HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Margareta Svensson Riggs (born Ulla Margareta Elisabeth Svensson; 22 April 1968) is a Swedish singer, pianist, songwriter, actress, voice teacher, vocal coach and
television personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...
.


Early life

Already as a five-year-old, Svensson performed her first public performance at a Red Cross Christmas party, and soon thereafter she went with her mother, Inga-Lill Svensson, a registered nurse, to sing for the sick and elderly at the local hospital. With an extensive after-school music program and busy performing schedule, Svensson went on to study dance at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, and acting at Calle Flygare Teaterskola, Stockholm, Sweden, acting, musical theater, and film and television at
Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...
,
NYU New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a non-denominational all-male institutio ...
.


Career

At 18, Svensson boarded Portuguese cruise ship MS Funchal as a singer-pianist and a headliner, and from there on she performed throughout Sweden and Europe. While playing
Gothia Towers The Gothia Towers, in Gothenburg, Sweden, is the largest hotel in the Nordic countries. Part of the Swedish Exhibition and Congress Centre The Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre () is an exhibition and convention centre in Gothenburg, Swe ...
in Gothenburg,
Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
was performing next-door at
Scandinavium Scandinavium () is an indoor arena located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Construction on Scandinavium began in 1969 after decades of setbacks, and was inaugurated on 18 May 1971. Scandinavium has been selected as a championship arena at least fifty t ...
. After the concert the Sinatra band came to see Svensson. Sinatra-drummer,
Gregg Field Gregg Field (born February 21, 1956) is an American record producer and musician, who has worked with many well-known artists. He is a recipient of multiple Grammy and Emmy awards. Early life Field was born in Castro Valley, California, United ...
, liked Svensson's original music and invited her to come to
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
to record. As a singer-pianist Margareta Svensson has opened five casino resorts in Las Vegas. National, daily, Swedish newspaper
Expressen (''The Express'') is one of two nationwide evening newspapers in Sweden. Describing itself as independent liberal, was founded in 1944; its symbol is a wasp and its slogans are "it stings" or " to your rescue". The newspaper awards the cultu ...
wrote "Jackpot in Las Vegas". In 1999, Svensson opened
Mandalay Bay Mandalay Bay is a 43-story luxury resort and casino at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by MGM Resorts International. It was developed by Circus Circus Enterprises and complete ...
alongside
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
and
Luciano Pavarotti Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...
,
The Venetian Las Vegas The Venetian Las Vegas is a luxury hotel and casino resort located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by Apollo Global Management. It was developed by businessman Sheldon Adelso ...
where she had her own act at La Scena, The Resort at Summerlin (now known as JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort and Spa,) in the year 2000
The Aladdin Planet Hollywood Las Vegas (formerly the Aladdin) is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment. The resort includes a casino and 2,494 hotel rooms. It also feat ...
(now known as Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino) and in 2005 Steve Wynn recruited her to open
Wynn Las Vegas Wynn Las Vegas, often simply referred to as Wynn, is a luxury resort and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned and operated by Wynn Resorts, and was built on the former site of the Desert Inn re ...
. She has held engagements at numerous other Las Vegas casinos and resorts, including
MGM Grand Las Vegas The MGM Grand Las Vegas is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by MGM Resorts International. The resort was developed by Kirk Kerkorian through his company, MGM Grand ...
, Bellagio,
The Mirage The Mirage is a defunct casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The 65-acre property included a casino and 3,044 rooms. Mirage Resorts, Golden Nugget, Inc., led by developer Steve Wynn, purchased the future lan ...
,
Treasure Island Hotel and Casino Treasure Island Hotel and Casino (also known as Treasure Island Las Vegas and "TI") is a pirate-themed hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, U.S. It includes 2,885 rooms and a casino. The resort is owned and oper ...
,
Monte Carlo Resort and Casino Park MGM, formerly Monte Carlo Resort and Casino, is a megaresort hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by MGM Resorts International. It was developed by Mirage R ...
,
Bally's Las Vegas Horseshoe Las Vegas is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment. It originally opened as the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino on December 4, 1973. The 26-story hotel contained 2,1 ...
and
Encore Las Vegas Encore Las Vegas (also called Encore at Wynn Las Vegas or simply Encore) is a luxury resort, casino and hotel located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The resort is connected to its sister resort, Wynn Las Vegas, located directly so ...
. Svensson has also performed and held resident engagements at among other places The
Grand Hotel Stockholm Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation), s ...
, Sweden,
The Dorchester The Dorchester is a five-star hotel located on Park Lane and Deanery Street in London, to the east of Hyde Park. It is one of the world's most prestigious hotels. The Dorchester opened on 18 April 1931, and it still retains its 1930s furnis ...
, London, UK,
The Beverly Hills Hotel The Beverly Hills Hotel, also called the Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows, is located on Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California. One of the world's best-known hotels, it is closely associated with Hollywood film stars, rock stars, and ce ...
Polo Lounge, The
Beverly Wilshire Hotel The Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel, commonly known as the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, is a historic luxury hotel in Beverly Hills, California. Located at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Rodeo Drive, it was completed in 1928. It ha ...
, and Montage Beverly Hills where she was responsible for all music, and she has traveled the world both as a headliner as well as a piano-singer, and performed for many superstars, including Sir
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
,
Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ...
,
Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...
,
Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He became the breakout cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1976), where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment b ...
,
Michael Bolton Michael Bolotin (born February 26, 1953), known professionally as Michael Bolton, is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton performed in the hard rock and heavy metal music genres from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, both on his early solo a ...
, B. B. King, Sir
Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...
and
Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...
and world leaders like
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
, to name a few. She continues to write, record and perform her original music.


