Ben Kingsley, Oscar winner for Best Actor after starring as Mohandas Gandhi in the film "Gandhi"

Sir Ben Kingsley, CBE (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji (Gujarati:કૃષ્ણા પંડિત ભાનજી); 31 December 1943) is a British actor. He has won an Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards in his career. He is known for starring as Mohandas Gandhi in the film Gandhi in 1982, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. He is also known for his performances in the films Schindler's List (1993), Sexy Beast (2000) and House of Sand and Fog (2003).
Kingsley was born Krishna Pandit Bhanji in Snainton, near Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England, the son of Anna Lyna Mary (née Goodman), an actress and model, and Rahimtulla Harji Bhanji, a medical doctor.
Kingsley's father, born in Kenya, is of Gujarati Indian descent; Kingsley's paternal grandfather was a spice trader who had moved from India to Zanzibar, where Kingsley's father lived until moving to England at the age of 14. Ben Kingsley's mother, born out of wedlock, was "loath to speak of her background"; she was the daughter of an English mother who worked in the garment district of East London, and a father who was believed by the family to have been a Russian or German Jew.
Kingsley grew up in Pendlebury, near Salford. He was educated at Manchester Grammar School, where one of his classmates was the actor Robert Powell. He later studied at the University of Salford and at Pendleton College, which later became home to the Ben Kingsley Theatre.

Kingsley began his acting career on stage, but made a transition to film roles early on. Despite this focus on film, he continued to act on the stage, playing Mosca in Peter Hall's 1977 production of Ben Jonson's Volpone for the Royal National Theatre, and in Peter Brook's acclaimed production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. At about this time, he changed his name from Krishna Bhanji to Ben Kingsley, fearing that a foreign name would hamper his career; he took his stage surname from his paternal grandfather's nickname, "King Clove".
Kingsley's first film role was a supporting turn in Fear Is the Key, released in 1972. Kingsley continued starring in bit roles in both film and television, including a role as Ron Jenkins on the soap opera Coronation Street from 1966 to 1967 and regular appearances as a defence counsel in the long-running British legal programme Crown Court. In 1975 he starred as Dante Gabriel Rossetti in the BBCs historical drama The Love School. He found fame only years later, starring as Mohandas Gandhi in the Academy Award-winning film Gandhi in 1982, his best-known role to date.The audience agreed with the critics, and Gandhi was a box-office success. Kingsley won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal.

Kingsley has since appeared in a variety of roles. His credits included the films Turtle Diary, Maurice, Pascali's Island, Without a Clue (as Dr. Watson alongside Michael Caine's Sherlock Holmes), Suspect Zero, Bugsy (nominated for Best Supporting Actor), Sneakers, Dave, Searching for Bobby Fischer, Schindler's List, Silas Marner, Death and the Maiden, Sexy Beast, for which he received another Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and House of Sand and Fog, which led to an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. He won a Crystal Globe award for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 2001.

In 1997, he provided voice talent for the video game Ceremony of Innocence. In July 2006, he received an Emmy nomination for his performance in the made-for-TV film Mrs. Harris, in which he played famed cardiologist Herman Tarnower, who was murdered by his jilted lover, Jean Harris. Later that year, Kingsley appeared in an episode of The Sopranos entitled "Luxury Lounge", playing himself. In the show, Christopher Moltisanti and Carmine Lupertazzi offer him a role in the fictional slasher film Cleaver, which he turns down. Lupertazzi offers him the role on the basis of Kingsley's real-life performance in Sexy Beast. In 2007, Kingsley appeared as a Polish American mobster in the Mafia comedy You Kill Me, and a hitman in War, Inc. In 2010, Kingsley has worked voicing a character named Sabine in Lionhead Studios game Fable III, and starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in Shutter Island, directed by Martin Scorsese. He is scheduled to appear in Scorsese's next film Hugo Cabret and has just signed up to appear in the new feature by Neil Jordan and John Boorman entitled Broken Dream.
Kingsley's SBK-Pictures has been planning to bring the story of the Native American Conley Sisters to the big screen in Whispers Like Thunder, with Kingsley playing the role of Charles Curtis, the first part-Native American to become vice-president of the United States.

Succes 2011: Alfredo Di Stéfano, "Saeta rubia". Footballer selected as the Golden Player of Spain by the Royal Spanish Football Federation

Alfredo Stéfano Di Stéfano Laulhé (born 4 July 1926 in Barracas, Buenos Aires), born into a family of Italian immigrants from Capri,is a former Argentinian footballer and coach, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. He is most associated with Real Madrid and was instrumental in their domination of the European Champions' Cup during the 1950s, a period in which the club won the trophy in five consecutive seasons from 1956. Di Stéfano played international football mostly for Spain, but he also played for Argentina and Colombia.Di Stéfano, nicknamed "Saeta rubia" ("blond arrow"), was a powerful forward with great stamina, tactical versatility, and vision, who could also play almost anywhere on the pitch. He is currently the 4th highest scorer in the history of Spain's top division, and Real Madrid's 2nd highest league goalscorer of all time, with 216 goals in 282 league matches between 1953 and 1964.

