Kristina Tholstrup had already experienced two marriages, accumulated substantial personal wealth, and raised two children mostly by herself when she met Roger Moore in the early 1990s. She wasn’t searching for celebrity or recognition. At that point, she was living in southern France while recovering from breast cancer.
The Swedish-born socialite, affectionately known to those close to her as “Kiki,” became much more than a supporting figure in the life story of the James Bond actor. Born in Sweden in 1940, she has faced a remarkable series of personal and legal events. Her life included winning a High Court libel case against the Daily Mail, becoming involved in a contentious guardianship case in Monaco, spending fifteen years married to one of Britain’s best-known actors, and suffering the deaths of both her daughter and husband within a period of ten months.
She reached the age of 85 in September 2025. Kristina has generally avoided public attention, although circumstances repeatedly brought her into the spotlight.
Quick Profile
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full birth name | Barbro Kristina Linder |
| Born | September 6, 1940 — Karlstad, Sweden |
| Also known as | Kiki Tholstrup, Lady Moore |
| Nationality | Swedish (parents of Danish origin) |
| Marriages | Hans Christian Knudsen (1962), Ole Tholstrup (1978), Sir Roger Moore (2002) |
| Children | Hans-Christian Knudsen Jr. (b. 1966), Christina Knudsen (b. 1968, d. 2016) |
| Stepchildren | Deborah Moore, Geoffrey Moore, Christian Moore |
From Karlstad to Europe’s Elite Circles
Kristina entered the world as Barbro Kristina Linder on September 6, 1940, in Karlstad, a medium-sized city in western Sweden. Her parents had Danish roots. She spent her early years in Sweden and later worked as a flight attendant, a profession that took her to different European cities and brought her into contact with affluent and influential circles.
Her career in the airline industry was also how she met her first husband.
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First Marriage and a Sudden Widow at 34
In 1962, Kristina married Hans Christian Knudsen, a wealthy businessman involved in fur and leather manufacturing. The couple lived in a spacious family mansion with domestic staff.
They had two children:
- Hans-Christian Knudsen Jr. — born July 9, 1966
- Christina Knudsen — born November 2, 1968
In January 1975, Hans Christian Knudsen died by suicide. At the time, he had faced accusations of tax fraud and major financial difficulties within his business. Kristina became a widow at only 34, left to care for two children who were seven and nine years old.
Ole Tholstrup, the Fortune, and Danish Royal Circles
Three years after her first husband’s death, Kristina married again. Her second husband, Ole Tholstrup, was the heir to a butane gas fortune and was well connected within Danish aristocratic society.
Ole had a close personal relationship with Prince Henrik, the husband and consort of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. The two men regularly went hunting together, and the Tholstrup family frequently attended Danish royal social gatherings.
Kristina and Ole had no children together. Ole died from cardiac arrest on December 18, 1991, a condition people who knew him associated with heavy alcohol consumption.
Following his death, Kristina inherited his estate and continued using the Tholstrup surname permanently. Along with assets she had received following Knudsen’s death, estimates put her personal fortune at approximately $65 million before Roger Moore became part of her life. She was financially independent and wealthy before beginning her relationship with Moore, something often overlooked in reports about the couple.
How She and Roger Moore Grew Close
After Ole’s death, Kristina lived in southern France. There, she became a close friend and neighbour of Luisa Mattioli, who was Roger Moore’s third wife.
In 1993, Roger Moore was diagnosed with prostate cancer. During approximately the same period, Kristina was being treated for breast cancer, including undergoing a double mastectomy.
Kristina sent Moore her good wishes through a mutual friend after learning about his diagnosis.
Moore later discussed this period in his 2008 autobiography, My Word is My Bond. Chapter 14, titled “The Health Scare,” describes how he had found his soulmate in Kristina and says that she made him happier than words could express. In a separate interview with Express magazine, Moore explained that his cancer diagnosis forced him to reconsider his life. He also admitted that he felt ashamed because he had been contemplating changing his life completely.
