Welcome to my hometown

Nurtured on the boys' team IF Brommapojkarna and debuted in the Swedish Champions League at the age of 18 in 2007. Today he is midfielder for Djurgårdens IF. Played on Sweden's Under 21 team 2008–2011 and is now on Sweden's national football team. He was named Midfielder of the Year at the Swedish Football Gala awards in both 2013 and 2014.

One of Sweden's leading publishers, with a long and successful career in the country's magazine industry. Started the publications Amelia, Tara and M-magasin, developed the daily newspaper Aftonbladet's Sunday section and made the weekly Veckorevyn into a top seller. She was named Chef magazine's Boss of the Year in 1997 and won the Swedish journalism award Stora Journalistpriset in both 1986 and 2003.

Multi-award winning fashion designer of international calibre. Was named Swedish Elle's Newcomer of the Year in 1997 and Designer of the Year in both 2000 and 2004. In 2014 she received the prestigious Torsten and Wanja Söderberg Prize, which was established to promote Nordic design and crafts.

Barbro Lill-Babs Svensson (1938-2018) was one of Sweden’s most popular artists, starting in the late 1950s. From her 1959 breakthrough song, “Är du kär i mig ännu Klas-Göran” [‘Are you in love with me yet Klas-Göran’] to her popular character Gugge on the Swedish TV show Bonusfamiljen [‘Bonus Family’), she was a multi-talented singer, actor and artist – a warm, friendly and generous person who touched people. And it wasn’t just the audience who loved her – she loved the audience just as much. Lill-Babs took part in three Swedish Eurovision Song Contests, one international Eurovision Song Contest and many cabarets and variety shows. She also released 17 albums in her nearly 60-year career.

A living example of how far people can go when they follow their passion and curiosity. Her determination to solve the mystery of the doomed Andrée Arctic expedition led her to train as a doctor. Fifteen years of research resulted in her bookThe Expedition, which won Sweden's prestigious August Prize in the autumn of 2013. Bea Uusma is now considered one of the world's leading experts on the Andrée expedition.

Has an extensive background as a chef at several multiple-star restaurants, including in London, Paris, Bangkok and Hong Kong. His Restaurant Frantzén is the only restaurant in Sweden with three stars in the famous Guide Michelin. He spearheads the project "Exceptional Ingredients", which is aimed at elevating Swedish ingredients to a world-class level.

One of the world's all-time hockey greats. Won two Swedish Hockey League gold medals and played in 46 international matches. In 1996, he was the first Swede inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto and is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation's Centennial All-Star Team along with Tretiak, Fetisov, Makarov, Kharlamov and Gretzky. In honour of his achievements with the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he played for 16 years, his number 21 jersey has been raised to the rafters at his home arena, the Air Canada Centre.

Was on her way to practice with AIK's girl football club when she was discovered by a model scout in the metro. The rest is a fairy tale come true. She has featured on the cover of Vogue, done advertising campaigns for major fashion houses such as Versace, Armani, Chloé, Valentino and Dolce & Gabbana, and has appeared in the extravagant Victoria's Secret fashion shows. She has also been a TV presenter for Top Model Sweden.

After a successful career as a photo model, dancer and singer in the group X-Models, in the mid-1990s she took on jewellery design. Now has several of her own shops in Sweden, and her jewellery in silver and gold is sold around the world. In addition to jewellery, she designs eyeglasses, watches and wineglasses.

Challenges traditional notions of art and has called into question the concept of art in general through his work. In the 1990s, he exhibited around the world, was made a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts and became a well-known name even outside the art world. His art includes painting, sculpture, film, glass and stage set design.

Folke Bernadotte (1895–1948) was vice chairman of the Red Cross and led the white buses mission, which rescued thousands of people from German concentration camps in the final stage of World War Two. As the UN's first mediator, he served in Jerusalem, where he was murdered in 1948. His dedication to peace and security has left a strong mark, and today the Swedish agency for civil crisis management bears his name. He was the godfather of King Carl XVI Gustaf.

Fredrika Bremer (1801–1865) is considered one of the matriarchs of Swedish literature. Her books quickly won an international audience. She travelled a great deal and spent many years in the US. Was a strong advocate of women's rights and argued that women should have a freer position in society and better education. With her novel Hertha, she sparked a great political debate and in 1858 helped change Swedish law, enabling full civil rights to be conferred to unmarried women at the age of 25.