 In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee, he was selected as the Golden Player of Spain by the Royal Spanish Football Federation as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years. He was named by Pelé as one of the "top 125 greatest living footballers" in March 2004 (in September 2009 he said Di Stéfano was the best player "ever"). Di Stéfano was voted fourth, behind Pelé, Diego Maradona, and Johan Cruyff, in a vote organized by the French weekly magazine France Football consulting their former Ballon d'Or winners to elect the Football Player of the Century.

Former players such as Pelé, Eusébio, Luis Suárez, Sandro Mazzola and John Charles described Di Stefano as "the most complete footballer in the history of the game". Alfredo Di Stéfano born into a family of Italian immigrants from Nicolosi, near Catania ("from Capri" it's fake without verification). Began his career at Argentina's River Plate aged 17, in 1943. For the 1946 season he was loaned to Club Atlético Huracán, but he returned to River in 1947. Due to a footballer's strike in Argentina in 1949, Di Stéfano went to play for Millonarios of Bogotá in the Colombian league. He won six league titles during the first 12 years of his career in Argentina and Colombia.

Di Stéfano is best known for his time at Real Madrid where he was an integral part of one of the most successful teams of all time. He scored a club record 216 league goals in 262 games for Real, striking up a fearsome partnership with Ferenc Puskás. Di Stéfano's 49 goals in 58 matches was for decades the all-time highest tally in the European Cup, until it was surpassed by Real Madrid's Raúl in 2005, and Milan's Andriy Shevchenko and Real Madrid's Ruud van Nistelrooy in 2006. Perhaps the highlight of his time with the club was their 7–3 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the 1960 European Cup Final at Hampden Park, a game many consider to be the finest exhibition of club football ever witnessed in Europe. He was voted European Footballer of the Year in 1957 and 1959.
He moved to Espanyol in 1964 and played there until hanging up his boots at the age of 40.

One year after his retirement as footballer, a testimonial match was held on 7 June 1967 and played for a trophy which named after himself. The Alfredo Di Stéfano Trophy or Alfredo Di Stéfano Cup was won by Celtic of Scotland. The trophy was contested in a match between Real Madrid and Celtic at Real's Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid. The match took place 2 weeks after Celtic's victory in the European Cup 1967. Celtic won the match 0–1, with Bobby Lennox scoring the victory and Jimmy Johnstone stealing the show.
At one stage the whole stadium began to shout "Olé!" when Johnstone dribbled and dodged of their own team's players, at the full time the whole stadium applauded him.
The match was also seen as the battle to determine the true champions of Europe caused Real Madrid had won European Cup in the previous year as the most successful club with six times in total.
Di Stéfano played with three different national teams during his career: he played six times with the Argentine national team, twice with Colombia (not recognized by FIFA) and 31 times with the Spanish national team. However, he never played in the World Cup Finals.

Succes 2011: Andrei Pavel, winner of the Masters Series title in Montreal in 2001

Andrei Pavel (born January 27, 1974 in Constanţa) is a tennis coach and former professional tennis player from Romania. He is currently coaching former world No. 1 and the current world No. 15 of the WTA, Jelena Janković.
Andrei began playing tennis at age eight, and moved to Germany at age sixteen.
Pavel has turned professional in 1995. He has won three singles titles, including the ATP Masters Series tournament in Montreal/Toronto in 2001. He has also won seven doubles titles, the latest title being the Open Seat Barcelona, in 2007.
Pavel played what John McEnroe considers to be the best first round match at a Grand Slam he has ever seen at the U.S Open in August 2006, where he lost to Andre Agassi in four sets; 6–7(4), 7–6(8), 7–6(6), 6–2; taking three and half hours. Had Pavel won, it would have been Agassi's last match in a professional tournament.

His best single result over the course of his career took place in 2001, when he captured the Masters Series title in Montreal. For his efforts during that week alone, Pavel earned US$400,000. When playing Andy Murray in the Australian Open in 2009, Pavel was forced to retire from the game in the second set due to a recurring back injury. He had lost the previous set. Andrei entered the 2009 French Open, where he was defeated by Tommy Haas 6–1, 6–4, 6–4.

He played his last singles match in his homeland tournament in Bucharest in 2009, where he lost in the first round to Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay.  In the same tournament he teamed up with his old friend Gabriel Trifu, losing in the quarter finals to Spaniards Ramírez Hidalgo / Ventura.

