Jenny Berggren

Jenny Cecilia Berggren, born 19 May 1972 in Gothenburg, Sweden, is a singer and the former lead vocalist of the Swedish pop group Ace of Base. She is the third of three children of Göran and Birgitta Berggren and was raised in a Christian family in a suburb of Gothenburg.

Raised in a musical environment, Jenny took violin lessons with her older sister Malin, studied classical music, sang in her church choir and trained to become a teacher. In the late 1980s, together with her siblings, Johnny Lindén and Nicklas Tränk, she formed the techno group Tech Noir, which eventually became Ace of Base. Her teaching career plans were interrupted when the band signed with the Danish label Mega Records; their debut album sold over 20 million copies worldwide.

Initially her role in Ace of Base was comparable to that of her sister Linn, although the record company’s early single choices gave most of the lead vocals to Linn. Both had only minor roles in the production and writing of the early songs. Malin’s sudden withdrawal from the spotlight later forced Jenny to take on a more prominent role.

On 27 April 1994, Jenny and her mother were attacked at their home by a woman who had been following Jenny; her mother was stabbed in the hands. The attacker, a 21-year-old German named Manuela Behrendt, was banned from returning to Sweden. Jenny composed several songs for the album The Bridge, including Ravine, a song about the attack, as well as Wave Wet Sand and Experience Pearls. She continued to write for the group’s subsequent albums.

Since 1995 she has also written songs and performed solo. In 2009 she announced she was working on new material for a solo album, which led to the release of her debut solo album My Story in 2010. Between 2007 and 2009, Jenny, Jonas and Ulf performed a series of concerts in Europe and Asia and recorded new songs for a fifth studio album but did not secure a deal for those recordings.

On 18 September 2004 she married her long-term partner, Swedish pianist Jakob Petrén, with whom she has two children, a son and a daughter. The family currently resides in Gothenburg.

Jenny Berggren continues to devote time to various humanitarian charities, has organised several Christian concerts and sings in churches.