Ann-Margret is hoping to celebrate her birthday in a big way this year…as much as she can tell, at least.
Speaking with Parade, the actress and dancer, who turns 85 on April 28, revealed that while she doesn’t have anything planned for herself for the big day, she has a feeling others around her just might.
“I haven’t really decided exactly how but I have a feeling that some people are planning something, and they won’t tell me what it is,” she told the publication, excitedly adding: “So, I’ll be surprised!” And she’s also hoping there’ll be cake!
© Getty ImagesAnn-Margret will be celebrating her 85th birthday on April 28
Ann’s health secrets
Speaking of which, while she has a penchant for sweet things, Ann did cite her generally healthy lifestyle and careful eating habits as the secret to her long life.
“I’m a happy person,” she said, adding: “I have people that help me eat the right things. One thing that I’m bad about – I love sweets, I love sugar. Oh. That’s the thing that I have to watch constantly. There’s so many [dessert] favorites.”
Fitness is also a large part of it. “I have friends and we have been walking together for years so we’ve got a group,” the Viva Las Vegas star explained. “Sometimes there’s like 15 of us and sometimes there’s only two but we all get together.”
© Getty Images“I haven’t really decided exactly how but I have a feeling that some people are planning something, and they won’t tell me what it is.”
“For sure once a week,” she said of their walking group get-togethers. “I look forward to that and we all laugh. We have a wonderful time with lots of laughter.”
Health update
Last month, the actress spoke with the publication after a fall at her home left her with a broken elbow. “I fell the other day and so now my right elbow is broken. That’s okay … I have fallen so many times. I don’t intend to, but I do! What can I say?”
The legacy of Ann-Margret
Ann has actively been working as an actress, singer and dancer for over seven decades, with a career that first began with small stage shows in the 1950s before she transitioned to a recording career, releasing her debut album And Here She Is…Ann-Margret in 1961.
© Getty ImagesThe actress was one of the biggest stars of the 1960s, especially with films like “Bye Bye Birdie” and “Viva Las Vegas”
That same year, she also made her film debut in Frank Capra’s Pocketful of Miracles, which won her a Golden Globe. Her role in 1963’s Bye Bye Birdie made her a major star, earning her a Golden Globe nod for Best Actress.
By this point, her music even began earning her “female Elvis” comparisons, which came to a head with her casting in 1964’s Viva Las Vegas opposite Elvis Presley himself. The film was another major success, and catapulted her career. By the end of the ’60s, she was already a household name.
The 1970s brought her massive critical acclaim, including two Academy Award nominations for her work in Carnal Knowledge (1971) and Tommy (1975). Ann’s acting career hasn’t slowed down well into the 21st century either, making her most recent appearance in the TV movie A Holiday Spectacular in 2022.
© Getty ImagesShe has continued releasing music and appearing on screen well into her 80s
She even released a rock album, Born to Be Wild, in 2023, which became her first album to chart on a Billboard chart in nearly six decades, since 1964’s Beauty and the Beard.
