She has 3 siblings: Arnmundur Sævar, supreme court prosecutor, Inga Jónína, singer and Ernst Jóhannes, graphic advertiser.
[3] In 1997 she looked back on her childhood with happy memories: "I used to visit my grandparents in Akranes quite often.
[1] In a 2015 special broadcast by RÚV she told the viewers that in the beginning, she wanted to be a dramatic actress but was thrown into comedy, where she had her breakout role in the New Year sketch show Áramótaskaupið in 1985.
She stated in an interview in 2005 that her wide voice range helped her in her career, especially in her role as Audrey in the Icelandic adaption of the Little Shop of Horrors in 1985.
[3] In the summertime she worked at the art gallery Gallerí Borg to make money between acting jobs.
That same year she also starred in the play Milli skinns og hörunds and as Audrey in the Icelandic adaption of the Little Shop of Horrors.
[3] When The Little Shop of Horrors ended Backman starred as a wrestler in a play called Rauðhóla-Ransí.
[5] It is a memorial grant from the estate of actress Stefaníu Guðmundsdóttur given to promising Icelandic actors.
Backman used the money to travel to Russia for 5 weeks visiting theatres in Moscow and Leningrad for educational purposes.
In 1996 she starred in a Finnish-French-Icelandic TV-series for teenagers about people on horses in the Icelandic highlands.
In her career as an artist she threw numerous art shows both in Reykjavík and all over Iceland as well as having her paintings on display overseas.
[10][11] She raised about 200 million Icelandic Kronas for rebuilding and updating facilities for people who were training to get back mobility after sickness or accidents.
Backman has two children Arnmundur Ernst, an actor and Unnur Birna, a high school student at the time of her mother's passing.
[1] Backman died, after suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis for twelve years, at Landsspítalinn in Reykjavík on 1 October 2016.