Ann-Margret Olsson (born 28 April 1941), credited as Ann-Margret, is a Swedish-American actress and singer with a career spanning seven decades. Her many screen roles include ''
Pocketful of Miracles'' (1961), ''
State Fair
A state fair is an annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in t ...
'' (1962), ''
Bye Bye Birdie'' (1963), ''
Viva Las Vegas
''Viva Las Vegas'' is a 1964 American rock and roll musical film directed by George Sidney, written by Sally Benson, choreographed by David Winters, and starring Elvis Presley, Ann-Margret, Cesare Danova, William Demarest and Nicky Blair ...
'' (1964), ''
Carnal Knowledge'' (1971), ''
The Train Robbers'' (1973), ''
Tommy'' (1975), ''
The Return of the Soldier'' (1982), ''
52 Pick-Up'' (1986), ''
Newsies'' (1992), ''
Grumpy Old Men'' (1993), ''
Any Given Sunday
''Any Given Sunday'' is a 1999 American sports drama film directed by Oliver Stone and produced by Clayton Townsend, Dan Halsted, and Lauren Shuler Donner from a screenplay by Stone and John Logan based on a story written by Logan and Da ...
'' (1999), ''
Taxi
A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...
'' (2004), and ''
Going in Style'' (2017). Her accolades include five
Golden Globe Awards
The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual Awards ceremony, award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally ...
and an
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
in addition to two
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
nominations and two
Grammy
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
nominations.
Born in Sweden, Ann-Margret immigrated to the United States as a child. Gaining popularity in 1961 as a singer with a sultry, vibrant
contralto
A contralto () is a classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range is the lowest of their voice type, voice types.
The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare, similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to ...
voice, she quickly rose to Hollywood stardom.
She released
''Born to be Wild'', her first classic-rock album, in 2023.
Early life
Ann-Margret Olsson was born on 28 April 1941, in Valsjöbyn,
Krokom Municipality
Krokom Municipality (, ) is a municipality in Jämtland County in northern Sweden. Its seat is located in Krokom.
The present municipality was formed in 1974, when the former municipalities of Alsen, Föllinge, Offerdal and Rödön were amal ...
,
Jämtland County
Jämtland County (, ) is a county or '' län'' in Sweden. It consists of the provinces of Jämtland and Härjedalen, along with minor parts of Hälsingland and Ångermanland, plus two small strips of Lapland and Dalarna. It borders the countie ...
, Sweden, to Anna Regina () and Carl Gustav Olsson, a native of
Örnsköldsvik
Örnsköldsvik (; ), often shortened to just Ö-vik, is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Örnsköldsvik Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden, with 32,953 inhabitants in 2017.
Its natural harbour and archipelago is in th ...
. She described Valsjöbyn as a small town of "lumberjacks and farmers high up near the Arctic Circle". Her father had emigrated to the United States, but returned to Sweden in 1937 and married Anna Aronsson. After Ann-Margret's birth, Gustav wanted to emigrate again with the family.
After World War II, his wife hesitated and Gustav emigrated alone, but was joined by his wife and daughter in 1946. In 1949, Ann-Margret became a naturalized American citizen.
Ann-Margret took her first dance lessons at the Marjorie Young School of Dance, showing natural ability from the start, easily mimicking all the steps. Her parents were supportive, and her mother made all of her costumes by hand. To support the family, Ann-Margret's mother became a funeral parlor receptionist after her husband suffered a severe injury on his job.
While a teenager, Ann-Margret appeared on the Morris B. Sachs ''Amateur Hour'', ''
Don McNeill's Breakfast Club'', and
Ted Mack's ''
Amateur Hour''. She continued to star in theater as she attended
New Trier High School
New Trier High School (, also known as New Trier Township High School or NTHS) is a public four-year high school whose main campus for sophomores through seniors is in Winnetka, Illinois, United States, with a campus in Northfield, Illinois, for ...
in
Winnetka, Illinois. (Two fellow movie stars
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor. He gained stardom for his leading man roles in numerous Cinema of the United States, Hollywood films including biblical epics, science-fiction f ...
and
Rock Hudson, had graduated from the school many years earlier.)
She was part of a group known as the Suttletones, which went to the
Dunes
A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...
hotel and casino in Las Vegas, which also headlined
Tony Bennett
Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...
and
Al Hirt
Alois Maxwell "Al" Hirt (November 7, 1922 – April 27, 1999) was an American trumpeter and bandleader. He is best remembered for his million-selling recordings of "Java (instrumental), Java" and the accompanying album ''Honey in the Horn (album ...
at the time.
George Burns
George Burns (born Nathan Birnbaum; January 20, 1896March 9, 1996) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer, and one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, radio, film, and television. His arched eyeb ...
heard of her performance, and she auditioned for his annual holiday show, for which she and Burns performed a
softshoe routine. ''
Variety'' proclaimed that "George Burns has a gold mine in Ann-Margret... she has a definite style of her own, which can easily guide her to star status".
Ann-Margret said she dropped her last name before moving out to California, because when you are an entertainer, "mean things" can be written about you and she didn't want her parents to be hurt by anything written about her.
Career
Music career

Ann-Margret began recording for
RCA Victor
RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...
in 1961, first recording "Lost Love". Her debut album ''
And Here She Is ... Ann-Margret'' was recorded in Hollywood, arranged and conducted by
Marty Paich. Later albums were produced in Nashville with
Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson (musician), Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nash ...
on guitar,
the Jordanaires
The Jordanaires were an American vocal quartet that formed as a gospel group in 1948. Over the years, they recorded both sacred and secular music for recording companies such as Capitol Records, RCA Victor, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Vo ...