Moore separated from Luisa Mattioli in 1993 and relocated to Monte Carlo with Kristina. Mattioli regarded Kristina as a close friend and felt profoundly betrayed by the relationship. She declined to give Moore a divorce for several years. The matter was finally resolved in 2000, reportedly for £10 million, according to The Telegraph. Mattioli later discussed the experience in her book Nothing Lasts Forever. Following the separation, Moore’s three children temporarily stopped speaking to him, although they eventually repaired their relationships.
Fifteen Years as Lady Moore
Kristina and Roger Moore married on March 10, 2002, in a private ceremony. Moore’s agent initially told journalists that there had been no wedding, but his son Geoffrey later confirmed that the marriage had taken place.
Their married life followed a regular travel pattern. According to the Evening Standard, the couple spent approximately six weeks each year in Monaco, another six weeks in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, and the rest of the year traveling because of Moore’s work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, a position he had held since 1991.
Moore credited Audrey Hepburn with inspiring his involvement with UNICEF. Kristina accompanied him on his travels and became a familiar presence at UNICEF functions around the world.
In his autobiography, Moore wrote that their lives largely revolved around humanitarian work and that he regarded it as the most rewarding work he had ever done. In 2003, Queen Elizabeth II knighted him for his humanitarian contributions.
Kristina was beside him at numerous public occasions, including:
- The wedding of Prince Albert II of Monaco and Princess Charlene in July 2011
- A Dramatic Arts Reception hosted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in February 2014
- The Christie’s 50 Years of James Bond auction
- Several Monte Carlo Television Festival ceremonies
Moore also wrote that Kristina, because she was Swedish, already knew Princess Lilian of Sweden through mutual acquaintances. Whenever Moore and Kristina visited Stockholm, they would meet with the Princess.
Describing their marriage, Moore told The Sun: “It’s a tranquil relationship, and there are no arguments.”
The Daily Mail Libel Case
On October 8, 2010, the Daily Mail published an item in Ephraim Hardcastle’s column that referred to gossip writer Taki Theodoracopulos. Taki had previously described a Swedish woman named “Kiki” as one of his great loves from 1958.
The newspaper placed Kristina’s photograph directly beside the article, creating the strong impression that she was the woman being discussed. The report alleged that she had lived with Taki at the Hotel du Cap in 1958 and had accepted money from a 90-year-old Frenchman in return for a relationship.
Kristina instructed solicitors Harbottle and Lewis and brought a defamation case before the High Court. She sought damages as well as an injunction preventing the claims from being repeated. Her lawyers demonstrated that she was 18 years old in 1958 and had never visited France during that period.
Taki later publicly confirmed that he had been talking about another woman entirely.
In October 2011, Press Gazette, a leading UK journalism trade publication, reported the result. Associated Newspapers issued a formal apology in court, agreed to pay substantial damages, and accepted responsibility for Kristina’s legal costs. The publisher’s solicitor, Harry Kinmonth, acknowledged in court that the allegations were false. The Sun reported the damages as £10 million.
Two Deaths in Under a Year
The closing period of Kristina and Roger Moore’s marriage was marked by two devastating losses in quick succession.
On July 25, 2016, Kristina’s daughter Christina Knudsen died from cancer at her home in Chichester, England. She was 47 years old. Roger and Kristina were both present when she died. Roger had affectionately called Christina “Flossie.” He announced her death on Twitter, explaining that the family was devastated and had surrounded her with love.
Less than a year later, on May 23, 2017, Sir Roger Moore died in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, after a short battle with cancer. He was 89 years old.
Moore’s children, Deborah, Geoffrey, and Christian, released a statement that specifically mentioned Kristina: “Our thoughts must now turn to supporting Kristina at this difficult time.”
Following Roger’s wishes, his funeral was held privately at Saint Paul’s Church, Monte Carlo. Dame Joan Collins attended among the mourners, while Sir Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan publicly paid tribute to Moore.
The Estate Battle After Roger Moore’s Death
At the time of his death, Roger Moore’s estate was estimated to be approximately £80 million.
