Ann-Margret (
1941- ) is a
Swedish-born,
Illinois-raised singer and actress, best known for her reign as a
1960s sex symbol. The best way to conceive of the way men thought of Ann-Margret back in the 60s is to imagine a cross between
Pamela Anderson and
Britney Spears.
Discovered as a cabaret singer by George Burns in 1961, Ann-Margret's all-american good-looks and vivacious and uninhibited singing and dancing brought about a meteoric rise to stardom. After starring in a rash of campy, light-hearted comedies in the 1960s, Ann-Margret's career abruptly came to a halt in when she was nearly killed by a fall from a 22-foot platform during a 1972 concert.
Ann-Margret fought back from the injuries however, and went on play sexy older women in the 1970s and 1980s. She even managed to land some more serious roles, earning two academy award nominations for her roles in Carnal Knowledge (1971) and Tommy (1975).