Ann-Margret Biography

She came to the United States with her mother when she was five, settling in the Chicago area. Her early singing, dancing and training paid off when, working as cabaret singer, she was discovered by the legendary George Burns and propelled to international stardom as a recording artist, film star and live performer.

Famed for her sensuous looks and smoky voice, she was often cast as the singing sexpot, and made numerous films in the Sixties, including her role as Rusty Martin opposite Elvis Presley in 'Viva Las Vegas'.

Academy Award nominations for her work in 'Carnal Knowledge' and rock-opera 'Tommy' in the 1970s defined Ann-Margret as an actress. A tumble from the top of a stage during a nightclub performance in 1972 almost ended her career, but despite this life-threatening setback, she went on to develop her career even further, with live performances drawing record crowds in the Orient, Las Vegas and Miami. She also made more films and television specials.

In the 1980s, she won her first Las Vegas Entertainer of the Year Award, touring the country with her Vegas act. Her film career progressed with nominations for three Best Actress Emmys. At this time, her actor husband Roger Smith contracted a life threatening illness, leaving her no option but to manage both a career and her husband’s survival.

In the 1990s, Roger's health stabilised and new opportunities arose, including a live performance at the Radio City Music Hall. She also filmed two classics: 'Grumpy Old Men', and its sequel, 'Grumpier Old Men' with Walter Mathau, Jack Lemmon and Sophia Loren, cementing her status as a powerful “older” actress.

She published her autobiography 'Ann-Margret: My Story' in 1994 in which she publicly acknowledged her battle and ongoing recovery against alcoholism. In 1995, the actress and singer was ranked number ten in the Top 100 Sexiest Stars in film history - a list compiled by Empire magazine.

Ann-Margret returned to acting in 1999 when she played the mother of a football team owner, Cameron Diaz, in Oliver Stone's 'Any Given Sunday'.

She also starred in the TV movie 'Life of the Party', for which she received nominations for an Emmy award, Golden Globe award and a Screen Actors Guild award.

Her most recent appearance was in action comedy 'Taxi', along with Queen Latifah and Giselle Bundchen, released in 2004. She has also enjoyed supporting roles in 'The Break Up' (2006), and 'Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause' with Tim Allen in the same year.

In 2009, the actress appeared in comedy 'Old Dogs' with John Travolta and Robin Willams.

Over the last decade, Ann-Margret has made appearances in TV shows including 'Third Watch', 'Law and Order SVU', 'Army Wives' and in 2010 'CSI'.

She has also continued to work on her music career, releasing 'God is Love: The Gospel Sessions' in 2001, which resulted in her first ever Grammy award nomination. She teamed up with Art Greenhaw for this album and worked with him again in 2004 to record 'Ann-Magret's Christmas Carol Collection'.