Bjork Biography
A quirky chanteuse and songwriter who segued successfully from punk rock bands to a post-modern electronica solo career, dark-haired pixiesh Bjork emerged as Iceland’s best known export beginning with the sweeping underground success of her band Sugarcubes in 1988. By 2000 the at once childlike and seductive performer had not only conquered the music industry with her inimitable vocal style and disjointed songwriting but had moved into acting, winning the Best Actress prize at the Cannes Film Festival for her work in Lars von Trier’s period musical “Dancer in the Dark”.
Bjork’s recording career began in 1977 when she released a self-titled Icelandic album at age 11. A collaborative effort with her musician stepfather, the record was a big seller in Iceland, and featured covers of classic pop tracks like The Beatles’ “Fool on the Hill” in her native tongue as well as original compositions. Passionate about music, the trained vocalist, pianist and flutist formed many bands over the years, including the all-girl punk outfit Spit and Snot, the Goth-inspired rock band Kukl and the successful early 1980s new wave project Tappi Tikarrass. Already a star in her homeland, Bjork catapulted to fame in Europe and North America as vocalist of the avant-rock band Sugarcubes, who landed a US record deal with Elektra in 1988. Their debut album “Life’s Too Good” and their single “Birthday” both quickly became cult classics. Their final album “Stick Around For Joy” was similarly successful, and the band split at the top of their game in late 1992.
Interested in opportunities and soundscapes outside of the traditional guitar-bass-drum rock configuration, Bjork began working with 808 State, forerunners of electronica, in 1990. When her solo record “Debut” hit in 1993, the influence of techno was apparent. Bjork’s odd phrasing and breathy but surprisingly strong voice was a good match for the unpredictable neo-dance genre, and her strange and evocative music videos garnered much notice and acclaim. More celebrated and artistically free than she had been with the Sugarcubes, Bjork enjoyed a successful and innovative solo career and her eccentric fashion sense and peculiar persona won her status as something of a pop culture icon. When similarly renowned director Lars von Trier embarked on the dramatically gripping musical “Dancer in the Dark”, he called on Bjork not only to contribute songs (which she had recently done with 1999’s acclaimed independent feature “Being John Malkovich”), but to star in the film. Not exactly a stranger to the craft, Bjork counted among her credits a starring role in the Icelandic production “The Juniper Tree” (filmed in 1986, screened at film festivals around the USA in 1991), a fairy tale inspired drama, and a turn as a troubled teen in the 1987 teleplay “Glerbrot” in addition to a cameo in Robert Altman’s celebrity-studded 1994 feature “Ready to Wear (Pret-a-Porter)”. A peek inside a struggling single mother’s fantasy world, “Dancer in the Dark” required Bjork to delve deep into her consciousness and to sing and dance, as she essayed a woman who envisioned herself and her factory co-workers as players in spectacular Hollywood musicals. The artist had previously studied dance in order to wow viewers with her remarkable breakthrough video “It’s Oh So Quiet” but gladly underwent additional training for the film. More complicated was the acting end. Bjork’s internalized approach to the devastating role reportedly caused the real-life single mother personal emotional distress as well as strife with von Trier. Troubles aside, “Dancer in the Dark” and Bjork herself received high praise and top honors when the film debuted at Cannes in 2000. With this celebrated performance and a long-awaited new album on the horizon for 2001, the artist (who has predicted she will be still singing at age 90) seemed sure to maintain a rewarding and illustrious career for many years to come.
- Also Credited As:
Bjork Gudmundsdottir
- Born:
on 11/21/65 in Reykjavik, Iceland
- Job Titles:
Singer, Songwriter, Composer, Actor, Factory worker, Shop assistant, Waitress
Family
- Father: Gudmundur Gunnarsson. divorced Bjork’s mother c. 1967; remarried
- Half-brother: Arnar Gudmundsson. younger
- Half-siblings: has three younger sisters and three younger brothers
- Half-sister: Inga Hronn. younger
- Mother: Hildur Runa Hauksdottir. divorced Bjork’s father c. 1967; remarried; divorced from second husband Saevarn Arnasson c. 1980
- Son: Sindri Eldon Porsson. born on June 8, 1987; went to live with father in 2001 when mother moved to NYC
- Step-father: Saevarn Arnasson. collaborated with Bjork on her debut album in 1977; divorced from Bjork’s mother c. 1980; his guitar talents to Bjork’s recordings
Significant Others
- Husband: Por Eldon Jonsson. member of band Sugarcubes; father of Sidri; no longer together
- Companion: Dom T.
- Companion: Goldie. born in 1966 in England; at one time planned to marry
- Companion: Howie B. Scottish
- Companion: Matthew Barney. became involved in 2001
- Companion: Oskar Jonasson. directed Sugarcubes videos
- Companion: Stephane Sednaoui. French
- Companion: Tricky. born in 1964 in England
Education
- Barnamusikskoli Reykjavikur, Reykjavik, Iceland, 1970-80
Milestones
- 1977 Released first album, titled “Bjork” at age 11
- 1979 Formed the short-lived all-girl punk band Spit and Snot; was drummer
- 1980 Joined fusion-jazz band Exodus; appeared on Icelandic television
- 1981 Formed the band Tappi Tikarrass; release their first recording, a six-track EP
- 1982 Featured as part of Tappi Tikarrass in the film “Rock in Reykjavik”, a documentary on Icelandic new wave music
- 1983 Tappi Tikarrass released “Miranda”, their second and final album
- 1984 Joined the experimental music outfit Kukl
- 1985 Kukl embarked on a European tour
- 1985 Appeared with Kukl on Icelandic television while seven months pregnant; her bare belly is reported to have resulted in a home viewer seeking damages for a shock-induced heart attack
- 1986 Made acting debut in “The Juniper Tree”, an Icelandic modern fairy tale; screened at 1991 Sundance Film Festival
- 1987 Formed the band Pukl with then-husband Por Eldon Jonsson; band released first single “Birthday”; changed name to The Sugarcubes
- 1987 Played a troubled teen in the Icelandic TV-movie “Glerbrot”
- 1988 Sugarcubes signed with Elektra in the USA
- 1991 Began working with musician Graham Massey of seminal proto-techno music outfit 808 State
- 1992 Sugarcubes released swan song “Stick Around for Joy”; score modern rock hit “Hit” and played last gig at NYC’s Limelight in November
- 1993 Released solo album “Debut”, marking a shift from traditional guitar-bass-drum configuration of Sugarcubes to more technological approach to pop music
- 1994 Had a cameo role in Robert Altman’s “Ready to Wear (Pret-a Porter)”
- 1996 Was involved in a highly publicized scuffle with press in a Bangkok airport; had brush with dangerous stalker when fan sent a mailbomb including his videotaped suicide scored with her music
- 2000 Bought Ellideay, an island off the coast of Iceland seeking greater privacy in the wake of incidents with a stalker
- 2000 Contributed music and also starred in Lars von Trier’s period musical “Dancer in the Dark”; was awarded the Cannes Film Festival’s Best Actress prize; also received Oscar nomination for composing the song “I’ve Seen It All”
- 2001 Embarked on concert tour playing the great opera houses of the world