Marie Helen Sjöholm (born 10 July 1970) is a Swedish

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 singer, actress and musical theatre

Musical theatre

Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...

 performer who lives in Gamla Enskede

Gamla Enskede

Gamla Enskede, "the garden city," is a district of Enskede-Årsta borough, South Stockholm, Sweden. It was created in 1904 to provide housing for workers, and is...

 in Stockholm

Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

. She grew up in Sundsvall

Sundsvall

-External links:* - Official site from Nordisk Familjebok - Sundsvalls tourist information bureau. - The alternative guide to Sundsvall. - Blog with photos from Sundsvall....

 and started to sing in choirs at an early age, working, among others, with Swedish conductor Kjell Lönnå

Kjell Lönnå

Kjell Lönnå is a Swedish choir leader, composer and TV host.Lönnå is one of the national conductors for the National Swedish Choir Association...

. By the end of the 1980s she toured with the group "Just For Fun".

Her career as a performer of musical theatre began with small-scale concert presentations of Chess

Chess (musical)

Chess is a musical with music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, formerly of ABBA, and with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story involves a romantic triangle between two top players, an American and a Russian, in a world chess championship, and a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other;...

, in which she sang the role of Florence. She took part in a number of smaller productions, including Little Dorrit

Little Dorrit

Little Dorrit is a serial novel by Charles Dickens published originally between 1855 and 1857. It is a work of satire on the shortcomings of the government and society of the period....

in Enskede

Enskede

Enskede may refer to*The districts of Gamla Enskede in Enskede-Årsta-Vantör borough, Stockholm*Enskededalen, a district of Stockholm's Skarpnäck borough*Enskede gård in Söderort, Stockholm...

 and the musical Elvira Madigan at Malmö Music Theatre in Malmö

Malmö

Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...

, Sweden.

Her big breakthrough occurred in 1995 when she created the title role in Benny Andersson

Benny Andersson

Göran Bror "Benny" Andersson is a Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...

 and Björn Ulvaeus

Björn Ulvaeus

Björn Kristian Ulvaeus is a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, writer, producer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...

' Kristina från Duvemåla

Kristina från Duvemåla

Kristina från Duvemåla is a Swedish musical written by former ABBA members Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson , based on a series of four novels by Swedish author Vilhelm Moberg detailing a family's poverty-driven migration from Sweden to America in the mid-19th century: The Emigrants, Unto a Good...

, which she played on and off for nearly four years (during the musical's entire run). Minneapolis Star and Tribune

Star Tribune

The Star Tribune is the largest newspaper in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is published seven days each week in an edition for the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area. A statewide version is also available across Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, and North Dakota. The...

in its review of the concert version of the musical performed by the original cast in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

 in 1996 described her as "extraordinary" (October 14, 1996, page 05B). In 1998, she played Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof

Fiddler on the Roof

Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...

, taking a break from Kristina. In 2000, she returned to Malmö Music Theatre to portray the role of Fantine

Fantine

Fantine is a character in Victor Hugo's 1862 novel Les Misérables.- Backstory :"Fantine was one of those beings which are brought forth from the heart of the people... She was called Fantine because she had never been known by any other name...""All four were ravishingly beautiful. As to Fantine,...

 in Les Misérables

Les Misérables (musical)

Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....

, and in 2002 she created the role of Florence in the reconceived Swedish production of Chess

Chess (musical)

Chess is a musical with music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, formerly of ABBA, and with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story involves a romantic triangle between two top players, an American and a Russian, in a world chess championship, and a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other;...

, opposite original London star Tommy Körberg

Tommy Körberg

Bert Gustav Tommy Körberg is a Swedish singer, actor, and musician. In 1969, he won Swedish Recording Industry Award Grammis in a category Best Debut Performance. English-speaking audiences know him best for his role in the Benny Andersson–Björn Ulvaeus–Tim Rice musical Chess...

 as Anatoly. Having left this production upon closing in 2003, Sjöholm took part in Chinarevyn, a revue starring many well-known Swedish performers including Magnus Härenstam

Magnus Härenstam

Johan Herbert Magnus Härenstam is a Swedish television host, actor and comedian. Härenstam hosted the Swedish version of the game-show Jeopardy! for 14 years before being replaced by Adam Alsing...

, Lasse Berghagen

Lasse Berghagen

Lars "Lasse" Nils Berghagen is a Swedish singer, songwriter, composer and actor.Berghagen is a well known singer-songwriter in Sweden. He released his first record in 1965, aged just 19. Four years later, in 1969, he released the single Teddybjörnen Fredriksson , which has become a classic...

, Loa Falkman

Loa Falkman

Carl-Johan Falkman is a Swedish baritone singer and actor.After studying music, Falkman made his first major performance on the Royal Swedish Opera in 1973....

, Sissela Kyle

Sissela Kyle

Sissela Maria Kyle is a Swedish actress and comedian.Kyle is the second cousin of the British singer Yusuf Islam -Filmography:* 1983 - Limpan* 1985 - Lösa förbindelser...

 and herself.

Helen Sjöholm has also toured extensively throughout Sweden with Georg Wadenius

Georg Wadenius

Georg "Jojje" Wadenius, born May 4, 1945, in Stockholm, Sweden, is a guitarist, bassist, singer and composer who made a name for himself during the 1970s and 80s as a studio and session guitarist/bassist, as well as releasing a popular series of albums of children's songs in Sweden.After appearing...

 and Martin Östergren and she has released two albums, Visor (2002) (a collection of more or less well-known Swedish folk songs in new arrangements by Östergren) and Genom varje andetag (2003) (featuring music and lyrics by jazz pianist Anders Widmark).

