[1][2] Known as Mikael Bjørshol until 1996, Behn achieved modest literary success with his 1999 short story collection Trist som faen ("Sad as hell") which received several favorable reviews in Norwegian newspapers, and which remains his best known work.

His engagement to Märtha Louise sparked additional interest in the book, and by 2020 it had sold a total of nearly 100,000 copies since publication.

[3][4] Following his 2002 marriage to Märtha Louise, he wrote four novels, two short story collections, one play and a book about his wedding, although his later work received less favorable reviews than Trist som faen.

In the 2000s and 2010s his public activity and art were met with mixed reactions in Norway,[5] and Behn acknowledged that many people regarded him as a "fool" and an amateur artist.

The family lived in Aarhus, then in Plymouth, England, where his father trained as a photographer, and then in Tennevoll in Northern Norway where his mother worked as a teacher at the local school from 1977 to 1978.

Tone Bjerke had family connections to several prominent cultural figures; she was the daughter of the well-known poet André Bjerke, and her extended family included people like writer Jens Bjørneboe (father's cousin), actress Henny Moan (stepmother) and singer Ole Paus (stepmother's new partner).

[18][19] Behn was a founding member of Den Nye Vinen ("The New Wine"), an anarchist artist collective announced in Oslo in 1993 that included Bertrand Bisigye, Henning Braathen, and Per Heimly.

[20] Behn achieved literary success in Norway with his first collection of short stories, titled Trist som faen ("Sad as hell"), in 1999.

He also participated in various creative projects, for example, the design of a china set named "Peacock" for Magnor Glassverk, and he was a model for a clothing chain.

[25] The appeal of one episode of the show was attributed, in part, to the willingness of Behn and Heimly to be authentic and vulnerable participants on camera at an Ängsbacka festival.

Behn was paired with the Scandinavian painters Mikael Persbrandt and Espen Eiborg and artwork from the trio has been shown in over 60 international galleries since 2017.

[37] On 5 August 2016, the Royal Court announced that Princess Märtha Louise and Behn had started divorce proceedings and intended to share custody of their three daughters.

[47] In his final novel Inferno Behn commented on how he was viewed in Norway: "I also design tableware and wine glasses, I joke with my own position as a public figure in the media.

[50] His friendship with the former Minister of Culture and Labour leader Trond Giske attracted criticism from newspapers and politicians.

[53] In December 2017, Behn said that the actor Kevin Spacey had groped his genitals in 2007, at a nightclub during the afterparty for the Nobel Peace Prize concert;[54][55] however he said he didn't feel violated by the incident and that he "had a wonderful time" at the party;[54][56] Behn said on the talkshow Skavlan: "I didn't experience it as sexual harassment [...] for me it was a compliment.

[56] Media studies scholar Gunn Enli described American coverage of Behn's death and its focus on the Spacey incident "taken out of context" as a "distorted version of reality.

Prior to the release of the series, Behn and members of his family made clear that they did not support the final content and withheld their approval.