 He also played two more exhibition matches, one facing Goran Ivanišević, while in the other he paired up with Ilie Năstase against the Mansour Bahrami / Yannick Noah pair. The week before, he had been the captain of Romania's Davis Cup team, where they lost to Sweden 3–2 in the qualifying rounds.
His highest rank of the career was 13th in October 2004.
At the start of 2011, former world number one Jelena Janković announced her decision of working with Andrei Pavel on a trial basis. The Serbian player has not performed up to the mark in 2010 and thus dropped to as low as number eight in the WTA rankings.

Succes 2011: Mansour Bahrami, "The Court Jester"

Mansour Bahrami (born April 26, 1956) is a professional tennis player. He has held dual French and Iranian nationality since 1989.

From an early age he worked as a ball boy within a sports complex in Tehran, Iran. He observed many of the best Iranian tennis players in action but he was never allowed to play. Eventually he snuck onto one of the courts but his first racquet was destroyed by an outraged armed guard who also beat him badly for his misdemeanour. He resorted to learning the game through the use of his hands or frying pans or broom handles. Bahrami has often commented that his outrageous shotmaking ability resulted from mastering tennis using such unusual implements.

The time came when the Iranian team was short of players and Bahrami was finally permitted to play the game on a tennis court. His talent was obvious and he reached the Davis Cup team (and helped the team to victory at the age of just sixteen) but in the late 1970s the Islamic Revolution within Iran led to tennis being viewed as a capitalist and elitist sport. He spent the next three years playing backgammon as all tennis courts were closed down. In desperation he fled to France with his life savings, soon gambling these away in a casino. A number of friends supported him financially as he began to play a few tournaments within France.

While his best days were behind him and he never maximized his potential in singles, he became a successful doubles player who even reached the French Open doubles final in 1989 in partnership with Eric Winogradsky. His weakness and indeed his strength was an inescapable thirst for providing a crowd with a show. He often lost in the early rounds of singles tournaments due to his tendency to play trick shots from the off or when he was bored with winning too easily. He was able to play more seriously in doubles where he felt that he could not be seen to be letting his partner down.
Bahrami did not become a household name during his days on the main ATP Tour but enough of his fellow players had seen his talent at first hand to be impressed. He was perhaps the only player in history to be paid a guarantee just to enter the qualifying tournament for ATP tournaments. However, when the Champions Tour was set up for players aged over 35 in 1993, he had found his niche. Over time, the matches that he played with the likes of Jimmy Connors, Björn Borg and John McEnroe ensured that he achieved star status in his own right. Bahrami also formed a memorable doubles partnership with former French Open finalist and Davis Cup winner Henri Leconte as well as former French Open champion Yannick Noah. His best achievement in the senior tour so far was winning the ATP Champions Tour event in Doha, Qatar.
Bahrami had always been an entertainer but his attitude fit perfectly with the aims of the Outback Champions Tour where giving the public a show was essential. He continues to travel for 40 weeks of the year playing exhibition tournaments in which his range of unusual and breathtaking shots are played. His specialty shots include the power shot through the legs, the lob through the legs and the drop shot which bounces back over the net due to excessive backspin. His sense of humour shines through all of his matches and the crowd is never sure of his next move, be it serving while holding six balls (although he is known to hold 21), an under arm serve, catching the ball in his pocket, deliberately missing a smash or playing an imaginary, slow-motion point.
Fame came to Bahrami over time to the extent that he has now played within all of the major tennis venues throughout the world, something he could not do early in his career while on the regular tour, including the show courts at Wimbledon and the French Open. He is married to Frederique and they have two children. His autobiography, "Le Court Des Miracles" was published in 2006, accompanying a DVD entitled (The Man Behind The Moustache) chronicling his life and the highlights of his career. His autobiography has been translated into English as "The Court Jester" and was released in late 2009.

Succes 2011: John McEnroe, former top-ranked singles tennis player in the world

John Patrick McEnroe, Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from the United States. During his career, he won seven Grand Slam singles titles (three at Wimbledon and four at the US Open), nine Grand Slam men's doubles titles, and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title. McEnroe also won a record eight season ending championships, comprising five WCT Finals titles and three Masters Grand Prix titles from twelve final appearances at these two events, a record he shares with Ivan Lendl. In addition he won 19 Championship Series top tier events of the Grand Prix Tour that were the precursors to the current Masters 1000.

He is best remembered for his shot-making artistry and superb volleying; for his famous rivalries with Björn Borg, Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl; for his confrontational on-court behavior which frequently landed him in trouble with umpires and tennis authorities; and for the catchphrase "You cannot be serious!" directed toward an umpire during a match at Wimbledon in 1981. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1999, and is regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
McEnroe is the older brother of Patrick McEnroe, who is also a former professional tennis player and the former Captain of the United States Davis Cup team, a position in which John served previously. They also both are now often commentators for Grand Slam tennis television coverage in the United States, and John McEnroe is also a commentator on Wimbledon for the BBC.

