Anna Mjöll Ólafsdóttir is an

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

ic jazz singer and songwriter.

Early years

Mjöll was born in

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

, Iceland, the daughter of Svanhildur Jakobsdóttir, singer and TV and Radio Personality, and Ólafur Gaukur, jazz guitarist, film composer, songwriter, arranger and producer. Her only sibling, Andri, works as a General Surgeon in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, United States. Mjöll's parents played six nights a week in her early years. They toured every summer bringing in dancers, fire eaters and magicians from the UK. She began studying guitar herself at the age of six, followed by piano and cello. She wrote and performed her first song when she was eight. In high school she performed jazz numbers on her cello and at 18 she started singing professionally in local restaurants. Mjöll obtained a college degree from

Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík (MR; official name in English: Reykjavik College) is collegein Iceland. It is located in Reykjavík. The school traces its origin to 1056, when a school was established in Skálholt, and it remains one of the oldest ...

and studied at Sorbonne in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, before going to Los Angeles to play jazz.

Career

Mjöll performed extensively on Icelandic television early on. She represented Iceland at

Eurovision Song Contest 1996 The Eurovision Song Contest 1996 was the 41st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 18 May 1996 at the in Oslo, Norway. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster (NRK) and presented by Ingvild Bryn and ...

with the song " Sjúbídú", which she co-wrote with her father. In the lyrics she sings about some of her idols including

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

, Sammy Davis Jr. and

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

. She toured worldwide with the singer

Julio Iglesias Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top List of best-selling music artists, reco ...

for three years. In 2006, she co-wrote and performed three songs with C.J. Vanston for the film '' For Your Consideration''. In 2009, Mjöll released her first album, ''The Shadow Of Your Smile'', containing a mix of Icelandic songs and jazz standards. The CD included a number of notable musicians including

Vinnie Colaiuta Vincent Peter Colaiuta (born February 5, 1956) is an American drummer known for his technical mastery who has worked as a session musician in many genres. He was inducted into the ''Modern Drummer'' Hall of Fame in 1996 and the ''Classic Drumme ...

Dave Carpenter Dave Carpenter (November 4, 1959 – June 24, 2008) was an American bass player. During his early professional career he played with jazz musicians Buddy Rich, Maynard Ferguson and Woody Herman. During the late 1990s he was a touring member of ...

, Don Grusin,

Neil Stubenhaus Neil Stubenhaus is an American bass guitarist. Career He started his musical training playing drums and switched to bass guitar at the age of 12. In one of his early bands, The Neighbourhood in 1969, he played with future Kiss guitarist Vinnie V ...

, and Luis Conte, and was voted one of the top 5 female vocal jazz CDs of 2009 at Arnaldo DeSouteiro's Jazz Station. In 2009, Mjöll was voted one of the top 5 jazz singers of the year by DeSouteiro's Jazz Station. In 2010, Mjöll released her second album, ''Christmas Jazzmaz''. In 2023, she released her third album, ''Live In Studio 3'', recorded live in front of an audience at EastWest Studios in Hollywood, California.

Personal life

Mjöll and American musician, songwriter, and producer

Patrick Leonard Patrick Ray Leonard (born March 14, 1956) is an American songwriter, keyboardist, film composer, and music producer, best known for his longtime collaboration with Madonna. His work with Madonna includes her albums '' True Blue'' (1986), '' Who ...

were married on 19 November 2018, in Patrick's home town,

Crystal Falls, Michigan Crystal Falls is a city and the county seat of Iron County, Michigan, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 1,598. The city is located within Crystal Falls Township, but is a separate municipal entity. The area first dev ...

, U.S. Mjoll is a licensed Private Pilot with an Instrument rating.

References

External links

Arnaldo DeSouteiro's Jazz Station on Anna Mjöll

1970 births Living people Anna Mjoll Anna Mjoll Anna Mjoll Icelandic women composers Icelandic women songwriters Icelandic jazz singers Icelandic women jazz singers Anna Mjoll 21st-century Icelandic women singers Eurovision Song Contest entrants {{Iceland-bio-stub

Early years

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links