  Björk (Guðmundsdóttir) was
born on November 21, 1965 in Reykjavik,
Iceland. As a child, Björk attended a music
school where she studied classical piano and
the flute, and at the age of 11, she recorded
her first song, "I Love To Love."
After being contacted by a record label,
Björk released a record of cover tunes
called Björk. The LP was a hit in
Iceland, but never made it beyond her
homeland.
 Björk was a member of a string
of bands including Exodus (in 1979), Tappi
Takarrass (1981), and KUKL (in 1984), before
striking it rich with The Sugarcubes
(in 1986). In the late 80s and early 90s, The
Sugarcubes found marginal success on
alternative radio, especially for their
quirky female lead singer. When the
Sugarcubes disbanded in 1992, Björk moved to
London and launched a solo career. Björk's
musical interests strengthened with the club
sound, and Björk found her niche with
combining the club sound with her alternative
background.
 Björk's first LP, Debut, released continued
her ability to create daring alternative
dance tracks with unique, quirky lyrics. The
LP contained many Björk favorites including
"Human Behavior," "Venus As A
Boy," "Big Time Sensuality,"
and "Violently Happy." With
"Human Behavior," Björk worked
with Nellee Hooper of Soul II Soul.
Björk also gained more exposure
with her videos which were critical favorites
and often post-modern masterpieces. Debut sold well in the U.S.
and around the world, and established Björk
as a solo performer with her own sound and
direction. The LP also won numerous awards in
England where it went platinum and was named
one of the Best Albums of 1993 in Q magazine. Björk also
won a Brit Award for Best International
Female Artist.
 Rolling
Stone: "The 100 Top Music Videos" included "Human
Behavior" at # 96.
 DVD
 Björk topped the Billboard Hot
Dance Music Club Play chart for 2 weeks with
"Big Time Sensuality."
Björk was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Short Form ("Human
Behavior").
 The video for "Human
Behavior" was nominated for 6 MTV Video Music
Awards including Best Female Video, Best New Artist, Breakthrough Video, Best Special Effects, Best Editing, and Best Art Direction.
 Björk wrote "Bedtime
Stories" for Madonna's LP.
 Björk released Post and continued her
string of alternative hits, breakthrough
videos, and critical success. The LP contains
such tracks as "Army Of Me,"
"Isabel," "Hyper-Ballad,"
and "It's Oh So Quiet."
Björk won another Brit Award
for Best International Female Artist and a
MTV Europe Award for Best Female Artist.
 The video for "Army Of
Me" was nominated for a MTV Video Music
Award for Best Special Effects.
 Björk was nominated for 2 Grammy Awards for Best Alternative Music
Performance (Post) and Best Music Video, Short Form ("It's Oh So
Quiet).
Björk topped the Billboard
Dance Club Play chart for a week with
"Hyper-Ballad."
 Björk's video for "It's Oh
So Quiet" won a MTV Video Music
Award for Best Choreography (Michael Rooney) and
was also nominated for Best Female Video, Breakthrough Video, Best Direction, and Best Art Direction.
 Björk discovered some of the
negative affects of fame when a 21 year old,
obsessed fan mailed an acid bomb to her home
in London, and then committed suicide. The
bomb, which would emit sulfuric acid upon
opening, was located at a London post office.
The impact of the incident resulted in Björk
leaving England and recording her next LP in
Spain.
 Björk's third LP, Telegram was a remix
compilation of tracks from the Post LP. The LP
demonstrated that Björk's talent for
alternative music was additionally assessable
and welcome to club mixes.
Björk topped the Billboard
Dance Music Club Play chart with "I Miss
You" for a week.
 Björk's next LP, Homogenic, was released.
According to Björk, the LP is braver and
darker, but simpler: "It's going to be
bloody." The first single,
"Bachelorette" displays both the
brazenness and the darkness she describes,
along with a lush, melodic sound. Björk has
produced and mixed most of the tracks
herself.
 Björk had to postpone her
concert appearances until after Christmas due
to a kidney infection. After being admitted
into an Iceland hospital with a high fever,
Björk was told to rest for 3 weeks, and was
not considered to be in any danger from the
infection. Björk was forced to cancel
concert appearances in California, Chicago,
and New York, as well as an appearance on Late
Show With David Letterman.
 Björk was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music
Performance (Homogenic) and told MTV: "I
didn't think that they would even think of
me, to be honest... I'm quite, quite selfish,
you know, and I'm kind of doing stuff I enjoy
doing, and the fact that they sort of noticed
is very flattering."
 Björk announced she would not
be appearing with Radiohead due to a conflict over
each artist's large, technical sets that
would require at least an hour between shows
for setting up and dismantling.