As an 18 year old amateur in 1977, McEnroe won the mixed doubles at the French Open with Mary Carillo, and then made it through the qualifying tournament and into the main draw at Wimbledon, where he lost in the semifinals to Jimmy Connors in four sets. It was the best performance by a qualifier at a Grand Slam tournamentand a record performance by an amateur in the open era.

After Wimbledon in 1977, McEnroe entered Stanford University, and went on to win the National Collegiate Athletic Association singles and team titles in 1978. Later in 1978, he joined the ATP tour and signed his first professional endorsement deal, with Sergio Tacchini. He won five titles that year including his first Masters Grand Prix , beating Arthur Ashe in straight sets.
In 1979, McEnroe won his first Grand Slam singles title at the US Open. He defeated his good friend Vitas Gerulaitis in straight sets in the final to become the youngest male winner of the singles title at the US Open since Pancho Gonzales, who was also 20 in 1948.He also won the prestigious season ending WCT Finals beating Björn Borg in 4 sets. McEnroe won 10 singles and 17 doubles titles that year (for a total of 27 titles, which marked an open era record).

In the Wimbledon Championships, McEnroe reached the 1980 Wimbledon Men's Singles final – his first final at the Championships – where he faced Björn Borg, who was gunning for his fifth consecutive Wimbledon title. At the start of the final, McEnroe was booed by the crowd as he entered Centre Court following heated exchanges with officials during his semifinal victory over Jimmy Connors. In a fourth-set tiebreaker that lasted 20 minutes, McEnroe saved five match points and eventually won 18–16. McEnroe, however, could not break Borg's serve in the fifth set, which the Swede won 8–6. This match was called the best Wimbledon final by ESPN's countdown show "Who's Number One?"
McEnroe exacted revenge two months later, beating Borg in the five-set final of the 1980 US Open.

McEnroe remained controversial when he returned to Wimbledon in 1981. Following his first-round match against Tom Gullikson, McEnroe was fined U.S. $1,500 and came close to being thrown out of the championships after he called umpire Ted James "the pits of the world" and then swore at tournament referee Fred Hoyles. He also made famous the phrase "you cannot be serious", which years later would become the title of McEnroe's autobiography, by shouting it after several umpires' calls during his matches This behavior was in sharp contrast to that of Borg, who was painted by the tabloid press as an unflappable "ice man."Nevertheless, in matches played between the two, McEnroe never lost his temper.
But despite the controversy and merciless criticism from the British press (Ian Barnes of the Daily Express nicknamed him "SuperBrat"), McEnroe again made the Wimbledon men's singles final against Borg. This time, McEnroe prevailed in four sets to end the Swede's run of 41 consecutive match victories at the All England Club. TV commentator Bud Collins quipped after the Independence Day battle, paraphrasing "Yankee Doodle", "Stick a feather in his cap and call it 'McEnroe-ni'!".
The controversy, however, did not end there. In response to McEnroe's on-court outbursts during the championships, the All England Club did not accord McEnroe honorary club membership, an honor normally given to singles champions after their first victory. McEnroe responded by not attending the traditional champions dinner that evening. He told the press: "I wanted to spend the evening with my family and friends and the people who had supported me, not a bunch of stiffs who are 70–80 years old, telling you that you're acting like a jerk." The honor was eventually accorded to McEnroe after he won the championship again.

Borg and McEnroe had their final confrontation in the final of the 1981 US Open. McEnroe won in four sets, becoming the first male player since the 1920s to win three consecutive US Open singles titles. Borg never played another Grand Slam event. McEnroe also won his second WCT Final, beating Johan Kriek in straight sets.
McEnroe lost to Jimmy Connors in the 1982 Wimbledon final. McEnroe lost only one set (to Johan Kriek) going into the final; however, Connors won the fourth set tiebreak and the fifth set to win the championship.
In 1983, McEnroe reached his fourth consecutive Wimbledon final, dropping only one set throughout the whole championship (to Florin Segărceanu), and swept aside the unheralded New Zealander Chris Lewis in straight-sets. He also played at the Australian Open for the first time, making it to the semifinals before being defeated in four sets by Mats Wilander. He made the WCT Final for the third time and beat Ivan Lendl in an epic five setter. He took the Masters Grand Prix title for the second time, again beating Lendl in straight sets.
At the 1984 French Open, McEnroe lost a close final match to Ivan Lendl. McEnroe was on the verge of beating Lendl after winning the first two sets, but Lendl's decision to use more topspin lobs and cross-court backhand passing shots, as well as fatigue and temperamental outbursts, got the better of McEnroe, allowing Lendl to win a dramatic five-setter. The loss ended a 42-match winning streak since the start of the season, and was the closest McEnroe ever came to winning the French Open. In his autobiography, McEnroe described this loss as his bitterest defeat and conveyed the impression that this was a shadow on his career that could never be chased off.
In the 1984 Wimbledon final, McEnroe played a virtually flawless match to defeat Connors in just 80 minutes, 6–1, 6–1, 6–2. That was McEnroe's third and final Wimbledon singles title. Again McEnroe had won Wimbledon while dropping just one set throughout the entire tournament, this time to Paul McNamee.