Controversial, audacious and original are some of the words that have been used to describe him over the years. His wide-ranging, multi-faceted work runs the gamut from shop interiors to the air traffic control tower at Stockholm Arlanda Airport and the Swedish Embassy buildings in Berlin and Washington and now the new hotel at Göteborg Landvetter Airport. Is the only person to have won the prestigious Kasper Salin Prize for architecture five times. He has an honorary doctorate from Chalmers University of Technology and runs his own architecture firm.

Gunilla Lindberg is one of the most influential people in sport. Lindberg is not only a member of the International Olympic Committee. She is also secretary general of Sweden's National Olympic Committee (NOC) as well as the Association of National Olympic Committees. She began working at the NOC's office in 1969 and became secretary general in 1989 after five years as deputy secretary general. Lindberg has worked with the Swedish Olympic team since the Sapporo games in 1972. She is happiest in the Olympic villages where she can serve active participants. Her greatest Olympic memory is when speed skater Tomas Gustafson won two gold medals in Calgary in 1988. She is also a member of the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet's gold medal committee.

Professor in international health at Karolinska Institute who co-founded Doctors Without Borders Sweden. Helped to establish the foundation Gapminder, which contributes to good global development by making social, economic and environmentally related issues readily accessible and easy to understand. He has been an advisor to the World Health Organization and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and was in great demand for his lectures on public health.

Her road to skiing success was via the swimming pool. As a swimmer, she won 23 Swedish Championship medals as well as four European Championship medals in Barcelona in 1991. She ended her swimming career because of injuries, trained as an interior designer in New York and then ran her own textile design studio in Stockholm. In 2003, she got back her motivation and started cycling and skiing. At the 2014 Paralympic Games in Sochi, she won a gold in the 15 km and with Zebastian Modin a silver in the mixed relay cross-country skiing events.

Has created and performed in numerous popular entertainment programmes on TV and radio. As a member of the Swedish comic group Killinggänget, he was a hit in the cult TV shows NileCity 105.6 and I manegen med Glenn Killing ('In the ring with Glenn Killing'). He has also had great success as a stand-up comic and, among other honours, was named Male Comedian of the Year at the Swedish Stand-Up Gala awards.

Half of the hip hop duo Ison & Fille and part of the group Highwon. Together with Fille won the 2012 Swedish Society of Songwriters, Composers and Authors' grant. He has been a jury member and coach on the TV competition show X Factor Sweden. His autobiography När jag inte hade nåt ('When I didn't have anything'), co-authored with journalist Emil Arvidson, was published in 2014.

Made his writing debut in 2006 with Snabba Cash ('Easy money'), a thrilling novel about Stockholm's underworld. He was inspired by US novelists like James Ellroy and Dennis Lehane and calls his style "Stockholm noir". He describes his sequel, Aldrig fucka upp ('Never Screw Up'), as even darker than his debut novel. The third book in the Stockholm noir trilogy is called Livet delux ('Life deluxe'). His books have been turned into films and sold for translation in 30 countries.

Co-founder of the publishers Koala Press and Tivoli Förlag. She has been a translator and sat on the jury for Sweden's August Prize for literature. Best known to the Swedish public for her participation on TV and radio programmes such as Spanarna ('The detectives'), På spåret ('On the track') and Gomorron Sverige ('Good morning Sweden'). She also presents the television literature programme Babel.

Graduated from the Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts in 2007 and gained notice the same year for his acclaimed interpretation of Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment at Backateatern. Has performed in many films and in 2011 won the top Swedish film award, the Guldbagge, for best male lead in Snabba Cash ('Easy money'). This honour kicked off his international career, and he played the lead in the US TV series The Killing while performing in such films as Suicide Squad, Safe House, Robocop, Child 44 and Run All Night.

A former magician and stand-up comic, now a horror writer. Debuted with his vampire novel Let the Right One In, which has been sold to over 30 countries and made into a film in both Sweden and the US. Won the top Swedish film prize, the Guldbagge, for best screenplay, while winning the Swedish newspaper Göteborgs-Posten's literature prize and the Selma Lagerlöf Prize for literature. He has also written TV series and plays.

Was recruited as a 16-year-old to play pro football with Manchester City's youth team. After a few years abroad on loan to his parent club, Brommapojkarna ('Bromma boys'), in 2010 he made his debut with Manchester City in the League Cup and on the Swedish Under 21 team. Was lent to Feyenoord, where he was a big hit with his fine technique and striking ability. Because of his contributions in the Dutch league, he was chosen for Sweden's national team for the first time in 2012. In 2014, he played for Celtic FC in the Scottish Premier League. He has a contract with the La Liga club Deportivo Alaves until 2022.

