Ann Margret

Born in Valsjöbyn, in the province of Jämtland, located in central Sweden, Ann-Margret Olsson moved with her mother to the United States as a child, to join her father, who had been working there for four years for an electricity company. The family settled in Wilmette, a major town in Illinois. In 1949, Ann-Margret became a US citizen.

Especially gifted for dance, she began to take classes at a very young age, with great support from her family (her mother came to sew her costumes by hand). She enrolled at Northwestern University, although she aspired to succeed in show business, and did not finish her studies because she preferred to perform as a singer in small clubs, first in the Suttletones group, and later solo, captivating the public with her voice. snores

In one of his recitals he made a good impression on actor and comedian George Burns , who offered him a job on his television show and got him a contract with the RCA record company. The company intended to turn her into the female Elvis, having her record a cover of her own hit “Heartbreak Hotel”, and other similar King of Rock-style tracks. She obtained enormous success, especially with the album “The Beauty and the Beard”, and with her usual performances in Las Vegas.

Determined to try her hand at acting, Ann-Margret auditioned for Fox, who offered her a seven-year contract. She made her debut with A Gangster for a Miracle , the latest work by Frank Capra , who reviewed his tape Her Lady for a Day . Despite her inexperience, she did a great job as Louise, who after being educated abroad returns to her mother (the unforgettable Bette Davis ), whom she believes to be a millionaire, but is actually a street apple vendor, who his client is a superstitious gangster ( Glenn Ford in a role that goes to the hair). For this work, Ann-Margret won the Golden Globe for New Star-actress of the year.

After State Fair and A Kiss for Birdie , he paired up with the aforementioned Presley in Rendezvous in Las Vegas , where he played a casino dancer who dazzled the rocker, in the role of a racing driver. The two began a romance despite the fact that Elvis was still engaged to his girlfriend, Priscilla, who was enraged when he found out about the affair through gossip magazines. Finally, Presley promised Priscilla that he would be the only woman in his life, married her, and broke up with Ann-Margret, who despite everything maintained a great friendship with him for a long time, to the point that she was the only star of those who had accompanied him on the screen who attended his funeral.

In the semi-musical En busca del amor , by Jean Negulesco , she plays an American who settles in Madrid with two compatriots to find the man of her life. Throughout the 1960s she specialized in simple roles, sometimes practically as a rather decorative attractive young woman, in titles such as Velvet Arms , Rendezvous in Paris or Girl Without Barriers . The King of the Game , by Norman Jewison , stands out, where she plays a slightly more complex role, as a perfidious woman who, despite being married to an honest man ( Karl Malden ), tries to charm this Kid’s good friend ( Steve McQueen ).), an excellent poker player.

As proof of the immense popularity that Ann-Margret enjoyed in the 1960s, it is worth mentioning that she voiced her animated version in an episode of The Flintstones , where her name was Ann-Margrock.

During the filming of The Big Steal , Ann-Margret fell in love with one of the supporting cast, Roger Smith , whom she married on May 8, 1967. He retired as an actor and went on to become his wife’s manager. Both had no children, and in recent years, Smith has suffered from myasthenia gravis, which caused Ann-Margret to space out her performances to spend as much time as possible caring for her.

In the early 1970s, Ann-Margret resumed performing live in Las Vegas and played perhaps the best role of her career, Jack Nicholson’s mistress Bobbie in Mike Nichols’ Carnal Knowledge . The actress obtained an Oscar nomination for best secondary, although the statuette ultimately went to Cloris Leachman, for The Last Movie .

Although she was retired for a time due to an accident that partially disfigured her face, Ann-Margret eventually underwent reconstructive surgery, and was able to return to the screen to prove herself. She especially stands out in Funeral in Los Angeles , by Jacques Deray , where she plays a woman who helps the hired assassin played by Jean-Louis Trintignant to escape , as a woman willing to do anything to recover the money stolen by her husband, with the help of the John Wayne himself , in Burt Kennedy ‘s Train Robbers , and especially in the role of mother to Tommy ‘s traumatized child, The Who’s rock opera, directed by Ken Russell. For the latter, she obtained a new Oscar nomination, as a leading actress, although this time she stole the Louise Fletcher statuette, for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest , the great winner of the 1976 edition.

In his last years of his career, he almost always appears as a secondary in minor films such as 52 lives or dies , Two grumpy old men and its sequel, Discords à la carte , or Two very mature kangaroos . She was prominent in her brief appearance on Any Given Sunday as the widow of the team owner, mother of Cameron Diaz ‘s character . But Ann-Margret has appeared in her midlife in numerous television productions, and she has maintained her popularity, as evidenced by the US success of “Ann-Margret: My Story,” her memoir.