1. Arja Enni Helena Saijonmaa was born on 1 December 1944 and is a Finnish singer, political activist and occasional actress.
10 Facts About Arja Saijonmaa
1. 2.
Arja Saijonmaa studied at the Sibelius Academy and earned a Bachelor of Arts at the Helsinki University.
3.
Arja Saijonmaa made her breakthrough as a singer in Sweden.
4.
Arja Saijonmaa has made albums with Swedish translations of songs by Mikis Theodorakis, as well as covers of Zarah Leander songs.
5.
Swedish prime minister Olof Palme had been a close friend, and his widow wanted Arja to sing at the funeral in 1986.
6.
Arja Saijonmaa has written a Norwegian-language book, Sauna, about the Finnish sauna tradition.
7.
Arja Saijonmaa appeared in the first season of Let's Dance, the Swedish version of Strictly Come Dancing in 2006.
8.
In December 2007, Arja Saijonmaa participated in the Swedish reality show Stjarnorna pa slottet along with Peter Stormare, Britt Ekland, Jan Malmsjo and Magnus Harenstam.
9.
Arja Saijonmaa participated in Melodifestivalen 2019 with the song "Mina fyra arstider".
10.
Arja Saijonmaa is both the Finnish and Swedish voice actor of Emma the Stage Rat in the Finnish-British animated television family drama Moominvalley.