Siw Malmkvist facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Siw Malmkvist
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Malmkvist in 2011
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Siw Gunnel Margareta Malmkvist |
| Born | 31 December 1936 Landskrona, Sweden |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Years active | 1957–present |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | Schlager |
| Instruments | Vocals |
Siw Gunnel Margareta Malmkvist (born 31 December 1936) is a famous Swedish singer and actress. She is very popular in countries like Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Germany. Siw is known for singing many popular songs, called schlager music.
She represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 1960. Later, she also represented West Germany (which is now just Germany) in the Eurovision Song Contest 1969. In 1964, her song "Liebeskummer lohnt sich nicht" ("Lovesickness Is Not Worthwhile") became a number one hit in West Germany. On July 18, 1964, Siw became the first Swedish singer to have a song on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. This was with "Sole Sole Sole," a duet she sang with Italian singer Umberto Marcato. The song reached number 58 on the chart. Siw Malmkvist is amazing because she has recorded songs in more than 10 languages! These include Swedish, English, Finnish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, French, Italian, Spanish, and especially German.
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Early life and first steps
Siw Malmkvist grew up in Landskrona, Sweden. She was one of nine children! Her parents were Albert Malmkvist and Sigrid Lind. Siw is the older sister of another singer, Lil Malmkvist. Her nephew is the actor Morgan Alling.
Siw's music journey began when she sang with orchestras in Skåne. In 1955, she joined a singing competition that changed her life. She won the first part of the competition in Skåne. This win allowed her to travel to the Stockholm Concert Hall for the grand final. Siw won the final and received a clock as her prize! She also got to record her very first song, called "Tweedle Dee."
A career full of music and acting
Siw became really famous in 1959. This happened when she was a host on Lennart Hyland's TV show Stora famnen. In the same year, she won Melodifestivalen 1959, a big Swedish music contest, with her song "Augustin." However, she didn't get to sing for Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 1959 that year. Instead, another singer, Brita Borg, was chosen to perform the song.
"Augustin" was Siw's first big hit song. It reached fourth place on a best-seller list and sold over 60,000 copies! One year later, Siw did get to represent Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 1960 in London. She sang "Alla andra får varann" and finished in tenth place. Even though Inger Berggren and Östen Warnerbring had won with that song in the Swedish Melodifestivalen, Siw was chosen to sing it for Eurovision. Siw won Melodifestivalen again in 1961 with the song "April, April." But once more, the TV channel chose a different singer, Lill-Babs, to perform it at Eurovision.
International success
In 1959, Siw also started her career in West Germany, where she became very popular. In 1961, she had a hit song there called "Danke für die Blumen." In 1960, she released the song "Die Liebe ist ein seltsames Spiel" under a different name, "Die Jolly Sisters." Later, she released the same song in Sweden as "Tunna skivor." This song became a huge hit, staying at the top of the charts for seven weeks and selling over 97,000 copies! Her next song, "Läs inte brevet jag skrev dej," sold over 80,000 copies.
From 1963, Siw lived in Helsinki, Finland, with her husband and daughter. During this time, in 1964, she became the first Swedish singer to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States. She sang "Sole Sole Sole" in Italian with Umberto Marcato, and it reached number 58 on the chart.
Siw also had great success in a German singing competition called Schlager-Festspiele in Baden-Baden. In 1962, she came in second place with "Die Wege der Liebe." In 1964, she won the competition with "Liebeskummer lohnt sich nicht." This song sold an amazing 1,000,000 copies and was number one in West Germany for ten weeks! In Swedish, the song was called "Kärleksgrubbel." In 1968, she won the competition again with the song "Harlekin."
In 1969, she won the West German selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 1969. She sang "Primaballerina" and finished seventh in Madrid. Even today, Siw Malmkvist's songs are still loved in Germany. In Melodifestivalen 1988, she sang the song "Det är kärlek."
Acting on stage and screen
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Siw Malmkvist also had a successful acting career in both Denmark and Sweden. She played the main role in the film Förälskad i Köpenhamn (1960). She also appeared as Eivor in Varning för Jönssonligan (1981).
Siw quickly showed she was talented on stage too. She played the main role in the musical Irma la douce. She also performed in the Kar de Mumma-revue at Folkan in 1972. She was part of the Karl Gerhard show Hej på dig du gamla primadonna at Vasateatern. In 1980, she even played Pippi Långstrump in a play at Folkan in Stockholm!
She received great praise for her role as Luise in the musical Nine at Oscarsteatern from 1983 to 1984. She acted alongside Ernst-Hugo Järegård in that show. In more recent years, Siw has acted in the musical I hetaste laget at Nöjesteatern in Malmö. In 2008, she played Fräulein Schneide in Colin Nutley's version of the musical Cabaret at Stockholms stadsteater.
Later career and TV appearances
In recent years, Siw has performed in many shows. She performed at Hamburger Börs in Stockholm with fellow singers Lill-Babs and Wenche Myhre. She also took part in Melodifestivalen 2004 with the song "C'est la vie." She sang this song with Towa Carson and Ann-Louise Hanson. This trio later sang at Allsång på Skansen, a popular TV show on SVT.
From 2003 to 2012, Siw participated every year in the Arlövs revue show. In 2003 and 2004, she was part of the Diggiloo summer tour. On June 2, 2004, Siw, along with Wenche Myhre and Gitte Henning, started their show Gitte Wenche Siw – Die Show in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. This tour continued until June 2008, performing a total of 350 shows! In 2005, Siw participated in the TV4 show Körslaget, a singing competition.
In 2009, she was a special guest on SVT1's Stjärnorna på slottet. On this show, she shared stories about her life and career. Between 2010 and 2011, she had a show called "Tre damer" with Lill-Babs and Ann-Louise Hanson. In 2010, she published her own memories in a book called Tunna skivor av mig.
In 2011, she performed a mix of her hit songs at Allsång på Skansen. In 2012, she was on the SVT show Who do you think you are?. On this show, she learned that some of her ancestors were soldiers in a famous battle called Poltava. She also found out she had relatives who were "Snapphanar," which were rebels in old times.
Siw Malmkvist was going to be a celebrity dancer on Let's Dance 2020 on TV4. However, in March 2020, it was announced she would not take part because of rules related to the COVID-19 virus. In 2021, she appeared in two episodes of the TV4 show Så mycket bättre.
Personal life
Siw Malmkvist was married to the Finnish-Swedish musician Lasse Mårtenson from 1963 to 1969. They have one daughter together. From 1971 until his passing in 2023, Siw was in a relationship with actor Fredrik Ohlsson. They had a son together, born in 1973.
See also
In Spanish: Siw Malmkvist para niños
