Portal:Iceland/Selected biography/2
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Björk Guðmundsdóttir (IPA: [ˈpjœr̥k ˈkvʏðmʏnstoʊhtɪr]) (born November 21, 1965 in Reykjavík, Iceland) is a Brit Award-winning Icelandic singer/songwriter and composer (formerly the lead singer of alternative rock band The Sugarcubes), with an expressive range and an interest in many kinds of music including pop, alternative rock, jazz, ambient music, electronica, folk, and classical music. She is known for her innovative music videos and individualistic music. Her record label, One Little Indian, reported in 2003 that she has sold over 15 million albums worldwide.
In 1999, Björk was asked to write and produce the musical score for the film Dancer in the Dark, a genre-bending musical via drama about an immigrant named Selma who is struggling to pay for an operation to prevent her son from going blind. Director Lars von Trier eventually asked her to consider playing the role of Selma, a proposal she initially turned down. He then threatened to stop the project, which would have made all the musical work she had already done useless. Eventually, she accepted. Filming began in early 1999, and the film debuted in 2000 at the 53rd Cannes Film Festival. Björk received the best actress award for her role, and yet she described the shoot as so physically and emotionally trying that she has sworn off acting ever again.