McEnroe won his fourth US Open title in 1984 by defeating Lendl in straight sets in the final after defeating Connors in a five-set semifinal.
He won his fourth WCT Final, defeating Jimmy Connors in five sets, and took his third Masters Grand Prix, beating Ivan Lendl in straight sets.
1984 was McEnroe's best year on the tennis tour, as he compiled an 82–3 recordand won a career-high 13 singles tournaments, including Wimbledon and the US Open. He also was on the U.S.' winning World Team Cup and runner-up Davis Cup teams. The only male who has come close to matching McEnroe's 1984 win-loss record since then was Roger Federer in 2005. Federer was 81–3 before losing his last match of the year to David Nalbandian in five sets.
McEnroe's 1984 season did not end without controversy. While playing and winning the tournament in Stockholm, McEnroe had an on-court outburst that became notorious in sports highlight reels. After questioning a call made by the chair umpire, McEnroe demanded, "Answer the question, jerk!" McEnroe then slammed his racquet into a juice cart beside the court. He was suspended for 21 days for exceeding a $7,500 limit on fines that had been created because of his behavior.
In 1985, McEnroe reached his last Grand Slam singles final at the US Open. This time, he was beaten in straight sets by Lendl.

According to the Association of Tennis Professionals, McEnroe became the top-ranked singles player in the world on March 3, 1980. He was the top ranked player on 14 separate occasions between 1980 and 1985 and finished the year ranked World No. 1 four straight years from 1981 through 1984. He spent a total of 170 weeks at the top of the rankings.

Internaționali români de fotbal: Gavril Pelé Balint

Gavril Pelé Balint (born 3 January 1963) is a former Romanian football striker and the current head coach of Moldovan national team. His scored the second and last goal at the penalties shoot-out during the 1986 European Cup final, helping his team, Steaua Bucureşti, to win the trophy.

Born in Sângeorz-Băi, Bistriţa Balint made his Divizia A debut with Steaua Bucureşti in 1981 where he played until 1990 winning the league title in 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989, the Romanian Cup in 1985, 1987, 1988 and 1989, the European Cup 1985-86 in 1986 and the European Super Cup in 1987. At the end of the 1989-90 season Balint became top goalscorer of Divizia A with 19 goals.
In 1990, he was bought by Real Burgos for $ 1,000,000. He played for the Spanish side until his retirement in 1993.

Balint was capped 34 times by Romania, and scored 14 goals. He played at the 1990 World Cup where he scored twice, against Cameroon and Argentina.

Balint started his coaching career in 1994, aged 31, when he was appointed as assistant coach of Romania under Anghel Iordănescu's regime. Four years later comes his first chance as head coach after taking the charge at Sportul Studenţesc, but in May 2000 he is called again to join the coaching team of Romania as the squad prepared for the UEFA Euro 2000.

In the summer of 2000 Balint was requested by Mircea Lucescu as his assistant to Galatasaray, however left the job after only one season, to join again Romania as assistant coach, this time under Gheorghe Hagi's regime.
After Hagi resigned, Balint went to Sheriff Tiraspol for his second job as head coach, taking the team in 2002.
In 2003 he returned to Romania and signed to Sportul Studenţesc, now in Liga II but helped the team win promotion back to Liga I.
Balint returned as assistant coach to Galatasaray in 2004 to work again with Gheorghe Hagi.
In 2005 he was appointed assistant coach of FCU Politehnica Timişoara, working again with Gheorghe Hagi.
Romanian gaffer Gavrin Balint as the new man in charge of the Moldova national team. The 47-year-old has signed a two-year contract.