His degree project from Sweden's University College of Arts, Crafts and Design – the Concrete chair, made of steel and concrete – attracted considerable attention, sparking a debate on drawing boundaries between art, craft and consumer goods. His argument is that there are no such boundaries. He has designed everything from furniture and cutlery to tram stops and restaurants. He has also been a professor at his alma mater and worked in an architecture firm. He made the headlines in 1994 when he and 53 friends rowed a boat from Stockholm to Paris.

Laughter and seriousness are interwoven in almost everything he creates. Debuted as a novelist in 1985 with Passionsspelet ('The passion play') and had his great breakthrough with En komikers uppväxt ('A comedian growing up'). The dramatisation of his trilogy Torka aldrig tårar utan handskar ('Don't ever wipe your tears without gloves') won the Kristallen Swedish television award for television drama of the year. He has written screenplays for films such as Pensionat Oskar('The Oskar boarding house') and Livet är en schlager ('Life is a schlager') and performed in numerous acclaimed stage shows.

Belongs to the Swedish Royal Dramatic Theatre's troupe of perennial players and is often acclaimed for brilliant interpretations of his stage roles. Has performed in some 60 film and TV productions, such as Gustaf III, Livet är en schlager ('Once in a lifetime'), Hans och hennes ('His and hers') and Stockholm Stories. Has been nominated several times for the top Swedish film award, the Guldbagge, and won one in 2004 for his role in the film Detaljer ('Details'). He made his writing debut in 2007 with the short story collection Det andra målet ('The second goal'), which has been translated into several languages.

Started Acne Studios in 1996 together with three colleagues as a creative collective, inspired by Andy Warhol's Factory. The first collection consisted of a hundred pairs of jeans with red seams that they gave away to friends and family. Since then, Acne Studios has developed into a global brand with shops in cities such as Berlin, New York and Tokyo. Jonny Johansson is strongly influenced by art, design, literature and music. Over the years, he has collaborated with numerous artists, photographers and designers, such as Lanvin and Lord Snowdon.

Josef Sachs (1872–1949) founded the department store Nordiska Kompaniet in Stockholm in 1902. Along with opening other NK department stores in Sweden, he expanded his operations internationally in the early 1900s, with branches in St Petersburg, Moscow and Buenos Aires. Josef Sachs was a visionary with many ideas that still characterise the NK brand today. For instance, he introduced free health care, holiday homes and a library for his employees.

Made her acting debut at the age of two and had her breakthrough in the Swedish TV series Rederiet ('The shipping company') in the late 1990s. She has been active in the theatre her entire life and has performed in some twenty films and TV series, including Welcome to Sweden, Hundtricket ('The dog trick'), Kenny Starfighterand Fredag hela veckan ('Friday all week long'). A hit on the TV series Solsidan('The sunny side'), for which she also wrote scripts, she has become one of Sweden's best known actors and comedians. In 2014, she published her first book, a young adult novel, Född fenomenal ('Born phenomenal').

Trained as a doctor, brain researcher and physiologist at Karolinska Institute. Runs the consultancy firm Brainbow Labs AB, where she works with neuroleadership, which involves effective leadership based on brain research, with the aim of promoting health, well-being and performance. She also works with a concept called Grey Matters, which combines the latest brain research with interior design in order to optimise public and office environments. She is author of the best-selling Choose Right! A Guide to Good Decisions and The Social Brain.

Writes a successful personal blog about fashion and trends, and among other honours was named Best Blog of the Year by the Swedish weekly Veckorevyn and won the award for Most Influential Fashion Blog during Berlin Fashion Week in 2014. She has designed jewellery, clothes and shoes for several major companies and was a presenter for the TV show Modelljakten ('Model search').

Over the years, has performed on numerous radio and TV programmes but is perhaps best known as presenter of the Swedish Radio programmes Morgonpasset i P3 ('The Morning Shift in P3') and Musikhjälpen ('Music help'). For the Swedish radio station The Voice, he was part of Vakna med The Voice ('Wake up with The Voice'), which was also broadcast on TV. He was likewise presenter on the TV series Kodjos val ('Kodjo's vote') about the EU's European Parliament election. He was named Presenter of the Year at the Swedish radio industry's Stora Radiopriset awards ceremony in 2014.

