberg began skipping school every Friday to stage sit-in protests in front of the Swedish Parliament in Stockholm, opposing what she described as insufficient government action on the climate crisis. She stated that she would continue protesting every Friday until Sweden fully complied with the Paris Agreement. At the time, the 15-year-old activist was often described as wearing a black hoodie during her demonstrations.

In August 2018, Greta Thunberg launched her protest movement calling for immediate action on climate change. Her “School Strike for Climate” quickly gained media attention, and by November 2018, students in multiple countries began joining school strikes. Following the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP24) in December 2018, the movement expanded rapidly across the globe under the name “Fridays For Future.”

By March 15, 2019, an estimated 1.4 million students in 112 countries participated in global climate strikes inspired by Greta Thunberg. On May 24, 2019, similar demonstrations took place in 125 countries. In July 2019, the Secretary General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Mohammed Barkindo, described Thunberg and other young climate activists as the “greatest threat” to the fossil fuel industry.

Greta Thunberg received numerous awards and recognitions for her activism. In March 2019, three members of the Norwegian Parliament nominated her for the Nobel Peace Prize. In May 2019, at the age of sixteen, she appeared on the cover of Time magazine, with media outlets referring to her global influence as the “Greta Thunberg effect.”

In May 2019, artist Jody Thomas painted a 50-foot-high mural of Greta Thunberg on a wall in Bristol, depicting the lower half of her face submerged beneath rising sea levels.

Refusing to fly due to concerns about carbon emissions, Greta Thunberg crossed the Atlantic Ocean aboard the zero-emissions sailing yacht Malizia II to attend the United Nations Climate Summit in New York on September 23, 2019. Speaking at the summit hosted by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and attended by around 60 world leaders including Recep Tayyip Erdogan, she delivered an emotional speech sharply criticizing global leaders for inaction.

In her address, Greta Thunberg stated: “I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you. You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words.” Her speech became one of the most widely quoted moments in climate activism.

Time magazine named Greta Thunberg its Person of the Year in 2019, making her the youngest individual ever to receive the title.

On January 18, 2023, Greta Thunberg was briefly detained by police in Lützerath, Germany, while supporting environmental activists protesting the expansion of a coal mine. She was later released after identity checks.

On May 11, 2024, during the final of the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, Sweden, Greta Thunberg protested Israel’s participation in the contest as part of pro-Palestinian demonstrations. She initiated a sit-in after refusing to leave the protest area.

On June 1, 2025, Greta Thunberg was among twelve activists aboard the humanitarian aid ship Madleen, which departed from Italy carrying supplies to Gaza. On June 8, 2025, the vessel was stopped by the Israeli military approximately 185 kilometers from Gaza. The ship was named after Gaza’s first female fisher, Madleen Kullab.

Those aboard the Madleen included: Greta Thunberg (Sweden), Rima Hassan (France, of Palestinian origin), Yasemin Acar (Germany), Baptiste Andre (France), Thiago Avila (Brazil), Omar Faiad (France, Al Jazeera correspondent), Pascal Maurieras (France), Yanis Mhamdi (France), Şuayb Ordu (Turkey), Sergio Toribio (Spain), Marco van Rennes (Netherlands), and Reva Viard (France).

Source: Biyografiler.com