(
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
's backup singers), and the
Anita Kerr Singers, with liner notes by mentor George Burns. She had a sexy, throaty
contralto
A contralto () is a classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range is the lowest of their voice type, voice types.
The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare, similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to ...
singing voice, and RCA Victor attempted to capitalize on the "female Elvis" comparison by having her record a version of "
Heartbreak Hotel
"Heartbreak Hotel" is a song recorded by American singer Elvis Presley. It was released as a single on January 27, 1956, Presley's first on his new record label RCA Victor. It was written by Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden, with credit being g ...
" and other songs stylistically similar to Presley's. She scored a minor success with "
I Just Don't Understand" (from her second LP), which entered the ''Billboard''
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...
in August 1961 and stayed six weeks, peaking at number 17;
the song was later performed by
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
in 1963. In 1962, Ann-Margret was nominated for a
Grammy Award for Best New Artist
The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since the 2nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1960 (except in 1967) "for a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that art ...
.
Her only charting album was ''
Beauty and the Beard'' (1964), on which she was accompanied by trumpeter
Al Hirt
Alois Maxwell "Al" Hirt (November 7, 1922 – April 27, 1999) was an American trumpeter and bandleader. He is best remembered for his million-selling recordings of "Java (instrumental), Java" and the accompanying album ''Honey in the Horn (album ...
. Other career highlights included appearing on ''
The Jack Benny Program
''The Jack Benny Program'', starring Jack Benny, is a radio and television comedy series. The show ran for over three decades, from 1932 to 1955 on radio, and from 1950 to 1965 on television. It won numerous awards, including the 1959 and 19 ...
'' in 1961 and singing the ''
Bachelor in Paradise'' theme at the
34th Academy Awards
The 34th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1961, were held on April 9, 1962, hosted by Bob Hope at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California.
Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins became the first Best Director co-wi ...
in 1962. Her contract with RCA Victor ended in 1966. In 1963, ''
Life Magazine
''Life'' (stylized as ''LIFE'') is an American magazine launched in 1883 as a weekly publication. In 1972, it transitioned to publishing "special" issues before running as a monthly from 1978 to 2000. Since then, ''Life'' has irregularly publi ...
'' mentioned that her recordings had sold in excess of half a million units.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, she had hits on the dance charts, the most successful being 1979's "Love Rush", which peaked at number eight on the disco/dance charts.
In 2001, working with
Art Greenhaw, she recorded the album ''God Is Love: The Gospel Sessions''. The album went on to earn a Grammy nomination (forty years after her first) and also a
Dove Award
A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards ceremonies presented annually and have been held in Nashville, Tennessee exce ...
nomination for gospel album of the year. Her album ''Ann-Margret's Christmas Carol Collection'', also produced and arranged by Greenhaw, was recorded in 2004. 2011 saw the release of "''God is Love: The Gospel Sessions 2''"
In 2023, she went back into the studio to record a full-length album of new recordings for Cleopatra Records. "''Born to Be Wild''" featured 13 covers including "''Splish Splash''", "''Earth Angel''", "''Son of A Preacher Man''", and a new take on "''Teach Me Tonight''" featuring
Pat Boone
Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author, television personality, radio host and philanthropist. He sold nearly 50 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and has acted in many films.
Boone ...
. Other guest performers included
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is the co-founder, guitarist, keyboardist, second lead vocalist, principal songwriter and leader of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s an ...
,
The Fuzztones,
Paul Shaffer
Paul Allen Wood Shaffer (born November 28, 1949) is a Canadian musician, actor, and comedian who served as David Letterman's musical director, bandleader, and sidekick on ''Late Night with David Letterman'' (1982–1993) and ''Late Show with D ...
,
The Oak Ridge Boys
The Oak Ridge Boys are an American vocal quartet. The classic and most well-known lineup of the group, which performed together for over 40 years, consisted of William Lee Golden (baritone), Duane Allen (lead), Richard Sterban (bass), and Joe ...
, and more. The album was released on 14 April 2023, on vinyl, compact disc, and on all streaming platforms.
Rapid rise to Hollywood stardom (1961–1964)

In 1961, Ann-Margret filmed a
screen test
A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an actor or actress for performing on film or in a particular role. It is typically a secondary or later stage in the audition process. The performer is generally given a scene, or sel ...
at
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
and was signed to a seven-year contract. She made her film debut in a loan-out to
United Artists
United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...
in
Frank Capra
Frank Russell Capra (born Francesco Rosario Capra; May 18, 1897 – September 3, 1991) was an Italian-American film director, producer, and screenwriter who was the creative force behind Frank Capra filmography#Films that won Academy Award ...
's ''
Pocketful of Miracles'' with
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television, and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she was noted for her willingness to play unsympatheti ...
; it is a remake of Capra's own ''
Lady for a Day'' (1933). For her performance Ann-Margret was awarded her first
Golden Globe
The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...
, for
New Actress of the Year alongside
Jane Fonda
Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress and activist. Recognized as a film icon, Jane Fonda filmography, Fonda's work spans several genres and over six decades of film and television. She is the recipient of List of a ...
and
Christine Kaufmann
Christine Maria Kaufmann (; 11 January 1945 – 28 March 2017) was a German-Austrian actress, author, and businesswoman. The daughter of a German father and a French mother, she won the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress f ...
.
Then came a 1962 remake of
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their musical ...
's musical ''
State Fair
A state fair is an annual competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population, usually held in late summer or early fall. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in t ...
