This Swedish-born actress and singer was one of the most famous sex symbols and actresses of the 1960s and beyond. She continued her career through the following decades, into the 21st Century. Born in Sweden in 1941, she came to America at age 6. She studied at Northwestern University and left for Las Vegas to pursue a career as a singer. She was discovered by George Burns and soon afterward got both a record deal at RCA and a film contract at 20th Century Fox. In 1961, her single "I Just Don't Understand" charted in the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 Charts. Her acting debut followed the same year as Bette Davis' daughter in Frank Capra's Pocketful of Miracles. She appeared in the musical State Fair a year later before her breakthrough in 1963. With Bye Bye Birdie and Love in Las Vegas opposite Elvis Presley, she became a Top 10 Box Office star, teen idol and even Golden Globe nominated actress. She was marketed as Hollywood's hottest young star and in the years to come got awarded the infamous nickname "sex kitten." Her following pictures were sometimes ripped apart by critics (Bus Riley's Back in Town and The Swinger, sometimes praised (The Cincinnati Kid). She couldn't escape being typecast because of her great looks. By the late 1960s, her career stalled, and she turned to Italy for new projects. She returned and, by 1970, she was back in the public image with Hollywood films (R.P.M. opposite Anthony Quinn), Las Vegas sing-and-dance shows and her own television specials. She finally overcame her image with her Oscar-nominated turn in Mike Nichols' Carnal Knowledge and succeeded in changing her image from sex kitten to respected actress. A near-fatal accident at a Lake Tahoe show in 1972 only momentarily stopped her career. She was again Oscar-nominated in 1975 for Tommy, the rock opera film of the British rock band The Who. Her career continued with successful films throughout the late 1970s and into the 1980s. She starred next to Anthony Hopkins in Magic and appeared in pictures co-starring Walter Matthau, Gene Hackman, Glenda Jackson and Roy Scheider. She even appeared in a television remake of Tennessee Williams's masterpiece play "A Streetcar Named Desire" in 1983. Another late career highlight for her was Grumpy Old Men as the object of desire for Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. She continues to act in movies today.
State Fair (1962): $500 per week
Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#10). [1995] Survived a dramatic 22-foot fall from a stage in a Lake Tahoe, Nevada, concert in 1972. Was a cheerleader at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois. Other New Trier graduates include Ralph Bellamy, Charlton Heston, Rock Hudson, Hugh O'Brien, Bruce Dern, Penelope Milford, Virginia Madsen and Liz Phair. Attended Northwestern University (Evanston, IL). The bond of friendship Ann-Margret forged with Elvis Presley in their first pairing in Love in Las Vegas was apparent, and kept alive, by Elvis's life-long habit of sending a bouquet of flowers to all of A-M's future stage-show appearances, until he died in 1977. Ann-Margret reveals her romance with Elvis Presley in her autobiographical book. 19 August 2000: She suffered three broken ribs and a fractured shoulder when she was thrown off a motorcycle she was driving in rural Minnesota, US. Discovered by actor/comedian George Burns when he heard her sing in a campus musical at Northwestern University and hired her to be a part of his Las Vegas act in November 1960. Appeared on a network TV show featuring up-and-coming talent, and lost to a man who played "Lady of Spain" by blowing onto a leaf. Appeared on the cartoon show The Flintstones as "Ann-Margrock". Measurements: 35-23-35 (in 1965), 36D-25-36 (in 1986), (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine) Speaks Swedish fluently. She is a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. She was initiated in the Tau chapter (Northwestern) in 1960. Is portrayed by Rose McGowan in Elvis. Rode a 500cc Triumph T100C Tiger motorcycle in The Swinger and the same model fitted with a non-standard electric starter in her stage show. A keen motorcyclist, she was featured in Triumph Motorcycles' official advertisements in the '60s--for obvious reasons!. Toured Vietnam with the USO during the Vietnam war. Margret had two Billboard Club Play charting hits. First in 1979 with "Love Rush," which climbed to #8, and in 1980 with "Midnight Message," that peaked at #12. Was first choice to play Gypsy Rose Lee in Gypsy. Is not a natural redhead. That was Sydney Guilaroff's idea. The legendary hairdresser was also responsible for turning Lucille Ball into a redhead. Both films for which she was Oscar nominated, Carnal Knowledge and Tommy), also co-starred Jack Nicholson. Her mother's name is Anna. Wrote her autobiography when she heard that an unauthorized biography was in the works and wanted to beat the unauthorized biography to press. Turned down the leading role in Cat Ballou, which eventually went to Jane Fonda.