Succes 2011: Agnetha Fältskog, singer that reached international stardom as a member of the pop group ABBA. She's known as "Greta Garbo the second" in Sweden

Agneta Åse Fältskog (she added the "H" later in life) (born 5 April 1950) is a Swedish recording artist and entertainer. She achieved success in Sweden after the release of her début album Agnetha Fältskog in 1968, and reached international stardom as a member of the pop group ABBA, which to date has sold over 375 million records worldwide,making it the fourth best–selling music artist in history and the second best–selling band in history.Agnetha (known as Anna in some countries) Fältskog was born on 5 April 1950 in Jönköping, Småland, Sweden. She was the first of two daughters of department store manager Knut Ingvar Fältskog (1922—1995) and his wife Birgit Margareta Johansson (1923—1994).Her younger sister, Mona Fältskog Ericsson (1955), works as a nurse in Stockholm^.Ingvar Fältskog showed much interest in music and showbusiness, whereas Birgit Fältskog was a very calm and careful woman who devoted herself to her children and household.Fältskog cites Connie Francis, Marianne Faithfull, Aretha Franklin and Lesley Gore as her strongest musical influences.Fältskog wrote her first song at the age of six, entitled "Två små troll" ("Two Little Trolls").

In 1958, she began taking piano lessons, and also sang in a local church choir. In early 1960, Fältskog formed a musical trio, The Cambers, with her friends Lena Johansson and Elisabeth Strub. They performed locally in minor venues and soon dissolved due to a lack of engagements. At age 15, Fältskog decided to leave school and pursue a career.
Fältskog worked as a telephonist for a car firm while performing with a local dance band, headed by Bernt Enghardt. The band soon became so popular that she had to make a choice between her job and her musical career. She continued singing with the Bernt Enghardt band for two years. During that time, Fältskog broke up with her boyfriend Björn Lilja; this event inspired her to write a song that would soon raise her to media prominence, "Jag var så kär".  At that time, Karl Gerhard Lundkvist, a relative of one of the band's members, retired from his successful rock and roll career and began working as a record producer at Cupol Records. Enghardt sent him a demo recording of the band, but Lundkvist showed interest in Fältskog and her song only.

She was worried because he was not interested in the band and they were not to be included on the record. However, she decided to accept the offer, and signed a recording contract with CBS Records.Her début single "Jag var så kär", written by herself, was released through Cupol Records in 1967, and topped the Swedish Chart on 28 January 1968 and sold more than 80.000 copies.She also submitted the song "Försonade" to Melodifestivalen, the Swedish heats of the Eurovision Song Contest, but it was not selected for the final.Fältskog developed a career as one of Sweden's most popular pop music artists, participating in a television special about pilots in 1968.The same year, she released the single "Zigenarvän" about a young girl attending a Gypsy wedding and falling in love with the bride's brother.

Its release coincided with a heated debate about Gypsies in the Swedish media, and Fältskog was accused of deliberately trying to make money out of the situation by writing the song.
Her success continued throughout the late 1960s. She then met German songwriter/producer Dieter Zimmerman, to whom she became engaged. Thus Fältskog's albums were reaching German charts, and Zimmerman promised Fältskog she would achieve great success in Germany.When she went there and met with record producers, she refused to meet their demands, describing their chosen material as "horrible". Fältskog soon ended her engagement to Zimmerman and returned to Sweden. In 1970, she released "Om tårar vore guld", which was perhaps her most successful song in Sweden before ABBA.This was in spite of a claim from a Danish composer that she had used 22 bars from his composition "Tema", even though it had been written in the 1950s and had never been recorded.

 The case dragged on until 1977, when a settlement was reached and Fältskog paid the Dane SEK5,000.In 1972, Fältskog portrayed Mary Magdalene in the Swedish production of the international musical hit Jesus Christ Superstar.Fältskog met Björn Ulvaeus, a member of the Hootenanny Singers, in 1969. Her relationship with Ulvaeus, as well as her friendship with Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Benny Andersson, with whom Ulvaeus had already written songs, eventually led to the formation of ABBA. Fältskog and Ulvaeus married on 6 July 1971 in the village Verum, with Andersson playing the organ at their wedding. Their first child, Linda Elin Ulvaeus, was born on 23 February 1973, and their son Peter Christian Ulvaeus on 4 December 1977. The couple decided to separate in late 1978, and Fältskog moved out of their home on Christmas night, 25 December 1978.