'', in which she played the "bad girl" role of Emily opposite
Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor who performed Pop music, pop, Swing music, swing, Folk music, folk, rock and roll, and country music.
Darin started ...
and
Pat Boone
Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author, television personality, radio host and philanthropist. He sold nearly 50 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and has acted in many films.
Boone ...
. She had previously tested for the part of Margie, the "good girl", but the studio bosses deemed her too seductive for that role. In her autobiography, Ann-Margret wrote that the two roles seemed to represent the two sides of her real-life personality. She was shy and reserved offstage but wildly exuberant and sensuous onstage, transforming "from Little Miss Lollipop to Sexpot-Banshee", in her words. In a 2021 retrospective of Ann-Margret's career for ''
FilmInk
''FilmInk'' is an Australian film magazine published by FKP International Exports. It was founded by current publisher Dov Kornits and Colin Fraser in July 1997, in Sydney. The magazine has been through many changes over the course of its exist ...
'', Stephen Vagg argued "she wasn't that well cast as a bad girl. Because she had so much energy and shape, producers thought she was; but she was more effective in parts closer to what she was in real life: an energetic good girl with a twinkle in the eye."
Her performance as the all-American teenager Kim in ''
Bye Bye Birdie'' (1963) made her a major star. Its premiere at Radio City Music Hall, 16 years after her first visit to the famed theater, was the highest first-week grossing film to date at the Music Hall. ''
Life
Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...
'' magazine put her on the cover for the second time and announced that the "torrid dancing almost replaces the central heating in the theater." Her performance earned her a Golden Globe nomination for
Best Actress. She was then asked to sing "
Baby Won't You Please Come Home
"Baby Won't You Please Come Home" is a blues song written by Charles Warfield and Clarence Williams in 1919. The song's authorship is disputed; Warfield claims that he was the sole composer of the song.
The song has been covered by many musicia ...
" at President
John F. Kennedy's private birthday party at the
Waldorf Astoria New York
The Waldorf Astoria New York is a luxury hotel and condominium residence in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York. The structure, at 301 Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, is a 47-story, Art Deco landmark des ...
, one year after
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...
's famous "
Happy Birthday to You
"Happy Birthday to You", or simply "Happy Birthday", is a song traditionally sung to celebrate a person's birthday. According to the 1998 ''Guinness World Records'', it is the most recognized song in the English language, followed by "For He' ...
". A few months later, Ann-Margret voiced an animated version of herself, named "Ann-Margrock", on the television series ''
The Flintstones
''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera, Hanna-Barbera Productions, which takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbors, the R ...
''.
She sang the ballad "The Littlest Lamb" as a
lullaby
A lullaby (), or a cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies, they are used to pass down cultural knowl ...
as well as the rocker, "Ain't Gonna Be a Fool".
Ann-Margret met
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
on the
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
soundstage when the two filmed ''
Viva Las Vegas
''Viva Las Vegas'' is a 1964 American rock and roll musical film directed by George Sidney, written by Sally Benson, choreographed by David Winters, and starring Elvis Presley, Ann-Margret, Cesare Danova, William Demarest and Nicky Blair ...
'' (1964). ''Filmink'' argued "She had so much energy and pep that she had blown her previous three male co-stars off screen, but Elvis could match her. He was the best on-screen partner she ever had, and she was his."
She recorded three duets with Presley for the film: "The Lady Loves Me", "You're the Boss", and "Today, Tomorrow, and Forever"; only "The Lady Loves Me" made it into the final film and none of them were commercially released until years after Presley's death, due to concerns by
Colonel Tom Parker
Colonel Thomas Andrew Parker (born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk; June 26, 1909 January 21, 1997) was a Dutch people, Dutch talent manager and concert promoter, best known as the manager of Elvis Presley.
Parker was born in the Netherlands and Il ...
that Ann-Margret's presence threatened to overshadow Elvis. Choreographer
David Winters was hired because Ann-Margret was his dance student and recommended him for the job. It was Winters' first choreographer credit on film. He would go on to become a common collaborator for both Presley and Ann-Margret.
Decline in fortunes and European sojourn (1965–1969)
''Bye Bye Birdie'' and ''Viva Las Vegas'' had established Ann-Margret as Hollywood's biggest new star, but a string of box-office flops followed until October 1965. The first, ''
Kitten with a Whip'', saw Ann-Margret give a "balls-to-the-wall performance" as a juvenile delinquent who entraps a politician.
She followed up with ''
The Pleasure Seekers'', yet another musical romantic comedy. Ann-Margret was excited to do her next project, ''
Bus Riley's Back in Town''; its writer
William Inge had penned her favorite film ''
Splendor in the Grass'' (1961). However Inge was so infuriated by the result that he took his name off the credits of ''Bus Riley''. She then featured in ''
Once a Thief'', a crime film intended to be a
star-making vehicle for French actor
Alain Delon
Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon (; 8 November 1935 – 18 August 2024) was a French actor, film producer, screenwriter, singer, and businessman. Acknowledged as a cultural and cinematic leading man of the 20th century, Delon emerged as one of ...
in the United States.
The actress learned decades later that during this time she had been offered the title role in ''
Cat Ballou
''Cat Ballou'' is a 1965 American western comedy film starring Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin, who won an Academy Award for his dual role. The story involves a woman who hires a notorious gunman to protect her father's ranch, and later to avenge his ...
