14 fascinating facts about ABBA singer Agnetha Fältskog

1. How old is Agnetha Faltskog?

Agnetha was born on April 5, 1950. She turns 68 years old in 2018.

2. Who were Agnetha's parents?

She was the first of two daughters of department store manager Knut Ingvar Fältskog, and Birgit Margareta Johansson. Ingvar had a strong interest in music, while Birgit was a calm lady who devoted herself to her children and their home. Birgit died by suicide in 1994, and Ingvar died a year later.

3. She first joined a band in 1966

Agnetha was a telephonist for a car firm while performing with a local dance band, led by Bernt Enghardt. The band proved popular, and she had to choose between her job and her musical career. Soon, producer Karl Gerhard Lundkvist, a relative of one of the band's members, heard a demo of the band, but he was only interested in signing her.

4. She was already a big success in Sweden before ABBA

Before joining ABBA, she was very successful as a solo artist in her homeland. Her debut single 'Jag var så kär' was a number one hit and she released several albums.

5. She was engaged before meeting Bjorn

In the late 1960s, she met German songwriter and producer Dieter Zimmerman, and they soon became engaged. He promised that she would achieve great success in Germany. However, when she met with record producers, she refused to meet their demands, describing their material as "horrible". She soon ended her engagement.

6. When did Agnetha Faltskog marry Bjorn Ulvaeus?

Agnetha met Björn Ulvaeus, a member of the Hootenanny Singers, in 1968. Her relationship with Bjorn, as well as her friendship with Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Benny Andersson, eventually led to the formation of ABBA. Agnetha and Bjorn married on July 6, 1971 in the village of Verum, with Andersson playing the organ at their wedding. They divorced in 1980, but ABBA continued, and their split inspired the song 'The Winner Takes it All'.

7. Who is Agnetha Faltskog's daughter?

Her first child Linda was born in 1973. Linda is a singer-songwriter, screen and stage actress. Her first album was a collaboration with her mother, 'Nu tändas tusen juleljus', aged eight, in 1981. She also provided backing vocals to her mother's 2004 comeback track 'When You Walk in the Room'.

8. Who is Agnetha Faltskog's son?

Agnetha and Bjorn's son Peter Christian Ulvaeus was born in December 1977. Aged nine, he collaborated with his mother for the album 'Kom följ med i vår karusell' in 1987.

9. How many albums has Agnetha Faltskog released?

Since leaving ABBA, Agnetha has released two Swedish language albums (both duets with her children), and five English albums. After nearly two decades away, she released 'My Colouring Book' in 2004, followed by her most recent 'A' in 2013.

10. She became a recluse after ABBA

Following the release of her album 'I Stand Alone', Agnetha went on a 17-year hiatus from the music industry, during which she made few public appearances. She devoted most of her time to astrology, yoga and horse riding at her isolated country house in Ekerö.

11. She secretly married a second time

In 1990, Agnetha married Swedish surgeon Tomas Sonnenfeld, but they divorced in 1993.

12. She had a stalker in the 1990s

In 1997, she started a relationship with a Dutch forklift driver, Gert van der Graaf, who had been stalking her home and was said to be obsessed with her since his childhood. After she stopped the relationship two years later, he stalked her at her mansion, leading to a court issuing Van der Graaf with a restraining order, and deporting him to the Netherlands in 2000. When he returned near to her home in 2003, he was arrested and then banned from entering Sweden.

13. She sang with Gary Barlow

On her 2013 album, she sang a duet with Take That's Gary Barlow on the track 'I Should've Followed You Home'. In November 2013, she sang live on stage for the first time in 25 years at the BBC Children in Need Rocks 2013 concert in London, with Gary.