Who is Hel's father?

The story behind the answer

Hel is the daughter of Loki and the giantess Angrboda, as told in the Prose Edda. Her siblings are the wolf Fenrir and the Midgard Serpent, Jormungandr. Odin is not her father; rather, he banished Hel to Niflheim and set her to rule Helheim, where those who die of illness or old age go. Thor and Baldur have no paternal link to her—Baldur, in fact, descends to Hel after his death.

Memory tip: Think “Loki’s Lethal Lineage”—serpent, wolf, and Hel—three ominous children who loom large in Ragnarök. Or L for Loki and L for the “lower” world Hel rules. This helps separate Loki (the trickster father) from Odin (the ruler who assigns her realm).