Malmkvist's career began in the 1950s when she won a talent show. Since then, she has gone on to have a successful career as a singer and artist across Europe. She has recorded around 600 songs in ten languages - Swedish, English, Finnish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, French, Italian and Spanish.
Born in Skåne County in southern Sweden, Malmkvist grew up in an orphanage, the youngest of a family of eight children.