'', a critically acclaimed box-office smash that the
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...
ranked as the tenth greatest
Western film
The Western is a film genre defined by the American Film Institute as films which are "set in the American West that mbodythe spirit, the struggle, and the demise of the new frontier." Generally set in the American frontier between the Calif ...
of all time. Her agent had turned down the role without telling her. Ann-Margret broke her flop streak with ''
The Cincinnati Kid
''The Cincinnati Kid'' is a 1965 American drama film directed by Norman Jewison. It tells the story of Eric "The Kid" Stoner, a young Depression-era poker player, as he seeks to establish his reputation as the best. This quest leads him to chal ...
'', in which she played a
femme fatale
A ( , ; ), sometimes called a maneater, Mata Hari, or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and Seduction, seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype ...
opposite
Steve McQueen
Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of counterculture of the 1960s, 1960s counterculture, made him a top box office draw for his films of the late ...
. It was her first hit since ''Viva Las Vegas'', but her role was not a large one.
While she was working on ''Once a Thief'', she met her future husband
Roger Smith, who after his successful run on the private-eye television series ''
77 Sunset Strip'', was performing a live club show at the
hungry i on a bill with
Bill Cosby
William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy ...
and
Don Adams. That meeting began their courtship, which was met with resistance from her parents.
Ann-Margret starred in four films in 1966. ''
Made in Paris'', the first of these, was a fashion-focused romantic comedy in which Ann-Margret received top billing. ''FilmInk'' attributes its box office failure to "dodgy writing and uninspiring male leads".
A month after its release, she teamed up with entertainers
Chuck Day and
Mickey Jones
Mickey Jones (June 10, 1941 – February 7, 2018) was an American musician and actor. He played drums with acts such as Trini Lopez and Bob Dylan, with whom he played on his 1966 world tour. He became a founding member of The First Edition ...
for a
USO
The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...
tour to entertain U.S. servicemen in
South Vietnam
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...
and other parts of South-East Asia. A moderately successful
remake
A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same s ...
of the classic
John Ford
John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...
Western ''
Stagecoach
A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...
'' followed, with Ann-Margret essaying the role of a prostitute. She then starred in the "hopelessly confused"
sex comedy
Sexual comedy (also known as, sex comedy and erotic comedy) is a genre in which comedy is motivated by sexual situations and love affairs. Although "sexual comedy" is primarily a description of dramatic forms such as theatre and film, literary wor ...
''
The Swinger'' which, in Stephen Vagg's words, "came close to killing her Hollywood career more than any other
ilmby virtue of its sheer incompetence."
Ann-Margret ended 1966 by featuring in the hit
Dean Martin
Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...
–starrer ''
Murderers' Row
Murderers' Row were the baseball teams of the New York Yankees in the late 1920s, widely considered some of the best teams in history. The nickname is particularly used for the first six hitters in the 1927 team lineup: Earle Combs, Mark Koen ...
'', a spy spoof. Looking at Ann-Margret's uneven draw at the box office, Vagg points out that after ''Viva Las Vegas'', her roles in hit films "had been parts any girl could have played" but the star vehicles that were tailored for her were all flops.
During a lull in her film career in July 1967, Ann-Margret gave her first live performance in Las Vegas, with her husband Roger Smith (whom she had married that May) taking over as her manager after that engagement. Elvis Presley and his entourage came to see her during the show's five-week run and celebrate backstage. According to Ann-Margret's autobiography, Presley sent her a guitar-shaped floral arrangement for each of her Vegas openings. After the first Vegas run ended, she followed with a
CBS television special ''
The Ann-Margret Show'', produced and directed by
David Winters on 1 December 1968, with guest-stars
Bob Hope
Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...
,
Jack Benny
Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky; February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success as a violinist on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century with ...
,
Danny Thomas
Amos Muzyad Yaqoob Kairouz, (born January 6, 1912 – February 6, 1991) known professionally as Danny Thomas, was an American comedian, actor, singer, producer, and philanthropist. He created and starred in ''The Danny Thomas Show''. In additio ...
, and
Carol Burnett
Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933) is an American comedian, actress, singer and writer. Burnett has played dramatic and comedic roles on stage and screen. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Carol Burnett, nu ...
. Then, she returned to
Saigon
Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025.
The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...
as part of Hope's Christmas show. A second CBS television special followed, ''
Ann-Margret: From Hollywood With Love'', produced, directed and choreographed by David Winters, with guest-stars
Dean Martin
Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...
and
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedian, producer, and studio executive. She was recognized by ''Time (magazine), Time'' in 2020 as one of the most influential women of the 20th century for h ...
. David Winters and the show were nominated for a Primetime Emmy in Outstanding Choreography.
Critical acclaim in supporting roles (1970s)
In 1970, she returned to films with ''
R. P. M.'', where she starred alongside
Anthony Quinn
Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001), known as Anthony Quinn, was an American actor. He was known for his portrayal of earthy, passionate characters "marked by a brutal and elemental virility" in over 100 ...
, and ''
C.C. and Company'' with
Joe Namath
Joseph William Namath (; ; born May 31, 1943), nicknamed "Broadway Joe", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seaso ...
as a biker and her portraying a fashion journalist.
In 1971, she starred in ''
Carnal Knowledge'' by director
Mike Nichols
Mike Nichols (born Igor Mikhail Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theatre director and comedian. He worked across a range of genres and had an aptitude for getting the best out of actors regardless of ...
, playing the girlfriend of a neglectful, arguably abusive character played by
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. Nicholson is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of the 20th century, often playing rebels fighting against the social structure. Over his five-de ...
. She was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 9th Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performanc ...
, and won the
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress may refer to:
*Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
The Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture is a Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe Award th ...
