Immigrant of the Day: Ann-Margret (Sweden)

Ann-Margret (born April 28, 1941) is a five-time Golden Globe Award-winning, Academy Award, Emmy Award and Grammy-nominated American actress, singer, and dancer. Born Ann-Margret Olsson in Valsjöbyn, Jämtland, Sweden, she grew up in a small town “of lumberjacks and farmers high up near the Arctic Circle.” Her father worked in the United States during his youth, and immigrated there in 1942. Ann-Margret and her mother moved to the United States four years later.  She grew up in Wilmette, Illinois, and attended Northwestern University without graduating.   In 1949, Ann-Margret became a naturalized U.S. citizen.

George Burns “discovered” Ann-Margret singing in a nightclub. She began recording for RCA in 1961r.  In 1961, Ann-Margret made her film début in “Pocketful of Miracles,” starring Bette Davis, Glenn Ford, and Hope Lange. Her next starring role as the all-American teenager in “Bye Bye Birdie,” made her a major star. When Ann-Margret filmed “Viva Las Vegas” with Elvis Presley, the two began an affair that received considerable media attention. In 1971, she starred in Mike Nichols’s “Carnal Knowledge,” garnering a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Throughout the 1970s, Ann-Margret balanced her live musical performances with a string of critically acclaimed dramatic film roles that played against her glamorous image. These included “Tommy” in 1975, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. In addition, she has been nominated for ten Golden Globe Awards and has won five times.

In 1994, Ann-Margret published an autobiography, Ann Margret: My Story. She has been married to actor Roger Smith since 1967.  In 1995, she was chosen by Empire Magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history; she ranked 10th.  Ann-Margret has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6501 Hollywood Blvd.

Click here for the official Ann-Margret website.

KJ