Sweden's future regent Crown Princess Victoria together with her husband Prince Daniel and the children Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar. Crown Princess Victoria is the daughter of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Queen Silvia of Sweden. The portrait of the family is hanging in the arrivals Hall of Terminal 2.

Couture designer of international calibre. He has won numerous awards, including the Swedish women's magazine Damernas Värld's prestigious Golden Button Prize. He has made Crown Princess Victoria's gown for the Nobel Prize dinner on several occasions and is thus court designer to the Swedish royal family. Started as a jewellery designer, and his great passion remains jewellery and accessories. The jewellery to be worn with a dress provides his creative input, and he designs his pieces based on these.

As an artist, he is appreciated for his pastiches with a Mickey Mouse theme. As a director and actor, he is beloved for his film Sällskapsresan ('The charter trip') and its sequels as well as for his role as Stig-Helmer Olsson. Although the films have not been marketed internationally, they were a hit in many countries. He won Sweden's top film award, the Guldbagge, for his role in Den ofrivillige golfaren ('The accidental golfer') in 1992. As a designer, he is best known for the fabric covering the seats on Stockholm's metro trains.

Began his career as a photojournalist and portrait photographer and has taken pictures of the Swedish royal family for decades. But he became world-famous as a pioneer in scientific and medical photography. His trailblazing book A Child Is Born from 1965 is continually published in new editions and has been translated into more than twenty languages.

Multifaceted artist who throughout her long career has performed in films, plays and revues. She released her first record in 1962 and since then has won numerous gold records for songs such as "Du är den ende" ('Romance) and "En man i byrån" ('If you could put that in a bottle'). Together with Svante Thuresson, she placed second in the Eurovision Song Contest with "Nygammal vals" ('New yet familiar waltz') and hosted the contest in 1985. Is a UNICEF goodwill ambassador for children and was awarded His Majesty the King's Medal in the 8th size.

Well-known radio personality who also writes a column and holds lectures on gender equality. She started the Swedish non-profit Equalisters, which helps organisations and the media find experts from underrepresented areas, as well as the project Skapelsen ('Creation'), which highlights the need for diversity and gender equality in the music industry. She is a DJ in the trio Chapel Hill Crew. Among other honours, she has been named Stockholm Hero of the Year by the Swedish newspaper DN, Super Talent by the business magazine Veckans Affärer and Lobbyist of the Year by the Swedish magazine Resumé.Columnist and lecturer.

Her career took off when she was a guest artist with the rapper Stor on the song "Rom & Kush" in 2012. The next year she released her double single "Bang Bang/Bäng Bäng" and the EP Matriarken ('The matriarch'). Named Newcomer of the Year at the Swedish Grammy awards as well as Live Performance of the Year and Hip Hop/Soul Artist of the Year at Sweden's P3 Golden Gala awards. SVT Play has made a six-part documentary about her: Linda Pira – som du inte visste om ('Linda Pira – What you didn't know').

One of the world's top triathletes, she showed her potential when she won the Under- 23 World Championship in 2007. Five years later, she won a gold at the ITU World Championship and a silver at the London Olympics, where she was only nine-thousandths of a second away from grabbing the gold. Her strongest triathlon events are running and cycling. Won the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet's gold medal in 2012 and the country's Jerring Sports Achievement Award in 2013. Her favourite saying is "Pain is weakness leaving the body".

In 1994 opened the popular restaurant Oaxen Krog in the Stockholm archipelago. When the restaurant moved to Djurgården in 2013, they started its sister restaurant, Slipen, in the same building. Oaxen Krog has won the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter's Golden Dragon award as Best Restaurant in the Luxury Category and in 2015 was awarded two stars in the renowned Michelin Guide.

She is not just a mezzosoprano of international calibre but moves freely between different singing styles such as jazz and musical theatre. Represented Sweden in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest with the song La Voix ('The voice'). She has a very flexible voice with a range of almost four octaves. She has been a member of the Swedish Royal Academy of Music since 2006 and has also been appointed singer to the Swedish royal family. Among the honours she has received are the Swedish royal medal Litteris et Artibus and the City of Stockholm's honorary St Erik medal.

Head designer for fashion brand Busnel. Previously ran her own brand, Marina Kereklidou, and was Designer of the Year for Swedish magazines Elle and Plaza. Is in great demand as a stylist for shows, fashion shoots and adverts for major apparel brands. She has also created the collection Whyblack for Whyred. Her style is classic with a twist.

