Severina Lajtman is a Croatian actress. She is notable for her portrayal of Vanessa in the Croatian TV series "Sram".
Early life and education.
Of Romani descent, Severina Lajtman grew up in Piškorovec, Međimurje County, and has 12 half-siblings. She attended elementary school in Mala Subotica. At the age of 14, she moved to , and later to Zagreb, where she studied Romanian and Ukrainian at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. She was named after the Croatian pop singer Severina Vučković.
In 2016, while Lajtman was in the seventh grade, a short biographical documentary film titled "Naša Seve" ("Our Seve") was released, depicting her upbringing in a Romani settlement. In the film, she expressed her aspiration to become an actress, with the goal of challenging stereotypes about the lives of Romani women and emphasizing the importance of education.
Career.
Lajtman began her acting career as a theatre actress, starring in "Pogledajme" ("Lookatme"), a play about the life of young Romani people and the discrimination they face; the play was staged in thirteen cities across Croatia.
In 2023, Lajtman attracted media attention as the first Romani woman to appear on the cover of the Croatian edition of "Elle", under the editorial leadership of Jelena Veljača. Following this milestone, both Veljača and Lajtman appeared as guests on "Kod nas doma" to discuss the significance of the achievement, after which Lajtman was also featured as a guest on "RTL Direkt".
In 2024, Lajtman landed her first major television role in HRT's teen drama television series "Sram", the Croatian remake of the Norwegian series "Skam". She portrays Vanessa, a Romani girl studying cosmetology, who befriends Eva and Nora, the central characters of the series. Vanessa also serves as the counterpart to Sana Bakkoush from the original Norwegian series.
In 2025, Lajtman starred as Bogdana in "Kismet", a short film about an 11-year-old Romani girl navigating cultural expectations within her community.