Bjork Biography

Birth Name : Björk Guðmundsdóttir

Date of Birth : 21 November 1965, Reykjavik, Iceland

Height : 5' 4" (1.63 m)

Occupations : Musician, songwriter, actress, fashion model

Born in 1965 in the Icelandic capital city of Reykjavik, the daughter of Gudmundur Gunnarsson (an electrician) and Hildur Hauksdóttir who divorced before her second birthday, Björk grew up in a hippie-type community with her mother and her seven siblings. She started to study classical music at the age of 5 and released her first album in 1977 (mainly traditional Icelandic folk songs and international hits translated to Icelandic) when she was only 11.

During her teenage years Björk became involved in several bands, most of them punk: Spit & Snot (1977), Exodus (1979-80), Jam 80 (1980), Tappi Tíkarrass (1981-83) (featured the documentary Rock in Reykjavik (1982)) and Kukl (1984-86). She then formed the pop group The Sugarcubes with Einar Örn Benediktsson and Sigtryggur Baldursson and eventually other members Þór Eldon (with whom she had a son in 1986), Margrét Örnólfsdóttir and Bragi Ólafsson. The band released its first single in 1986 and its first album, "Life's Too Good", in 1988, and discovered international success, especially in UK. During her Sugarcubes years, Björk also collaborated with the Icelandic jazz group Gudmundar Ingólfssonar Trio for the album "Gling-Glo" in 1990, and featured 808 State's "Ooops", which was the start of her electronic music interest. The Sugarcubes eventually split after a few albums in 1992 and in 1993.

In 2000, the diminutive Icelandic pop star appeared on the big screen in the critically acclaimed film by Danish director Lars von Trier, Dancer In The Dark. Though it was rumored that tension grew between the director and his star, who also scored the film, Bjork won the Best Actress prize at the Cannes Film Festival for her performance. Further acclaim arrived in early 2001, when Bjork and von Trier were nominated for a Best Song Academy Award for I've Seen It All. She made fashion history when she wore her infamous "swan dress" while performing the song at the 2001 Academy Award Ceremony.