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ABBA members: How old are Agnetha, Benny, Björn and Anni-Frid and when did the Swedish pop supergroup win Eurovision?
Plus the tragedy that hit one member with the loss of their partner and daughter
ABBA is one of the biggest groups in the history of pop music, with an iconic catalogue of era-defining songs.
Here we take a look at the band members' lives, careers and what they're up to now.
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Who are ABBA?
ABBA is Sweden's biggest ever pop group and one of the most popular bands in history.
The foursome started working together in 1972, when they were all in their twenties.
They have sold over 380 million albums and singles worldwide and were the first group from a non-English speaking country to have consistent success in countries that spoke English.
The band was named after the initials of the band members Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad.
They won the Eurovision Song Contest — which is being — in 1974 with their smash hit Waterloo, before going on to enjoy worldwide success.
The band became well known for their outrageous costumes throughout their career.
Since 2022, fans have been able to watch the virtual concert Voyage in London, which uses holograms of the group.
The outfits for the show, which their "Abbatars" wore, were designed by Dolce & Gabbana.
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What are the members of ABBA doing now?
The BBC is hosting a weekend of ABBA specials to mark the 50th since their Eurovision win in Brighton in April 1974.
The supergroup is appearing on the show More ABBA At The BBC, which airs on BBC Two at 8.35pm on Saturday, April 6, 2024 — you can also catch it on iPlayer.
ABBA are back with ABBA Voyage, a revolutionary concert 40 years in the making
Taking a voyage into the archives, it features the band’s best appearances from programmes including Wogan, The Late, Late Breakfast Show, and The Mike Yarwood Christmas Show.
The programme even has a performance of So Long from that hasn’t been broadcast since 1974.
Here's a look at what they've been up to individually:
Agnetha Fältskog
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After ABBA split, Agnetha - who was born on April 5, 1950 - continued to have success as a solo artist with three hit albums, but she then made headlines for the wrong reasons.
Two broken marriages, a horrific road traffic accident in 1983, her mum’s death in 1994, and being targeted by stalkers caused her to step away from the limelight.
Between 1989 and 2004 she withdrew from public life completely.
However, she sang with Gary Barlow at BBC Children In Need in 2013 in her first live performance in 25 years.
Agnetha now resides outside Stockholm on a farm.
In August 2023 it was revealed she had signed a major record deal with BMG.
Anni-Frid Lyngstad
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Frida was born on November 15, 1945.
She had great international success post-ABBA with her first album selling more than 1.5 million copies.
She married Prince Heinrich Ruzzo Reuss von Plauen in 1992, but he died of lymphoma in 1999 aged just 49 – a year after she tragically lost her daughter Lise-Lotte in a car crash.
Anni-Frid reportedly inherited von Plauen's fortune of £75million.
She now lives in Switzerland with her British partner, Henry Smith, 5th Viscount Hambleden.
In 2004, Frida appeared with former bandmates Benny and Björn at London's fifth-anniversary performance of Mamma Mia! the musical.
Benny Andersson
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Benny Andersson was born on December 16, 1946.
He and Bjorn have remained great friends and continued to work together after ABBA.
As well as some solo projects the pair collaborated together on Chess the musical with Tim Rice, which is best known for the song I Know Him So Well.
After this, the duo penned the global hit Mamma Mia! the musical which premiered in the West End in 1999.
ABBA's amazing album discography
ABBA produced nine studio albums during their career - but their highest achievement was with greatest hits Gold in 1992.
The album spent an incredible 1,144 weeks in the UK top 100.
Here's a rundown of their incredible back catalogue with their UK chart position.
- No28 Waterloo — June 1974
- No13 ABBA — January 1976
- No1 Greatest Hits — April 1976
- No1 Arrival — November 1976
- No1 The Album — February 1978
- No1 Voulez-Vous — May 1979
- No1 Greatest Hits Vol 2 — May 1979
- No1 Super Trouper — November 1980
- No 1 The Visitors — December 1981
- No1 The Singles - The First Ten Years — November 1982
- No17 Thank You For The Music — November 1983
- No70 Absolute ABBA — November 1988
- No1 ABBA Gold - Greatest Hits — October 1992
- No13 More ABBA Gold— June 1993
- No51 Love Stories — November 1998
- No17 The Definitive Collection — November 2001
- No15 18 Hits — May 2006
- No15 Number Ones — November 2006
- No89 The Albums — December 2008
- No48 Gold/More Gold - Greatest Hits— April 2014
- No30 Live At Wembley Arena — October 2014
- No58 Voulez-Vouz — September 2021
- No1 Voyage — November 2021
They also worked together on the film, even making a cameo appearance - Benny as a piano-playing fisherman in the Dancing Queen scene, and Björn as a Greek god playing the lyre during the closing credits.
The pair won an Ivor Novello Award in 2008.
Benny’s the richest of the group - reportedly worth £230million.
Björn Ulvaeus
Bjorn Ulvaeus was born on April 25, 1945.
He continues to write new music with Benny, while also pursuing solo projects.
Bjorn lives in Sweden, and is believed to be worth at least £200million.
The group has continued to have international success since the split with ABBA Gold, released in 1992, selling almost 30million copies worldwide, and musical Mamma Mia! grossing some $2billion since its debut.
Their Voyage virtual reality concert is also raking in a huge fortune.
When did Abba break up and why?
ABBA took a long break from making music together in 1982, but never officially split up.
It's believed that the divorces of both couples played a part in their nearly 40-year hiatus from performing and recording together.
In 2021, ABBA reunited and released their ninth studio album, the excellent Voyage.
Are any of ABBA still married?
No, none of the members remain married to each other, although they began as two couples.
Agnetha married Björn on July 6, 1971.
They had two children together — Linda Elin Ulvaeus, born February 23, 1973, and Peter Christian Ulvaeus, born December 4, 1977.
The couple announced their separation in January 1979, with their divorce being finalised in July 1980.
Agnetha married Tomas Sonnenfeld in 1990, but it ended in divorce after three years.
Björn also remarried.
He wed music journalist Lena Kallersjö in 1981 but they split in 2022.
Björn and Lena had two children together, Anna and Emma Ulvaeus.
All of ABBA's No1 singles in the UK
ABBA had an incredible 20 top ten hits in the UK - nine of which reached the No 1 spot.
Here's a rundown of th0se nine singles - plus a few that just missed out on the top spot.
- Waterloo - April 1974
- Mamma Mio - December 1975
- Fernando - March 1976
- Dancing Queen - August 1976
- Knowing Me, Knowing You - February 1977
- Name Of The Game - October 1977
- Take A Chance On Me - February 1978
- The Winner Takes It All - August 1980
- Super Trouper - November 1980
ABBA just missed out on the top spot twice.
Chiquitita hit No2 in February 1979, as did I Have A Dream in December the same year.
The other two band members, Benny and Anni-Frid, were married in 1978 after a lengthy nine-year engagement.
Their marriage didn't last and they divorced in 1980.
They don't share any children together.
Benny married Swedish TV presenter Mona Nörklit in 1981, and they've been together ever since.
They have one son together, Ludvig.
Benny also has two children from his engagement to Christina Grönvall - Peter and Helene.
Benny was Frida's second husband.
She married Ragnar Fredriksson in 1964, with whom she had two children, Hans and Ann Lise-Lotte.
Ragnar and Frida divorced in 1970.
Lise-Lotte passed away in 1998.
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