Margareta Svensson

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Margareta Svensson Riggs
Margareta Svensson Riggs in Los Angeles September 2015.jpg
Svensson Riggs in Los Angeles, September 2015
Born
Ulla Margareta Elisabeth Svensson

(1968-04-22) 22 April 1968 (age 56)
Varberg, Sweden
Occupation(s)Singer, pianist, songwriter, actress, voice teacher, vocal coach, television personality
Years active1986–present
Partner
​
(m. 2012)​
Children1

Margareta Svensson Riggs (born Ulla Margareta Elisabeth Svensson; 22 April 1968) [1] is a Swedish singer, pianist, songwriter, actress, voice teacher, vocal coach and television personality. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Contents

Early life

Already as a five-year-old, Svensson performed her first public performance at a Red Cross Christmas party, and soon thereafter she went with her mother, Inga-Lill Svensson, a registered nurse, to sing for the sick and elderly at the local hospital. With an extensive after-school music program and busy performing schedule, Svensson went on to study dance at Harvard University, and acting at Calle Flygare Teaterskola, Stockholm, Sweden, acting, musical theater, and film and television at Tisch School of the Arts, NYU.

Career

Riggs, Svensson and Stevie Wonder (June 2019) Stevie Wonder, Margareta Svensson Riggs, Seth Riggs.jpg
Riggs, Svensson and Stevie Wonder (June 2019)

At 18, Svensson boarded Portuguese cruise ship MS Funchal as a singer-pianist and a headliner, and from there on she performed throughout Sweden and Europe. While playing Gothia Towers in Gothenburg, Frank Sinatra was performing next-door at Scandinavium. After the concert the Sinatra band came to see Svensson. Sinatra-drummer, Gregg Field, liked Svensson's original music and invited her to come to Los Angeles to record.

As a singer-pianist Margareta Svensson has opened five casino resorts in Las Vegas. National, daily, Swedish newspaper Expressen wrote "Jackpot in Las Vegas". [7] In 1999, Svensson opened Mandalay Bay alongside Bob Dylan and Luciano Pavarotti, [8] The Venetian Las Vegas where she had her own act at La Scena, The Resort at Summerlin (now known as JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort and Spa,) in the year 2000 The Aladdin (now known as Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino) and in 2005 Steve Wynn recruited her to open Wynn Las Vegas. She has held engagements at numerous other Las Vegas casinos and resorts, including MGM Grand Las Vegas, Bellagio, The Mirage, Treasure Island Hotel and Casino, Monte Carlo Resort and Casino, Bally's Las Vegas and Encore Las Vegas. [5]

Svensson has also performed and held resident engagements at among other places The Grand Hotel Stockholm, [9] [10] [11] Sweden, The Dorchester, [12] London, UK, The Beverly Hills Hotel Polo Lounge, [13] The Beverly Wilshire Hotel, and Montage Beverly Hills where she was responsible for all music, and she has traveled the world both as a headliner as well as a piano-singer, and performed for many superstars, including Sir Paul McCartney, [14] Whoopi Goldberg, Stevie Wonder, Chevy Chase, Michael Bolton, B. B. King, [15] Sir Tom Jones [16] and Kiss and world leaders like Margaret Thatcher, to name a few. [17]

She continues to write, record and perform her original music. [18] [19]

Svenska Hollywoodfruar

Her extensive career as a singer-pianist and performer, led to a lead on the fifth season of Svenska Hollywoodfruar broadcast on TV3 Sweden. Season 5 had the highest ratings of the 13 seasons [20] [21] and season 5 is claimed to have saved the network at the time. [22] Svenska Hollywoodfruar features Svensson both as a singer, pianist, performer, songwriter and recording artist, [23] [24] as well as a vocal coach. [25]

The World's Best

In 2019, Svensson Riggs was one of the 50 international expert judges on the new global talent competition series The World's Best from reality TV heavyweights Mark Burnett and Mike Darnell, on CBS. Headlining was James Corden as host, and Drew Barrymore, RuPaul and Faith Hill as American judges. "The Wall of the World" panel consisted of noteworthy names from all realms of entertainment. She is the first Swede to be featured as a judge on an American reality talent show. [6] [26]

Teaching and workshops

Riggs and Svensson teaching in China, September 2013 Seth Riggs and Margareta Svensson Riggs Vocal Workshop in China.jpg
Riggs and Svensson teaching in China, September 2013

Margareta Svensson Riggs has become an expert within vocal technique [27] [28] and is known for defining singing in short as “the energizing, managing, shaping and directing of air.” She is the trusted voice teacher to legendary singers and superstars such as Stevie Wonder, Michael Bolton, Brian Wilson and M.Shadows among others. [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] She works together with her husband, renowned voice teacher to the stars, Seth Riggs, author of “Singing for the Stars,” and founder of “Speech Level Singing,” who originally trained her as a singer as well as a teacher. Once teaching together, they embarked on a groundbreaking journey of deepening and developing the Svensson Riggs vocal technique and their understanding and methods for correct, effective and healthy singing to benefit their clients, where many are a Who’s Who of superstar artists. Together they also conduct vocal workshops and master classes around the world.

