Agnetha Faltskog-Ulvaeus

Åse Agneta "Agnetha" Fältskog (.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}Swedish pronunciation: ⓘ; born 5 April 1950) is a Swedish singer and songwriter, best known as a member of the pop group ABBA. She first achieved success in Sweden with the release of her 1968 self-titled debut album. She rose to international stardom in the 1970s as a member of ABBA, which is one of the best-selling music acts in history.

After the unofficial break-up of ABBA in December 1982, she had success later in the decade as a solo artist with three albums and a leading role in a movie. She became reclusive in the 1990s, avoiding outside publicity and residing on the Stockholm County island of Ekerö.

Fältskog stopped recording music for 16 years until she released the album My Colouring Book in 2004, followed in 2013 by A, her highest UK charting solo album to date. She reunited with ABBA from 2016 until 2022 and they released their ninth studio album, Voyage.

Åse Agneta Fältskog was born in Jönköping on 5 April 1950. She was the first of two daughters of department store manager Knut Ingvar Fältskog (1922–1995) and his wife Birgit Margareta Johansson (1923–1994). Ingvar showed much interest in music and show business, and Birgit devoted herself to her children and household. Fältskog's younger sister, Mona, was born in 1955.

Fältskog wrote her first song at the age of six, titled "Två små troll" ("Two Small Trolls"). In 1958, she began taking piano lessons, and also sang in a local church choir. In early 1960, Fältskog formed a musical trio, the Cambers, with her friends Lena Johansson and Elisabeth Strub. They performed locally in minor venues but soon dissolved due to lack of work. Fältskog's first professional engagement came after she was taken on by a local dance band at the age of 15, following which she left school and worked as a telephonist whilst also performing with the band.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.