What Was Marie Fredriksson's Net Worth?
Marie Fredriksson was a Swedish pop singer, songwriter, and pianist who had a net worth of $60 million at the time of her death. Tragically, Marie Fredriksson died on December 9, 2019, at the age of 61 after battling cancer for 17 years.
Fredriksson was best known for being half of the pop-rock duo Roxette, along with Per Gessle. The duo formed in 1986 and released their debut studio album, "Pearls of Passion," that year. The album reached #2 in Sweden. Roxette released the album "Look Sharp!" in 1988, and it reached #1 in Sweden and sold nine million copies worldwide. Their 1991 album "Joyride" reached #1 in seven countries and sold 11 million records. Their song "It Must Have Been Love" was a monster hit that was featured in the Julia Roberts/Richard Gere movie "Pretty Woman." The group also had albums that were successful worldwide and reached #1 in Sweden with Tourism in 1992, "Crash! Boom! Bang!" in 1994, "Have a Nice Day" in 1999, and "Room Service" in 2001. They also achieved success with the albums "Charm School" in 2011, "Traveling" in 2012, and "Good Karma" in 2016. Roxette's hit singles include "The Look," "Dangerous," "It Must Have Been Love," and "Joyride." Marie also released several solo albums.
Early Life
Marie Fredriksson was born Gun-Marie Fredriksson on May 30, 1958 in Ossjo, Scania, Sweden. She grew up with her four older siblings and her parents, Charles and Inez Fredriksson. When Marie was four years old, her parents sold their farm and moved to Ostra Ljungby, where her father began working as a postman, and her mother became a factory worker. Three years after the move, one of her older sisters, Anna-Lisa, was killed in a car crash as she was on her way to purchase a dress for her engagement party. Fredriksson was seven at the time.
Because her parents had to work full time, the rest of the children were often left home alone to entertain themselves. It was during this time that Fredriksson learned to sing, read music, and play various instruments. She was also musically inspired and encouraged by her Sunday school pastor. As she became a teenager, her interest in music continued to grow, and she started discovering artists like The Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, and Deep Purple. When Marie was 17, she enrolled in a music school. There, she befriended students from the theatre department by composing music for their plays. She also sometimes joined the cast of the school musicals because she had an expansive vocal range. One of the musicals toured Sweden with its run culminating with a performance for the Prime Minister.
Early Career
After finishing music school in 1977, Fredriksson moved to Halmstad. There, she worked in theatre before becoming involved in the local indie music scene. She formed the punk group Strul in 1978 with her then-boyfriend, Stefan Dernbrant. The group formed their own independent music festival in 1979 called Strulfestivalen, which proved to be a financially lucrative endeavor for the band. Though Dernbrant left the group in 1980 due to the ending of his relationship with Fredriksson, she continued performing as Strul along with guitarist Martin Sternhufvud. The group's popularity increased in 1981, and they were featured on Swedish music television programs. The group signed with the independent label Bastun, and they released their first and only single in June 1981. However, only months later, the group permanently disbanded following a disastrous performance at the Pop Around the Clock festival.
After the breakup of Strul, Fredriksson and Sternhufvud formed a new band called MaMas Barn. They disbanded a year or so later. She was then offered a contract as a solo artist on EMI Sweden. However, she was too nervous to be a solo artist but did end up performing duet vocals on the lead single from the Lasse Lindbom Band's 1982 album "Romantisk Blackout." The album did very well in Sweden and she joined the band as a featured vocalist from an extensive tour of the country. Marie also performed backing vocals for the Sweden band Gyllene Tider's debut English album, "The Heartland Café." The album was released in Sweden under the band's original name but in North America under the name Roxette.
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Roxette
Fredriksson then focused on her solo career while also continuing to record music with Roxette. It wasn't until 1989 that Roxette experienced its international breakthrough as a band with the track "The Look." The song topped the U.S. charts after just eight weeks and went on the peak in a total of 25 countries. In 1990, Roxette continued releasing very popular worldwide hits. In 1991, they released what would become their most popular album, "Joyride"
After Roxette released their fourth album, "Tourism," Fredriksson refocused on her solo work. In 1993, she was nominated for three Grammy Awards, winning in the Artist of the Year category. She then began recording music with her husband, Mikael Bolyos, a keyboardist. They released the album "In a Time Like Ours" in 1996. The album featured the single "Tro," which became the longest-charting song of her career, spending a total of 29 weeks on the charts in Sweden. In 2000, she released her first greatest hits album, which became the second best-selling album of the year in Sweden.
Fredriksson experienced a lapse in work and creativity following her brain cancer diagnosis in 2002. However, she began to work on a new album as a form of therapy in 2004. The album, "The Change," debuted atop the Swedish Album chart and was certified gold. Marie was able to return to touring in 2008 and also reunited with Roxette. Roxette produced their tenth studio album, "Good Karma," in June 2016. The group was supposed to tour in promotion of the album but Fredriksson was forced to cancel these shows to focus on her health. She announced in 2017 that she was retiring from touring.
Personal Life and Death
Fredriksson met her husband, Mikael Bolyos, while touring with Roxette in Australia. The couple married in a private ceremony in May 1994. Only immediate family members attended. The couple had two children together – a son named Oscar Mikael in 1996 and a daughter named Inez Josefin in 1993.
In 2002, Fredriksson was diagnosed with brain cancer. Following a 17-year battle with the disease, she died on December 6, 2019. A private funeral was held with only immediate family in attendance. The king of Sweden, King Carl XVI Gustaf, paid tribute to her life by making a public announcement. A concert in memory of her took place at the Stora Teatern in Gothenburg on January 20, 2020.
Fredriksson's last recording was the 2017 track "Sea of Love," which was released posthumously on the first anniversary of her death. Roxette issued a compilation album of outtakes titled "Bag of Trix" in December 2020, which contained several previously unreleased demos composed by Marie. Another solo song, "Stay," was released as a non-album single in May 2021.