 In January 1979, the couple filed for divorce, which was finalised in June 1980. Both Fältskog and Ulvaeus agreed not to let their failed marriage interfere with their responsibilities with ABBA.The failure of their marriage inspired Ulvaeus to write "The Winner Takes It All", one of ABBA's greatest hits.
In 1975, during the same period as her bandmate Anni-Frid Lyngstad recorded her Swedish number one album Frida ensam, Fältskog recorded and produced her solo album Elva kvinnor i ett hus. These albums were both recorded between sessions and promotion for the ABBA albums Waterloo and ABBA. Even though ABBA was already a number one act in Sweden by 1975, Fältskog's album failed to reach the Top 10 on the Swedish album charts, peaking at number 11. However, Elva Kvinnor I Ett Hus did spend 53 weeks on the chart, even longer than any of ABBA's albums, and it also contained three further Svensktoppen entries for Fältskog: her Swedish language version of ABBA's "SOS" (also number 4 on the single sales chart); "Tack För En Underbar Vanlig Dag"; and "Doktorn!". Except for the version of "SOS", all the songs had lyrics by Bosse Carlgren and music by Fältskog herself. The album had been underway since 1972, when Agnetha started writing the songs, but it was delayed because of the work with ABBA and her pregnancy. In 1974, she and Carlgren agreed on a concept for the album; it should consist of 12 songs, sung by 12 different women living in the same apartment building, each having a distinct name, identity, etc. In the end, only 11 songs were put onto the album, and the concept was never fully developed.

Between the years 1968 and 1980, Fältskog had a total of 18 entries on the Svensktoppen radio chart, starting with debut single "Jag Var Så Kär" in January 1968 (peak position number 1) and ending with "När Du Tar Mig I Din Famn" from the compilation Tio år med Agnetha twelve years later, in January 1980 (peak position number 1). The 18 entries, most of which were composed or co-written by Fältskog herself, spent a total of 139 weeks on the chart during this time, with the biggest hit being 1970's "Om Tårar Vore Guld" (number 1, 15 weeks).^{[citation needed]} Fältskog also recorded the Swedish Christmas album Nu tändas tusen juleljus with daughter Linda Ulvaeus which peaked at number 6 on the Swedish album sales chart in December 1981. Chartwise Fältskog was, therefore, by far the most successful solo artist of the four ABBA members, both before and during the band's international career.
Fältskog is also the only member of ABBA to have participated in Melodifestivalen again after having won Eurovision with "Waterloo" in 1974, albeit only as a composer. In 1981, she wrote the ballad "Men Natten Är Vår" ("But the Night Is Ours") with lyrics by Ingela Forsman, but instead of performing the song in the contest herself, she chose new talent Kicki Moberg. The single, which Fältskog produced in the Polar Studios with the same musicians as on contemporary ABBA recordings, was backed with the Swedish version of "I'm Still Alive", entitled "Här Är Mitt Liv" ("Here Is My Life"), a song which she herself had sung on ABBA's 1979 world tour. Moberg's recording of the song remains the only version to have been officially released to date.
In the 1980s, Fältskog released three English-language solo albums. The records did well in Europe and Scandinavia.

At the end of 1982, she duetted with Swedish singer (and former ABBA backing vocalist) Tomas Ledin on a song called "Never Again", which became a Top Five hit in Sweden, Norway, Belgium, and South America.The song was also released in a Spanish language version, entitled "Ya Nunca Más". In the summer of the same year, Fältskog starred in the hit Swedish movie Raskenstam,and received positive reviews for her film début. The film was also a blockbuster hit in Sweden.

In May 1983, Fältskog released her first post-ABBA solo album, Wrap Your Arms Around Me. The album became a moderate hit in North America and Australia, and reached the higher regions of the charts across Europe, including number 1 in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Belgium and Denmark (where it became the biggest-selling album of the year), and number 18 in the UK. Agnetha sold 1.2 million records of her first solo album after ABBA.  Two singles from the album became hits in continental Europe. "The Heat Is On" became a number 1 hit in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and the Netherlands, but only just scraped into the UK Top 40. The title track also peaked at number 1 in Belgium as well as the Top Five in the Netherlands, Germany and South Africa. In North America, the album track "Can't Shake Loose" was released as the lead-off single, reaching No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and number 23 on the RPM Top 50 singles chart in Canada.^{[citation needed]}
The same year, Fältskog was voted by the readers of Aftonbladet as Best Female Artist of the Year, and received the Music Award Price Rockbjörnen.^{[citation needed]}
Her next studio album, Eyes of a Woman, produced by Eric Stewart of 10cc, was released in March 1985. "She is quite content to grace the works of various other lesser mortals with her immaculate, sugar-sweet voice," wrote Barry McIlheney in Melody Maker. The album sold well in parts of Europe, peaking at number 2 in Sweden and the Top 20 in Norway and Belgium, but failed to match the success of Wrap Your Arms Around Me.^{[citation needed]} Lead single "I Won't Let You Go", composed by Fältskog herself, however, enjoyed considerable chart success in both Continental Europe and Scandinavia.