. ''Filmink'' argued this amounted to a comeback "in a way...because she never really regained her former status as an above-the-title star of feature films – her follow-up movies were 'girl' parts... the seventies were tough times for female stars who were not Barbra Streisand."
On the set of ''
The Train Robbers'' in Durango, Mexico, in June 1972, she told Nancy Anderson of
Copley News Service that she had been on the "
grapefruit diet" and had lost almost 20 pounds (134 to 115) eating unsweetened citrus.
On Sunday, 10 September 1972, while performing at
Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe (; Washo language, Washo: ''dáʔaw'') is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the Western United States, straddling the border between California and Nevada. Lying at above sea level, Lake Tahoe is the largest a ...
, she fell from an elevated platform to the stage and suffered injuries including a broken left arm, cheekbone, and jawbone. She required meticulous
facial reconstructive surgery that required wiring her mouth shut and putting her on a liquid diet. Unable to work for ten weeks, she returned to the stage almost back to normal.
Throughout the 1970s, Ann-Margret balanced her live musical performances with a string of dramatic film roles that played against her glamorous image. In 1973, she starred with
John Wayne
Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...
in ''The Train Robbers''. Then came the musical ''
Tommy'' in 1975, for which she received her second Oscar nomination, this time for the
Academy Award for Best Actress
The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 1st Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a lead ...
. In addition, she has been nominated for ten
Golden Globe Awards
The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual Awards ceremony, award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally ...
, winning five, including her
Best ActressMotion Picture Comedy or Musical for ''Tommy.''
On 17 August 1977, Ann-Margret and Roger Smith traveled to Memphis to attend Elvis Presley's funeral. Three months later, she hosted ''Memories of Elvis'' featuring abridged versions of the ''Elvis'' 1968 TV and ''Aloha from Hawaii'' specials.
Other notable films she co-starred in during the late 1970s include ''
Joseph Andrews'' (1977), ''
The Last Remake of Beau Geste'' (1977), the horror/suspense thriller ''
Magic'' (1978) with
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor. Considered one of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for List of Anthony Hopkins performances, his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins ha ...
. She had a cameo in ''
The Cheap Detective
''The Cheap Detective'' is a 1978 American Mystery film, mystery comedy film written by Neil Simon and directed by Robert Moore (director), Robert Moore.
It stars Peter Falk as Lou Peckinpaugh, a parody of Humphrey Bogart. The film is a parody ...
'' (1978).
Ann-Margret was an early choice of
Allan Carr's to play the role of Sandy Dumbrowski in the 1978 film ''
Grease''. At 36 years of age when filming commenced, she was ultimately determined to be too old to convincingly play the role of a high school student. Twenty-eight-year-old
Olivia Newton-John
Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...
got the role instead, and the character was renamed "Sandy Olsson" (after Ann-Margret's birth surname) in her honor.
For her contributions to the film industry, Ann-Margret received a
motion pictures star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...
in 1973. Her star is located at 6501
Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It runs through the Hollywood, East Hollywood, Little Armenia, Thai Town, and Los Feliz districts. Its western terminus is at Sunset Plaza Drive in the Hollyw ...
.
Television-movie era (1980s)

Ann-Margret starred opposite
Bruce Dern
Bruce MacLeish Dern (born June 4, 1936) is an American actor. He has received several accolades, including the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor and the Silver Bear for Best Actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Suppo ...
in ''
Middle Age Crazy'' (1980). In 1982, she co-starred with
Walter Matthau and
Dinah Manoff
Dinah Manoff (born January 25, 1956) is an American stage, film, and television actress and television director. She is best known for her roles as Carol Weston on '' Empty Nest,'' Elaine Lefkowitz on ''Soap'', Marty Maraschino in the film '' Gr ...
in the
film version of
Neil Simon
Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He received three ...
's play ''
I Ought to Be in Pictures''. That same year also saw the release of ''
Lookin' to Get Out'', filmed two years prior in 1980, in which she co-starred with
Jon Voight
Jonathan Vincent Voight (; born December 29, 1938) is an American actor. Throughout his career, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and four Golden Globe Awards as well as nominations ...
and played the mother of a five-year-old
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie ( ; born Angelina Jolie Voight, , June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Angelina Jolie, numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards ...
in Jolie's screen debut. To round out 1982, she appeared alongside
Alan Bates
Sir Alan Arthur Bates (17 February 1934 – 27 December 2003) was an English actor who came to prominence in the Cinema of the United Kingdom#The 1960s, 1960s, when he appeared in films ranging from ''Whistle Down the Wind (film), Whistle Down ...
,
Glenda Jackson
Glenda May Jackson (9 May 1936 – 15 June 2023) was an English actress and politician. Over the course of her distinguished career she received List of awards and nominations received by Glenda Jackson, numerous accolades including two Academy ...
, and
Julie Christie
Julie Frances Christie (born 14 April 1940) is a British actress. Christie's accolades include an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She has appeared in six films ranked in the British Film Institu ...
in the film adaptation of ''
The Return of the Soldier''. She also starred in the TV movies ''
Who Will Love My Children?'' (1983) and a remake of ''
A Streetcar Named Desire'' (1984), winning Golden Globe Awards for both performances.
After
Barbara Stanwyck won the
in 1983 for her role in ''
The Thorn Birds'', she mentioned Ann-Margret's performance in ''
Who Will Love My Children?'', stating at the podium "I would like to pay a personal tribute at this time to a lady who is a wonderful entertainer...I think she gave one of the finest, most beautiful performances I have ever seen...Ann-Margret, you were superb."
