ROXETTE singer Marie Fredriksson has died. She was 61.
Her manager has confirmed the news in a statement: “It is with great sadness we have to announce that Marie Fredriksson of ROXETTE has passed away in the morning of December 9, following a 17-year long battle with cancer.”
Marie was born on the 30th of May 1958 in the south of Sweden, starting her musical career in nearby Halmstad where she became friends with future Roxette companion Per Gessle. Following a successful solo debut in 1984, Fredriksson became one of Sweden’s most loved and successful artists.
In 1986 she teamed up with Per in ROXETTE with the ambition to reach outside Sweden, and together they started a historical journey that in the coming years would make them one of the biggest pop acts in the world.
In 2002, Marie was diagnosed with a severe brain tumor, receiving an aggressive treatment that took its toll but ultimately was successful. Thanks to her extremely strong fighting spirit, Marie by 2009 was able to start a gradual return to the world’s stages.
The unlikely second coming of ROXETTE resulted in several new albums, and tours that again put the duo in front of screaming, smiling and crying crowds all over the world. During the comeback years Marie was an amazing trooper, overcoming the many rigors of touring in order to meet her fans on stage again and again. But by 2016, the show was finally over when Marie‘s doctors advised her to stop touring and focus on her health.
