Selma Björnsdóttir (born 13 June 1974), also known as Selma or Selma Björns, is an Icelandic actress and singer born in Reykjavík. She is well-known internationally for representing Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest in both 1999[1] and 2005.[2]
Career
Áfram Latibær
In 1996, she played Solla Stirða in the Icelandic stage play Áfram Latibær!. This character later developed into Stephanie on the children's television show LazyTown. She would later choreograph episodes of Lazy Town.[3]
Eurovision
Her first Eurovision experience occurred in the 1999 contest in Jerusalem, with the song "All Out of Luck". The song was the pre-contest favorite with bookmakers. During the voting, Selma shot into an early lead in the voting but was gradually pegged back by Sweden, represented by Charlotte Nilsson. Despite trailing Nilsson only very narrowly before the penultimate set of votes were announced, Selma's hopes of victory came to an abrupt end when Bosnia and Herzegovina awarded maximum points to Sweden and nothing at all to Iceland. Selma's second place in Jerusalem is Iceland's equal-best showing in the contest, with Yohanna also placing second in the contest in 2009.[citation needed]
In 2005, Selma was again selected to represent Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv. However, despite being one of the favorites to win the contest, her song "If I Had Your Love" did not make it to the final. This was Iceland's worst result in the contest at the time.[when?][citation needed]
Selma also was one of the main attractions at the Eurovision Gala concert during Europride 2005 in Oslo, performing both of her Eurovision entries. Other celebrities who were present included Baccara, Nanne, Bobbysocks and Nora Brockstedt. Later the same night, she held an intimate concert at the popular nearby nightclub Smuget, where another Icelandic Eurovision participant, Paul Oscar, and the Norwegian Eurovision commentator, Jostein Pedersen, showed up.[citation needed]
Other work
Selma has dubbed several Disney princesses for the Icelandic Language, including Belle, Tiana, Kayley, Tzipporah, Odette, Giselle, and Megara. In 2009, Selma became a jury member on Idol Stjörnuleit, the Icelandic version of Pop Idol.[citation needed]