In ''
Twice in a Lifetime'' (1985) Ann-Margret portrayed a waitress for whom
Gene Hackman's character left his wife. The next year she appeared as the wife of
Roy Scheider
Roy Richard Scheider (; November 10, 1932 – February 10, 2008) was an American actor and amateur boxer who achieved fame with his leading and supporting roles in celebrated films from the 1970s through to the mid-1980s. He was nominated for t ...
's character in the crime thriller ''
52 Pick-Up''. In 1987 she co-starred with
Elizabeth Ashley (and also with
Claudette Colbert
Claudette Colbert (koʊlˈbɛər/ kohl-BAIR, born Émilie "Lily" Claudette Chauchoin (ʃoʃwɛ̃/ show-shwan); September 13, 1903 – July 30, 1996) was an American actress. Colbert began her career in Broadway theater, Broadway productions dur ...
, in the last on-screen role of the film legend's career) in the NBC two-part series "
The Two Mrs. Grenvilles". It earned Ann-Margret another
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
nomination, this time for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Mini Series or a Special.
In 1989, an illustration of
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American television presenter, talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show' ...
appeared on the cover of ''
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media
In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...
'', and although the head was Oprah's, the body was from a 1979 publicity shot of Ann-Margret. The illustration was rendered so tightly in color pencil by freelance artist Chris Notarile that most people thought it was a composite photograph.
Continuing film and television career (1990–present)
In 1991, she starred in the TV film ''
Our Sons'' opposite
Julie Andrews
Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over eight decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...
as mothers of sons who are lovers, one of whom is dying of AIDS. In 1992, she co-starred with
Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor. With a career spanning seven decades, he is regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. He has received an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a British Academy Film Awards ...
and
Christian Bale
Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. Known for his versatility and physical transformations for his roles, he has been a leading man in films of several genres. List of awards and nominations received by C ...
in the Disney musical ''
Newsies''. In 1993, Ann-Margret starred in the hit comedy ''
Grumpy Old Men'' reuniting with Matthau and
Jack Lemmon
John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor. Considered proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, he was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in comedy-drama films. He received num ...
. Her character returned for ''
Grumpier Old Men'' (1995), the equally successful sequel which this time co-starred
Sophia Loren
Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress, active in her native country and the United States. With a career spanning over 70 years, she is one of the ...
.
Ann-Margret published an autobiography in 1994 titled ''Ann-Margret: My Story'', in which she publicly acknowledged her battle with and ongoing recovery from alcoholism. She played Belle Watling in ''
Scarlett'' (1994), a television miniseries loosely based on the
1991 book of the same name written by
Alexandra Ripley as a sequel to
Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell (November 8, 1900 – August 16, 1949) was an American novelist and journalist. Mitchell wrote only one novel that was published during her lifetime, the American Civil War-era novel ''Gone With the Wind (novel), Gone ...
's 1936 novel ''
Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to:
* Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell
* Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel
Gone with the Wind ...
''. In 1995, ''
Empire
An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...
'' magazine ranked her tenth on its list of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history.
She also filmed ''
Any Given Sunday
''Any Given Sunday'' is a 1999 American sports drama film directed by Oliver Stone and produced by Clayton Townsend, Dan Halsted, and Lauren Shuler Donner from a screenplay by Stone and John Logan based on a story written by Logan and Da ...
'' (1999) for director
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone (born ) is an American filmmaker. Stone is an acclaimed director, tackling subjects ranging from the Vietnam War and American politics to musical film, musical Biographical film, biopics and Crime film, crime dramas. He has ...
, portraying the mother of football team owner
Cameron Diaz
Cameron Michelle Diaz (born August 30, 1972) is an American actress. Prolific in both comedy and drama, Cameron Diaz filmography, her films have grossed over $3 billion in the U.S. box-office. Her output of romantic comedies in the late 1990s a ...
. She filmed a cameo appearance for ''
The Limey
''The Limey'' is a 1999 American crime film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Lem Dobbs. The film features Terence Stamp, Lesley Ann Warren, Luis Guzmán, Barry Newman, Nicky Katt, and Peter Fonda. The plot concerns an English care ...
'', but her performance was cut from the movie.
Ann-Margret also starred in several television films, including ''
Queen: The Story of an American Family'' (1993), ''
Following Her Heart'' (1994), and ''Life of the Party'' (1999), the latter of which she received nominations for an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a
Screen Actors Guild Award
Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1995 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...
.
In 2000, she recorded the theme song, a modified version of the ''Viva Las Vegas'' theme, to the live-action film ''
The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas
''The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas'' is a 2000 American romantic comedy film directed by Brian Levant, written by Jim Cash, Harry Elfont, Deborah Kaplan, and Jack Epps, Jr., and is the prequel to Levant's ''The Flintstones'' (1994), based ...
''.
She made guest appearances on the television show ''
Touched by an Angel
''Touched by an Angel'' is an American drama television series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994, and ran for 211 episodes over nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and executive produced by Ma ...
'' in 2000 and three episodes of ''
Third Watch
''Third Watch'' is an American crime drama television series created by John Wells and Edward Allen Bernero that aired on NBC from September 23, 1999, to May 6, 2005, with a total of 132 episodes spanning over six seasons. It was produced ...
'' in 2003. In 2001, she made her first appearance in a stage musical, playing the character of
brothel
A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...
owner Mona Stangley in a new touring production of ''
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas''. The production co-starred
Gary Sandy and
Ed Dixon. She played
Jimmy Fallon
James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an Americans, American comedian, television host, actor, singer, writer, and producer. Best known for his work in television, Fallon's breakthrough came during his tenure as a cast member on the ...