The video for
"Bachelorette" won a MTV Video Music
Award for Best Art Direction (Donovan Davidson)
("Bachelorette").
 Björk continued to attract the
most obsessed fans in the music industry, and
was feeling the need to stop making music
because of a stalker breaking into her mom's
house and leaving threatening messages. A
stalker from Spain reportedly broke into her
mother's house and left threatening messages.
Björk told the newspaper, Expression:
"This is worse than the mailbomb... that
the people I love are subjected to threats
because of me is horrible... and the thought
alone that someone could hurt my son makes me
feel sick... I feel very guilty... maybe I
have to stop releasing my music..."
 Björk won another Brit Award
for Best International Female Artist and was
nominated for a Billboard Video Music Award
for Best Clip (Alternative/Modern Rock) for
"Bachelorette."
Björk told MTV that any reports
of her retiring from music were "media
rubbish."
 Björk spent the beginning of
the year creating the score and recording
music for the soundtrack of Dancer
In The Dark - which she also starred in as
a Czech woman.
Björk was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Short Form
("Bachelorette").
Björk could be heard on the
soundtrack for the Mod
Squad with "Alarm Call."
 Ranked # 36 on VH1: 100
Greatest Women of Rock & Roll.
Björk was nominated for a Grammy Award nominated
for Best Music Video, Short
Form
("All Is Full Of Love").
 Björk took home the Golden Palm
Award for Best Actress at the Cannes Film
Festival for her first and possibly last
acting role in Dancer
In The Dark - a film she also wrote the
soundtrack for. Björk said at the ceremony:
"I knew when I said yes that this would
be my first and last role. After 3 months of
shooting, I was feeling like a fish out of
water. It was too much in the world of words
and not enough in the world of music. For me,
the only thing that matters is the music. I
have no ambitions on the acting. I wish I
could have cared about the film, but I'm not
an acting person."
 The video "All Is Full Of
Love" won 2 MTV Video Music
Awards for Breakthrough Video and Best Special Effects (Glassworks).
Björk released Selmasongs
(Music From The Motion Picture 'Dancer In The
Dark').
Björk was awarded the
Outstanding Dramatic Performance award by the
National Board of Review Awards for her
performance in Dancer
In The Dark (which also won Best Film).
 Björk was nominated for a
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a
Drama (Dancer
In The Dark) but lost out to Julia Roberts.
"I've Seen It All" was nominated
for Best Original Song.
Björk won the Outstanding
Dramatic Performance award from the National
Board of Review for Dancer
In The Dark.
Björk was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental
Performance ("Overture
(Selmasongs)").
Björk was nominated for an
Oscar for Best Song ("I've Seen It
All" from Dancer
In The Dark), but failed to get a Best
Actress nod.
VH1: 100
Greatest Videos includes:
# 50
- "It's Oh So
Quiet."
 Björk's next LP, Vespertine was released and
included the potential singles
"Cocoon," "It's Not Up To
You," and "Hidden Place."
Björk said of the new LP: "It's a
relief for me -after 3 years of doing the
film to be back doing songs that are in my
head: The same thing is happening on the
outside as on the inside... This record is
very much about inventing your own paradise,
but underneath your kitchen table, so it's
very secretive. It's sort of about being on
your own in your house with your laptop and
whispering for a year and just writing a very
peaceful song that tiptoes."
 Debut and Post were certified
platinum and Homogenic was certified gold.
Björk began a tour of opera
houses and theaters with a backup of choir
singers and an orchestra. Björk was
decorated with France's National Order of
Merit.
 Björk topped the Billboard
Internet Sales chart for a week and the
Electronic Albums chart for 3 weeks with Vespertine.
 Björk was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music
Performance (Vespertine).
Björk released a hits
compilation (Greatest
Hits) and a box set of previously
released tracks and rarities (Family
Tree).
Rolling Stone:
50 Essential 'Woman In Rock' Albums includes Post at # 43.
 Björk toured some parts of
North America starting in San Francisco.
Björk released the box set: Live:
1993-2002.
Björk released Gling-Glo - a recording by
Björk originally released in 1990 in
Iceland.
 Rolling Stone:
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time: # 373:
Post.
 Björk released 4 live LPs ( Debut
Live, Homogenic
Live, Post
Live, and Vespertine
Live) from the previously released
live box set Live:
1993-2002.
Björk performed
"Oceania" at the opening ceremonies
of the 2004 Olympic Games.
 Björk released her next LP, Medulla.
Björk was nominated for 2 Grammy Awards including Best Female Pop Vocal
Performance ("Oceania") and Best Alternative Music
Performance (Medulla).
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