Edith Carlmar (Edith Mary Johanne Mathiesen) was an Norwegian actress and Norway's first female film director. She grew up in the eastern part of Oslo, in poor conditions, alone with her mother.

However, her mother was a culturally oriented woman, so Edith was introduced to music, dance, and the theatre at an early age. At 19, she married Otto Carlmar, whom she met through her mother. In her early twenties, she made her debut as an actress at Det Nye Teater in Oslo.