Not long after Roger died, Kristina was introduced to Norwegian lawyer Per Troen through mutual Danish friends, Carsten and Kate Hesselhoej, who had been close to her late daughter Christina.
Between November 2017 and December 2018, a Monaco court examined three financial transactions that raised concerns:
- £2.2 million transferred into a New Zealand trust
- £479,000 given to the Hesselhoej family
- £155,000 paid to Per Troen for legal fees
Kristina’s son, Hans-Christian Knudsen Jr., then 53, secured court injunctions in Monaco. He argued that his mother had been exploited while she was vulnerable following the deaths she had experienced.
In 2019, a Monaco court placed Kristina under financial guardianship. This is a legal arrangement used when a court determines that an individual is no longer capable of handling their financial affairs independently.
Kristina challenged the decision publicly. Speaking to the Daily Mail, she said she had complete confidence in Troen and believed she was, for the first time, truly in control of her financial affairs. She also identified what she believed had triggered the family conflict, saying it began after she stopped giving her son an allowance.
Per Troen denied every allegation in writing. As of September 2020, when the NZ Herald last covered the dispute in detail, probate for Roger Moore’s estate had still not been formally declared.
Where Is Kristina Tholstrup Today?
At 85 years old, Lady Kristina Moore remains largely out of the public eye. She has no known public social media presence and makes very few public appearances. She continues to divide her time between Monaco and Switzerland, the same places where she and Roger Moore spent much of their fifteen-year marriage.
The estate dispute and guardianship proceedings remain the most recent events in her life to receive extensive media attention.
Kristina Tholstrup’s story includes three husbands who died before her, a daughter who passed away before reaching 50, and breast cancer that she survived in her early fifties. Her life also includes a 1999 incident involving a drunk driver who was never prosecuted, after which she stopped driving herself. She later achieved a High Court libel victory and faced a Monaco courtroom at the age of 78.
Much of what is publicly known about Kristina comes from other people’s accounts rather than from her own words. One important example is a chapter in Roger Moore’s autobiography, titled “The Health Scare,” in which he described Kristina as the woman who gave him the happiest years of his life.
By the time Moore wrote those words, Kristina had already experienced an extraordinary number of major events across her lifetime.
FAQ’s
Who is Kristina Tholstrup?
Kristina Tholstrup, also known as Lady Moore, is a Swedish-born socialite who became widely known as the fourth wife of actor Sir Roger Moore. She was born Barbro Kristina Linder in Karlstad, Sweden, in 1940.
When did Kristina Tholstrup marry Roger Moore?
Kristina Tholstrup and Roger Moore married on March 10, 2002, in a private ceremony. They remained married until Moore’s death in May 2017.
How many children does Kristina Tholstrup have?
Kristina Tholstrup had two children from her first marriage to Hans Christian Knudsen: Hans-Christian Knudsen Jr. and Christina Knudsen. Her daughter Christina died from cancer in 2016.
What happened to Kristina Tholstrup after Roger Moore died?
After Roger Moore’s death in 2017, Kristina became involved in a financial guardianship dispute in Monaco. The case involved concerns surrounding several financial transactions and her management of her affairs.
Where does Kristina Tholstrup live today?
Kristina Tholstrup has maintained a private lifestyle and has largely stayed away from the public spotlight. Reports have stated that she divides her time between Monaco and Switzerland.
Conclusion
Kristina Tholstrup has lived a remarkable life shaped by personal achievements, family experiences, relationships, and difficult losses. From her early years in Sweden and marriages to her life alongside Sir Roger Moore, she became connected to several important events that attracted public attention. Her survival of breast cancer, the loss of her daughter, and the death of her husband were among the most significant challenges she faced.
Although Kristina has generally preferred privacy, her connection to Roger Moore and the legal issues surrounding his estate have kept public interest in her story alive. Her journey reflects a life filled with both privilege and hardship, while her decision to remain largely out of the spotlight has made her personal story especially intriguing.
