Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret (born April 28, 1941) is a Sweden-born actress and singer. Born Ann-Margret Olsson in Valsjöbyn, Jämtland, Sweden, she moved to the United States when young, and grew up in Winnetka, Illinois. She attended Northwestern University, and was discovered singing in a cabaret by George Burns. She's known as a sex symbol and was named the sex-kitten. Ann-Margret was also compared to Elvis Presley for her energetic performances and aptly named the female Elvis.
Ann-Margret started recording for RCA in 1961. Her recording career was not as successful as her movie career. She had a sexy singing voice which can be compared to that of Eartha Kitt. She scored one minor hit I Just Don't Understand (it entered the Billboard Top-40 the week of August 21, 1961 and stayed 6 weeks, peaking at #17.) Her only charting album is The Beauty and the Beard (1964) which she did with trumpeter Al Hirt. The contract with RCA ended in 1966.
She got her start in Pocketful of Miracles in 1961, and followed that up with the successful film State Fair the following year. It was her starring role as the all-American teenager in Bye Bye Birdie which made her a star. When she filmed Viva Las Vegas with Elvis Presley the following year, she made a life-long friend. Presley continued to send her flowers at the opening of each of her stage show appearances until he died. When The Flintstones created a character named "Ann-Margrock", she had arrived as an American cultural phenomenon. She did the dubbing of "Ann-Margrock" herself.
In 1971, she starred in Mike Nichols's Carnal Knowledge, marking a change from her sex-kitten musical roles. She garnered a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. The following year, while performing at Lake Tahoe, Nevada, she fell 22 feet from the stage and suffered injuries which put her out of commission for several months.
In 1975 she starred as the title character's mother in Tommy, and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Other films include Joseph Andrews, A Tiger's Tale, Newsies, 52 Pick-Up and Grumpy Old Men.
She also did a string of successful TV shows, starting with The Ann-Margret Show for NBC in 1968.
She has been married to actor Roger Smith since 1967. Smith suffers from myasthenia gravis, and Ann-Margret has devoted much of her life to tending him.
Ann-Margret has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6501 Hollywood Blvd.
Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#10). [1995]
External links
- Filmography from The Internet Movie Database
- Official web site
- Unofficial site from Sweden
- The Marvelous Miss Ann-Margret Superb fan-site
- Today, Tomorrow & Forever fansite created in memory of the friendship/relationship of Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret