Icelandic singer-songwriter and actress Björk Guðmundsdóttir was BOTD in 1965. Born in Reykjavík, she entered the Barnamúsíkskóli music academy aged five and recorded an album of folk music aged 11, co-produced by her stepfather, making her a national star. Rebelling against her classical music training, she spent her teens singing in punk bands Spit and Snot, Tappi Tíkarrass and Kukl. She rose to international attention as the lead singer of The Sugarcubes, scoring a hit with their 1988 single Birthday. In 1993, she moved to London to pursue a solo career. Her album Debut, released later that year, launched her to international stardom, combining dance music, jazz, trip-hop, classical and punk influences and showcasing her glass-shattering three-octave vocal range. Her follow-up album Post became one of the most influential electronic albums of the 1990s, including a deranged cover of the American Songbook standard It’s Oh So Quiet. Her 1997 album Homogenic combined lush orchestral strings with crunchy electronic beats, evoking the violent landscape of Iceland, and featuring a striking cover photo of herself as a cyber-geisha, styled by designer Alexander McQueen. In 1999, she starred in and wrote the musical score for Lars von Trier’s gruelling film Dancer in the Dark, winning the Best Actress prize at the Cannes Festival, though later accused von Trier of prolonged on-set abuse. Oscar-nominated for her soundtrack song I’ve Seen It All, she made a memorable appearance at the 2001 Oscars ceremony wearing what appeared to be a taxidermied swan. Her subsequent albums pushed further into experimentalism, including the orchestral and choral-themed Vespertine; the acappella Medúlla, featuring traditional Icelandic throat-singing; and the nature-inspired Biophilia, released with its own iPhone app. Her 2015 album Vulnicura chronicled her anguished break-up with her long-term partner, artist Matthew Barney. Known for her baroque, eclectic musical style, avant-garde fashion sense, innovative music videos and full-throttle live performances, she has also mentored a generation of Icelandic musicians, and is a prominent environmental activist. Still based in Reykjavík, where she was given her own island by the Icelandic government, she has a son from her relationship with Sugarcubes guitarist Þór Eldon and a daughter with Barney. She earns Honorary SuperGay status for her idiosyncratic exploration of gender and identity in her work and her collaboration with and support of LGBTQ artists (notably Anohni, who has performed on many of her albums).