Personal life

Svensson Riggs is married to American vocal coach Seth Riggs, [34] known for clients such as Michael Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Stevie Wonder, Madonna, Ray Charles, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Natalie Cole. [35] The two met when Margareta Svensson came to Seth Riggs for singing lessons in the mid-1990s. In 2008, they became a couple and in 2012, they married and their daughter Samantha was born. [36] [37] [38]

In 2013 Svensson read about Angelina Jolie having tested positive for BRCA1, a gene mutation that drastically increases the risk of ovarian- and breast cancer, and Jolie's mother having died from ovarian cancer. Svensson's own mother, Inga-Lill Svensson, had also died from ovarian cancer, and Svensson asked to be tested for BRCA. Svensson tested positive for BRCA1 and while waiting for preventive surgery, an MRI revealed early stage breast cancer. Well and healthy, she shared her story in 2015 in hopes to pass on the gift of helping to yet others at risk. [39] [40] [41]

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References

  1. ↑ "Varberg kommer alltid vara "hemma" för mig". 25 July 2013.
  2. ↑ "Margareta Svensson Riggs gallery". Archived from the original on 17 July 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  3. ↑ "Svenska Hollywoodfruar on TV3".
  4. ↑ "Hon är nytillskottet i Hollywoodfruar". 27 July 2012.
  5. 1 2 "Pianoduell i Las Vegas före Varbergsbesök".
  6. 1 2 "CBS reveals the global experts who will appear on the new competition series". 24 January 2019.
  7. ↑ "Jackpot i Las Vegas".
  8. ↑ "Margareta from Tångaberg shares stage with Dylan".
  9. ↑ "At the piano at the Grand Hotel and in Las Vegas 1".
  10. ↑ "At the piano at the Grand Hotel and in Las Vegas 2".
  11. ↑ "At the piano at the Grand Hotel and in Las Vegas 3".
  12. ↑ "Neil Sedaka and Margareta Svensson Trio at the Dorchester, London". 12 September 2010 – via YouTube.
  13. ↑ "Hon är stjärnornas stjärna".
  14. ↑ "When I was missing a drummer, Paul McCartney jumped in".
  15. ↑ "BB King asked me to marry him".
  16. ↑ "I have experienced so many magical evenings at the piano".
  17. ↑ "Se bilder från Hollywoodfruns privata fotoalbum". 24 September 2012.
  18. ↑ "The Best Thing – Official Music Video". 4 June 2018 – via YouTube.
  19. ↑ "Living in Paradise – Lyrics Video". 22 April 2019 – via YouTube.
  20. ↑ "MMS-HotTop-Television Viewing Data".
  21. ↑ "Starkt uppåt för Hollywoodfruarna".
  22. ↑ "Hollywoodfruarna en kassako – räddade TV3". 30 October 2013.
  23. ↑ "Låten bakom Hollywoodfruarnas storgräl".
  24. ↑ "Margaretas hånlåt om Gunilla:"Ytliga attityd"". 16 October 2012.
  25. ↑ "Hollywoodfruarnas ordkrig trappas upp". 18 September 2012.
  26. ↑ "Förra Hollywoodfrun tar plats i USA:s nya talangshow". 3 February 2019.
  27. ↑ "Legendary voice teacher to the stars Seth Riggs endorses Margareta Svensson Riggs".
  28. ↑ "Metal front man M. Shadows (Avenged Sevenfold) on his work with Seth and Margareta Riggs".
  29. ↑ "Margareta Svensson Riggs and Seth Riggs in an interview". for Swedish Hallands Nyheter 22 July 2015.
  30. ↑ "Seth Riggs and Margareta Svensson Riggs on New China TV". 26 September 2013 – via YouTube.
  31. ↑ "Se Hollywoodfrun sjunga upp". Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  32. ↑ "Michael Bolton in a voice lesson with Seth Riggs and Margareta Svensson Riggs". 22 June 2019 – via YouTube.
  33. ↑ "Voice coaching Stevie Wonder over FaceTime". 15 July 2017. Swedish Hallands Nyheter 15 July 2017.
  34. ↑ "Hollywoodfrun sa ja till Seth, 81". 14 August 2012.
  35. ↑ "Seth Riggs on IMDb". IMDb.
  36. ↑ "Margareta Svensson: "Graviditeten var fantastisk"".
  37. ↑ "Hollywoodfrun Margareta Svensson har fått barn". 3 August 2012.
  38. ↑ "Margareta Svensson (43) fikk barn med Seth Riggs (81), Norwegian VG, published Aug 4, 2012". 4 August 2012.
  39. ↑ "Angelina Jolie saved my life".
  40. ↑ "Hollywoodfrun överlevde cancern tack vare Angelina". 6 August 2015.
  41. ↑ "Hollywoodfrun om mötet med Jolie". Archived from the original on 1 October 2015.
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