's mother in the 2004 comedy ''
Taxi
A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...
'', co-starring
Queen Latifah. In 2001, Ann-Margret worked with
Art Greenhaw on the album ''God Is Love: The Gospel Sessions''. The project resulted in her second Grammy Award nomination and first Dove Award nomination for Best Album of the Year in a Gospel category. They teamed up again in 2004 for the album ''Ann-Margret's Christmas Carol Collection''. She performed material from the album at two auditorium church services at
Crystal Cathedral
Christ Cathedral (Latin: ''Cathedralis Christi''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Catedral de Cristo''; Vietnamese language, Vietnamese: ''Nhà Thờ Chính Tòa Chúa Kitô''), formerly the Crystal Cathedral, is an American church building in Ga ...
in Garden Grove, California, and broadcast worldwide on the program ''
Hour of Power''.
In November 2005, Ann-Margret reunited with
Chuck Day and
Mickey Jones
Mickey Jones (June 10, 1941 – February 7, 2018) was an American musician and actor. He played drums with acts such as Trini Lopez and Bob Dylan, with whom he played on his 1966 world tour. He became a founding member of The First Edition ...
for an encore of their 1966 USO tour for veterans and troops at
Nellis Air Force Base
Nellis Air Force Base ("Nellis" colloquialism, colloq.) is a United States Air Force military installation, installation in southern Nevada. Nellis hosts Aerial warfare, air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exerc ...
, Nevada.
In 2006, Ann-Margret had supporting roles in the box-office hits ''
The Break-Up'' with
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress. She rose to international fame for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom ''Friends'' from 1994 to 2004, which earned her Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe, and Scr ...
and
Vince Vaughn
Vincent Anthony Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American actor. He is known for starring as a leading man in numerous comedy films during the late 1990s and 2000s. He was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award ...
, and ''
The Santa Clause 3'' with
Tim Allen
Timothy Alan Dick (born June 13, 1953), known professionally as Tim Allen, is an American actor and comedian. He is known for playing Tim "The Toolman" Taylor on the ABC sitcom ''Home Improvement'' (1991–1999) for which he won a Golden Gl ...
. She also starred in several
independent film
An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is film production, produced outside the Major film studios, major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independ ...
s, such as ''
Memory
Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembe ...
'' (2006) with
Billy Zane
William George Zane Jr. (born February 24, 1966) is an American actor. His breakthrough role was in the Australian film ''Dead Calm (film), Dead Calm'' (1989), a performance that earned him a nomination for the Chicago Film Critics Association, ...
and
Dennis Hopper. In 2009, she appeared in the comedy ''
Old Dogs'' with
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He began acting in television before transitioning into a leading man in films. List of awards and nominations received by John Travolta, His accolades include a Primetime Em ...
and
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and comedie ...
.
Ann-Margret guest-starred in an episode of ''
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', "
Bedtime", which first aired on 31March 2010, on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
.
She received her sixth Emmy nomination for her performance. She also appeared in the Lifetime series, ''
Army Wives
''Army Wives'' is an American drama television series that followed the lives of four army wives, one army husband, and their families. The series premiered on Lifetime on June 3, 2007, and ran for seven seasons, ending on June 9, 2013. The sh ...
'', in the episode "Guns and Roses" (season four, episode five), which originally aired 9May 2010. On 29 August 2010, she won an Emmy, her first, for Guest Performance by an Actress for her ''SVU'' performance. The Emmy venue audience gave her a standing ovation.
On 14 October 2010, Ann-Margret appeared on CBS' ''
CSI''.
In the fall of 2011, she co-starred with
Andy Williams
Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...
for a series of concerts at his Moon River Theater in Branson, Missouri. These proved to be Williams' last performances before his death in 2012.
In 2014, she began appearing in a recurring role in the Showtime original series ''
Ray Donovan
''Ray Donovan'' is an American crime drama television series created by Ann Biderman for Showtime. The drama, starring Liev Schreiber in the title role, is set primarily in Los Angeles (during seasons 1–5) and in New York City (during seaso ...
''. On 1 October 2018, it was announced that she had joined the second season of the
Syfy series ''
Happy!'' in a recurring role.
In 2018, she guest-starred in ''
The Kominsky Method'', portraying Diane, a widow and possible love interest for the recently widowed Norman, played by
Alan Arkin
Alan Wolf Arkin (March 26, 1934 – June 29, 2023) was an American actor, filmmaker and musician. In a career spanning seven decades, he received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony A ...
.
On 28 November 2023, she was a guest narrator of
Disney's Candlelight Processional at
Walt Disney World
The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...
.
Personal life
Ann-Margret is a stepmother of three children of her husband
Roger Smith, an actor, who later became her manager. She and Smith were married for 50years from 8May 1967 until his death on 4June 2017. Before her marriage to Smith, she dated
Eddie Fisher; was briefly engaged to
Burt Sugarman
Burton Roy Sugarman (born January 4, 1939) is an American film and television producer best known for creating and producing the iconic 1970s/early '80s variety series ''The Midnight Special (TV series), The Midnight Special'', which served as a s ...
, and was romantically linked to
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
when they co-starred in the film ''
Viva Las Vegas
''Viva Las Vegas'' is a 1964 American rock and roll musical film directed by George Sidney, written by Sally Benson, choreographed by David Winters, and starring Elvis Presley, Ann-Margret, Cesare Danova, William Demarest and Nicky Blair ...