In 1986, Fältskog recorded another duet, "The Way You Are", with Swedish singer Ola Håkansson, which became another number 1 hit in Sweden. In mid-1987, Fältskog travelled to Malibu, California to record the album I Stand Alone, produced by Peter Cetera and Bruce Gaitsch (fresh off Madonna's La Isla Bonita collaboration). Released in November of that year, it was a minor hit in Europe, except for Sweden where it spent eight weeks at number 1 and became the best-selling album of 1988 and entering the Top 15 in Norway. The single from the album, "I Wasn't the One (Who Said Goodbye)", on which Fältskog duetted with Peter Cetera, was released primarily in North America, and became her second solo single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 93.It was also a Top 20 Billboard Adult Contemporary hit. Two tracks were also recorded in Spanish for the Latin American market; "La Ultima Véz" ("The Last Time") and "Yo No Fui Quién Dijo Adiós" ("I Wasn't the One (Who Said Goodbye)").
After the release of I Stand Alone in mid-1988, Fältskog went on hiatus from her musical career and completely withdrew from public life.
In April 2004, Fältskog released a new single, "If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind" (a cover of the song originally recorded by Cilla Black). It peaked at number 2 in Sweden, number 11 in the UK, and became a sizable hit throughout Europe. "It is exciting to hear her voice, utterly undimmed, delivering a tellingly-titled song," commented London's Music Week.^{[citation needed]} A few weeks later, the album My Colouring Book, a collection of Fältskog's covers of 1960s classic oldies, was released, topping the charts in Sweden, hitting the Top Five in Finland and Denmark, number 6 in Germany and peaking at number 12 in the United Kingdom.The title song "My Colouring Book" is a cover of the song originally recorded by Dusty Springfield. "I love this record," enthused Pete Clark in London's Evening Standard, while Daily Mail pointed out that "it reveals a genuine affection for the era's forgotten pop tunes."
and The Observer shared the same sentiment suggesting that "time hasn't diminished her perfect voice."Reviewing the release in The Guardian, Caroline Sullivan wrote: "Agnetha Fältskog has a vulnerability that gets under the skin of a song. She may be cheating a trifle by including no original material on this collection of 1960s covers, but if anyone can do justice to the likes of "Sealed with a Kiss", it's her. The soaring sentimentality evokes Cilla Black and Sandie Shaw in their mini-skirted pomp, and I don't say that lightly." The release attracted media attention across Europe, but Fältskog staunchly refused to be involved in any extensive promotion of the album (including personal appearances), and thus limited her public exposure to  Yet, the album managed to sell more than 500,000 copies worldwide, 50,000 of those in the United Kingdom alone. A second single release from the album, "When You Walk in the Room", peaked at number 11 in Sweden and also entered the UK Top 40.

Shortly after this release, for the 2004 semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest, staged in Istanbul 30 years after ABBA had won the contest in Brighton, Fältskog appeared briefly in a special comedy video made for the interval act, entitled "Our Last Video." Each of the four members of the group appeared briefly in cameo roles, as did others such as Cher and Rik Mayall. It was billed as the first time the four had worked together since the group split. In fact, while Bjorn and Benny filmed their more extensive parts together, Frida and Agnetha were filmed for a very short appearance separately and edited to appear together.
In 2004, Fältskog was nominated for Best Nordic Artist at the Nordic Music Awards, and at Christmas of that year (for the first time in almost 20 years), she gave an extensive interview which was filmed by Swedish TV.Around the same time, Sony Music released a lavishly produced 6 CD boxed set comprising Fältskog's Swedish solo career before ABBA (five original solo albums - 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1975 - and an additional compilation disc with bonus tracks).

In January 2007, Fältskog appeared at the final performance of Mamma Mia! in Stockholm (as she had at its opening in 2005). Together with ex-husband and former colleague Björn Ulvaeus, she appeared on stage at the after show party held at Stockholm's Grand Hotel. She also sang a duet, "True Love", with Tommy Körberg of Chess. 
In October 2008, a new compilation album, My Very Best, was released in Sweden. The double CD contains both Swedish (CD 1) and English-language hits (CD 2) from her whole solo career, from 1967 to 2004. It successfully entered as number 4 on the Swedish albums chart and was certified gold within the first week of its release.
On 4 July 2008, Fältskog joined former colleagues Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson at the Swedish premiere of the film version of Mamma Mia!, held at the Rival Theatre (owned by Andersson) in Mariatorget, Stockholm. Fältskog arrived with Lyngstad and movie star Meryl Streep, the three dancing in front of thousands of fans before joining the film's other stars and Andersson and Ulvaeus on the hotel balcony for the first photograph of all four ABBA members together in 22 years.
In February 2010, ABBA World, an extensive multi-million pound exhibition, debuted at London's Earls Court and included an extensive interview with Agnetha filmed in Sweden the previous summer. For the exhibition's Melbourne launch, she recorded a light-hearted opening film together with former ABBA colleague Benny Andersson, shot in Stockholm in June 2010.

In October 2010, Fältskog was at the opening of Mamma Mia! the musical in Denmark with former husband Ulvaeus.