She first appeared on the big screen in 1999, appearing in Där regnbågen slutar by Richard Hobert

Richard Hobert

Richard Hobert, born 1 December 1951 in Kalmar, is a Swedish scriptwriter and film director.Hobert studied political science, languages and film/theatre at the Lund University from 1970-73. He debuted as a radio playwright in 1974. Holbert worked as a writer and assistant director up to his debut...

. In 2004, she returned to the movies, portraying the role of Gabriella in Kay Pollak

Kay Pollak

Kay Pollak is an Academy Award-nominated Swedish film director. After a long break from film-making, he returned in 2004 with As It Is in Heaven , a major box office success in Sweden. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film...

's much-debated Så som i himmelen

As It Is in Heaven

As It Is in Heaven is a 2004 film directed by Kay Pollak and starring Michael Nyqvist and Frida Hallgren. It was a box office hit in Sweden and several other countries...

(As It Is in Heaven).

She is also a frequent performer with Benny Andersson

Benny Andersson

Göran Bror "Benny" Andersson is a Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...

's band, Benny Anderssons Orkester

Benny Anderssons Orkester

Benny Anderssons Orkester is a Swedish band, with Benny Andersson as musical leader and composer...

 (BAO), singing mostly dance music and music by Andersson. Additionally, she has appeared in numerous gala concerts including Rhapsody in Rock.

On July 4 2009 Helen performed as lead female singer with the Benny Andersson Band (the name by which BAO is known outside Sweden) at a free concert on Hampstead Heath

Hampstead Heath

Hampstead Heath is a large, ancient London park, covering . This grassy public space sits astride a sandy ridge, one of the highest points in London, running from Hampstead to Highgate, which rests on a band of London clay...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 to mark Sweden's presidency of the EU

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

. The concert comprised a mixture of BAO classics, traditional Swedish folk, Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...

, Shostakovich

Dmitri Shostakovich

Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....

, old British pub singalong Roll Out the Barrell

Beer Barrel Polka

Beer Barrel Polka, also known as Roll Out the Barrel, is a song which became popular worldwide during World War II. The music was composed by the Czech musician Jaromír Vejvoda in 1927. Eduard Ingriš wrote the first arrangement of the piece, after Vejvoda came upon the melody and sought Ingriš's...

, ABBA

ABBA

ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...

 and even Cadillac by the Hep Stars

Hep Stars

The Hep Stars was a Swedish rock group, formed in 1963. During 1965-1966 the band was the most successful of contemporary 1960s Swedish pop groups performing in English language...

.

An English album by the Benny Andersson Band was released on July 6 2009 with some of the Swedish original songs having been translated into English and a new song (Story of a Heart) which is also the title of the album. The song was first played on May 25 2009 on BBC Radio 2

BBC Radio 2

BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio stations and the most popular station in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult Contemporary or AOR, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres...

 on The Ken Bruce show presented by Zoë Ball and after received significant airplay on the station, including being added to the station's A-list.

On June 11 2009 it was announced that Helen would perform in the English version of Kristina från Duvemåla (outside Sweden called Kristina) in a concert version of the musical at Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....

, New York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, on September 23 and 24 2009. She sang as her previous title character while Russell Watson

Russell Watson

Russell Watson is an English tenor who has released singles and albums of both operatic-style and pop songs. The self-styled "People's Tenor" had been singing since he was a child, and became known after performing at a working men's club...

sang as Karl Oskar. She received standing ovations on both nights for her rendition of You Have to Be There (Du måste finnas). The concerts themselves in the main received rave reviews, with a CD release of the live recording planned.

Hit recordings include "Du måste finnas" ("You Have to Be There") from the symphonic musical Kristina från Duvemåla (Kristina), "Vår sista dans" ("If this is Our Last Dance") with Benny Andersson's Orkester, "Gabriellas sång" (from film Så som i himmelen aka As It Is In Heaven), "Jag vet vad han vill" (aka "I Know Him So Well") from musical Chess, "Det är vi ändå" (with Tommy Körberg and Benny Anderssons Orkester), and "Du är min man" ("You Are My Man") with Benny Anderssons Orkester, among others.

Selected discography (Swedish)

• 1997 - Kristina från Duvemåla-musical (original Swedish cast recording)
• 1998 - Från Waterloo till Duvemåla (From Waterloo to Duvemåla)- various artists
• 2001 - Benny Anderssons Orkester (with Benny Andersson's Orchestra/Band)
• 2002 - Visor (Songs)
• 2003 - Chess på svenska (Chess in Swedish)-musical (original Swedish 2002 cast recording)
• 2003 - Genom varje andetag (Through Every Breathtake) (with Anders Widmark)
• 2004 - BAO! (Benny Anderssons Orkester with Helen Sjöholm)
• 2006 - BAO på turné (BAO on tour) (Benny Anderssons Orkester with Helen Sjöholm & Tommy Körberg)
• 2007 - BAO 3 (Benny Anderssons Orkester with Helen Sjöholm & Tommy Körberg)
• 2010 - Euforia - Helen Sjöholm sjunger Billy Joel (Euforia - Helen Sjöholm sings Billy Joel)

Selected discography (English)

• 2009 - Story of a Heart (The Benny Andersson Band)
• 2010 - Kristina at Carnegie Hall (live recording of English-language version)

External links

• Official website
• Kristina the Musical
• Helen Sjöholm - The Voice from Sweden (English fan site and forum)
• Helen Sjöholm - du måste finnas (Swedish fan site and forum)
• Official Facebook page