'' in 1964.
A keen motorcyclist, Ann-Margret rode a
500 cc Triumph T100C Tiger in ''The Swinger'' (1966) and used the same model, fitted with a nonstandard electric starter, in her stage show and her TV specials. She was featured in
Triumph Motorcycles' official advertisements in the 1960s. She suffered three broken ribs and a fractured shoulder when she was thrown off a motorcycle in rural
Minnesota
Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
in 2000.
In a 2012 interview, she stated, "All my life I've had this feeling, deep, deep, deep inside of me...my faith and my feelings....I mean you go outside and you see flowers. You see the trees. You see all your loved ones, you see...and then you think of Who created it all." She described her relationship with God, and with Jesus Christ as "something which is really important to me. If I thought that I would never see my mother and father again, I couldn't make it. I could not go a step further."
On 14 May 2022, she was awarded an honorary doctoral degree in Humane Letters by the
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the ...
.
Portrayal
The 2005 CBS miniseries ''
Elvis'' includes the story of her affair with Elvis Presley during the filming of ''Viva Las Vegas''. She was portrayed by the actress
Rose McGowan. She also provided the voice of a fictionalized version of herself in ''
The Flintstones
''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera, Hanna-Barbera Productions, which takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbors, the R ...
'' 1963 episode "Ann-Margrock Presents".
Filmography
Film
Box-office ranking
For two years, Ann-Margret was voted by movie exhibitors as being among the more popular actors in the United States:
* 1964 – 8th
* 1965 – 17th
Television
Discography
Singles
Albums
* ''
And Here She Is ... Ann-Margret'' (1961)
* ''
On the Way Up'' (1962)
* ''
The Vivacious One'' (1962)
* ''
Bachelors' Paradise'' (1963)
* ''3 Great Girls'' - with
Della Reese
Della Reese (born Delloreese Patricia Early; July 6, 1931 – November 19, 2017) was an American singer, actress, television personality, author and ordained minister. As a singer, she recorded blues, gospel, jazz and pop. Several of her singl ...
and
Kitty Kallen (1963) - four songs
* ''
Beauty and the Beard'' (1964) (with
Al Hirt
Alois Maxwell "Al" Hirt (November 7, 1922 – April 27, 1999) was an American trumpeter and bandleader. He is best remembered for his million-selling recordings of "Java (instrumental), Java" and the accompanying album ''Honey in the Horn (album ...
)
* ''David Merrick Presents Hits from His Broadway Hits'' (1964) (with
David Merrick) - four songs
* ''
Songs from The Swinger (and Other Swingin' Songs)'' (1966)
* ''
The Cowboy and the Lady'' (1969) (with
Lee Hazlewood)
* ''
Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret Olsson (born 28 April 1941), credited as Ann-Margret, is a Swedish-American actress and singer with a career spanning seven decades. Her many screen roles include '' Pocketful of Miracles'' (1961), ''State Fair'' (1962), '' Bye Bye B ...
'' (1980)
* ''God Is Love: The Gospel Sessions'' (2001)
* ''Ann-Margret's Christmas Carol Collection'' (2004)
* ''God Is Love: The Gospel Sessions 2'' (2011)
* ''
Born to Be Wild'' (2023)
Soundtrack appearances
* ''State Fair'' (1962)
* ''Bye Bye Birdie'' (1963)
* ''The Pleasure Seekers'' (1965)
* ''Rebus'' (1969)
* ''C.C. & Company'' (1970)
* ''Dames at Sea'' (1971)
* ''
Tommy'' (1975)
* ''Newsies'' (1992)
* ''The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas'' (2000)
* ''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' (2001)
* ''Viva Las Vegas'' (LP reissue of ''Viva Las Vegas EP'') (2007) (with
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
)
* ''Going in Style'' (2017)
Theatre productions
* ''
Love Letters'', with
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor most famous during the 1970s and 1980s. He became well known in television series such as ''Gunsmoke'' (1962–1965), '' Hawk'' (1966) and '' Dan Augus ...
* ''
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' (2001, touring production)
Orders
* Commander of the
Royal Order of the Polar Star (KNO) (2 December 1988)
Awards and nominations
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
External links
General
*
*
*
*
*
Ann-Margret
Ann-Margret Olsson (born 28 April 1941), credited as Ann-Margret, is a Swedish-American actress and singer with a career spanning seven decades. Her many screen roles include '' Pocketful of Miracles'' (1961), ''State Fair'' (1962), '' Bye Bye B ...
at
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
Ann of a Thousand Knightsat
Snopes
''Snopes'' (), formerly known as the ''Urban Legends Reference Pages'', is a fact-checking website. It has been described as a "well-regarded reference for sorting out myths and rumors" on the Internet. The site has also been seen as a source ...
* at age 16 in 1957.
Interviews
Interview with Larry King, January 1, 2001 has a segment on the 2001 touring production of ''
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ann-Margret
1941 births
Living people
Best Miniseries or Television Movie Actress Golden Globe winners
Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe (film) winners
Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe (film) winners
Commanders of the Order of the Polar Star
Gold Star Records artists
Las Vegas shows
MCA Records artists
New Star of the Year (Actress) Golden Globe winners
New Trier High School alumni
People from Wilmette, Illinois
Primetime Emmy Award winners
RCA Victor artists
Swedish emigrants to the United States
Swedish female dancers
Swedish film actresses
Swedish stage actresses
Women motorcyclists
20th-century Swedish actresses
20th Century Studios contract players
20th-century Swedish women singers
People from Krokom Municipality