''Svenska Hollywoodfruar''

Her extensive career as a singer-pianist and performer, led to a lead on the fifth season of ''
Svenska Hollywoodfruar ''Svenska Hollywoodfruar'' (English: ''Swedish Hollywood Wives'') was a Swedish reality TV series from 2009 to 2019 that followed Swedish women in Hollywood and their glamorous lives. The first episode aired on TV3 on 14 September 2009, and bec ...
'' broadcast on
TV3 Sweden TV3 (''TV tre'') is a Swedish pay television channel owned by Viaplay Group. It was launched on 31 December 1987 by businessman Jan Stenbeck. The channel was initially broadcast across all of Scandinavia. In 1990, separate Danish and Norwegian ...
. Season 5 had the highest ratings of the 13 seasons and season 5 is claimed to have saved the network at the time. ''Svenska Hollywoodfruar'' features Svensson both as a singer, pianist, performer, songwriter and recording artist, as well as a vocal coach.


''The World's Best''

In 2019, Svensson Riggs was one of the 50 international expert judges on the new global talent competition series ''
The World's Best ''The World's Best'' is an American reality talent competition television series that aired on CBS. Created by Mark Burnett and Mike Darnell, and hosted by comedian James Corden, the series featured performers being evaluated by three judges ...
'' from reality TV heavyweights
Mark Burnett James Mark Burnett (born 17 July 1960) is a British television producer who has won thirteen Emmy Awards including ten Primetime, one Sports Emmy Award and two Daytime Emmy Awards. His other accolades include five Producers Guild of America A ...
and
Mike Darnell Michael Darnell (born 1962 or 1963) is an American entertainment executive. As president of Alternative Entertainment at the Fox network and subsequently president of Unscripted Television at Warner Bros., Darnell was in charge of some of the mos ...
, on
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
. Headlining was
James Corden James Kimberley Corden (born 22 August 1978) is an English comedian, actor, writer, producer, singer, and television host. In the United Kingdom, he is best known for co-writing and starring in the critically acclaimed BBC sitcom '' Gavin & S ...
as host, and
Drew Barrymore Drew Blythe Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an American actress, talk show host, and businesswoman. A member of the Barrymore family of actors, she has received multiple List of awards and nominations received by Drew Barrymore, awards a ...
,
RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960) is an American drag queen, television host, singer, producer, writer, and actor. He produces, hosts, and judges the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and has received List of awards ...
and
Faith Hill Audrey Faith McGraw (; born September 21, 1967), known professionally as Faith Hill, is an American Country music, country singer. She is one of the most successful country music artists of all time, having sold almost 50 million albums worldwide ...
as American judges. "The Wall of the World" panel consisted of noteworthy names from all realms of entertainment. She is the first Swede to be featured as a judge on an American reality talent show.


Teaching and workshops

Margareta Svensson Riggs has become an expert within vocal technique and is known for defining singing in short as “the energizing, managing, shaping and directing of air.” She is the trusted voice teacher to legendary singers and superstars such as
Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...
,
Michael Bolton Michael Bolotin (born February 26, 1953), known professionally as Michael Bolton, is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton performed in the hard rock and heavy metal music genres from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, both on his early solo a ...
,
Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...
and M.Shadows among others. She works together with her husband, renowned voice teacher to the stars,
Seth Riggs Seth Riggs (born September 19, 1930) is an American singer, actor, and vocal coach. He has created the vocal technique "Speech Level Singing","Singing seminar scheduled Aug. 28", ''The Herald-Palladium'' (August 20, 1999), p. 6. and has worked wit ...
, author of “Singing for the Stars,” and founder of “Speech Level Singing,” who originally trained her as a singer as well as a teacher. Once teaching together, they embarked on a groundbreaking journey of deepening and developing the Svensson Riggs vocal technique and their understanding and methods for correct, effective and healthy singing to benefit their clients, where many are a Who’s Who of superstar artists. Together they also conduct vocal workshops and master classes around the world.


Personal life

Svensson Riggs is married to American vocal coach
Seth Riggs Seth Riggs (born September 19, 1930) is an American singer, actor, and vocal coach. He has created the vocal technique "Speech Level Singing","Singing seminar scheduled Aug. 28", ''The Herald-Palladium'' (August 20, 1999), p. 6. and has worked wit ...
, known for clients such as
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
,
Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...
,
Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...
,
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
,
Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...
,
Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling ba ...
, and
Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to prominence in the mid-1970s, with the release of her debut ...
. The two met when Margareta Svensson came to Seth Riggs for singing lessons in the mid-1990s. In 2008, they became a couple and in 2012, they married and their daughter Samantha was born. In 2013 Svensson read about
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 ...
having tested positive for
BRCA1 Breast cancer type 1 susceptibility protein is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''BRCA1'' () gene. Orthologs are common in other vertebrate species, whereas invertebrate genomes may encode a more distantly related gene. ''BRCA1'' is a ...
, a gene mutation that drastically increases the risk of ovarian- and breast cancer, and Jolie's mother having died from ovarian cancer. Svensson's own mother, Inga-Lill Svensson, had also died from ovarian cancer, and Svensson asked to be tested for BRCA. Svensson tested positive for BRCA1 and while waiting for preventive surgery, an MRI revealed early stage breast cancer. Well and healthy, she shared her story in 2015 in hopes to pass on the gift of helping to yet others at risk.


References


External links


Official website for Margareta Svensson RiggsOfficial website for Margareta Svensson Riggs and Seth Riggs voice trainingMargareta Svensson In The Media
{{DEFAULTSORT:Svensson, Margareta 1968 births Living people People from Varberg Municipality Swedish women songwriters Swedish pop singers Swedish women pianists Swedish women pop singers Swedish television personalities American vocal coaches 21st-century Swedish pianists Voice teachers Vocal coaches 21st-century women pianists Actresses from Halland County Musicians from Halland County