The first Swede to win the "world chef championship", the Bocuse d'Or. Runs the sumptuous restaurant Mathias Dahlgren, which has two stars in the Michelin Guide, as well as its sister restaurant, Matbaren. In 2008, he was appointed adjunct professor at Umeå University School of Restaurant and Culinary Arts.

Together with Danyel Couet runs a number of popular Stockholm restaurants. His Fredsgatan 12 was awarded one star in the Michelin Guide in 1997. He won a silver medal at the Bocuse d'Or, the international chef championship, has received a gold medal from the Swedish Academy of Gastronomy, and was named Swedish Chef of the Year. He was also a member of the Swedish team in the Culinary Olympics from 1992 to 1996 and has appeared in a number of TV food shows, such as Melkers krogakut (Melker's restaurant emergency').

As an architect at the architecture firm White for over 20 years, she has taken part in many prestigious projects, including Kista Science Tower and the Tele2 Arena. Since 2010, she is the chief executive of White as well as the chair of the Sweden Green Building Council, which develops and influences environmental and sustainability work in the real estate and construction sector.

Jazz legend Monica Zetterlund (1937–2005) worked not only with distinguished Swedish musicians but also with international icons such as Louis Armstrong, Billy Evans, Stan Getz and Quincy Jones. As a revue artist, she had many acclaimed performances with Hasse Alfredson and Tage Danielsson. Won the prestigious Swedish Guldbagge award for her roles in the films Utvandrarna ('The emigrants') and Äppelkriget ('The apple war') as well as the Bellman Prize, the Cornelis Vreeswijk scholarship, the Swedish Government's Illis Quorum medal and posthumously the Swedish Royal Academy of Music's jazz award.

Claesson Koivisto Rune was originally an architecture firm but has developed into an internationally renowned company that places as much emphasis on design as on architecture. They design everything from toothbrushes to apartment buildings and hotels. Have won more than 60 different awards in Sweden and abroad for their work, including the Excellent Swedish Design Award and the "Nobel Prize in Design", Germany's Red Dot Award, in 2014.

Lennart "Nacka" Skoglund (1929–1975) was on the Swedish national teams that won a bronze in the 1950 World Cup and a silver in the 1958 World Cup. Made his debut with AIK in the Swedish Champions League but played mostly for Hammarby IF, where he is an icon. After the 1950 World Cup in Brazil, he played pro football with the Italian team Inter Milan. He was a big star there, helping them win the Italian championship two years in a row. Nacka was posthumously inducted into the Swedish Football Hall of Fame as number 24. There is a statue of Nacka on Katarina Bangata in the Södermalm district of Stockholm, where the Society of Friends of Nacka gather each year on his birthday.

Her big breakthrough came with the role of Lisbeth Salander in the film version of the Millennium trilogy – a role that also won her a Guldbagge, Sweden's prestigious film award. Through her acclaimed performances in Daisy Diamond and Svinalängorna ('Beyond'), she made it to Hollywood and has acted in numerous films, such as Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Ridley Scott's Prometheus, The Drop and Child 44.

Internationally renowned baritone who has established himself among the very top ranks with acclaimed performances in the opera houses of New York, Milan and London. He had his international breakthrough at the Scottish Opera in Glasgow as Don Giovanni in Mozart’s opera of the same name. Peter Mattei has made numerous recordings and been court singer by appointment to the King of Sweden since 2004.

A prominent figure in Swedish hip hop, Petter had his breakthrough with the hits "Mikrofonkåt" ('Me and my microphone') and "Vinden har vänt" ('The wind has turned'). His texts are often about his upbringing, life situation and career. He has taken part in many projects with different artists and is in great demand as a live artist. In 2013 opened the burger restaurant Käk. The same year, he released his first novel, 16 rader ('16 lines'), which won Sweden's Comprehensibility Prize for helping young people with reading and writing difficulties.

Made her breakthrough as a 14-year-old when she won the European Aquatics Championships, setting a new Swedish record in the 100-metre butterfly. Since then has collected numerous championship medals. At the 2014 European Championships in Berlin, she won seven medals, three of them gold. The same year she set a world record in the 50-metre butterfly, improving on Therese Alshammar's previous record by over six-tenths of a second. Won Sweden's Jerring Sports Achievement Award in 2014 and 2015.

Former members of the internationally renowned house and DJ group Swedish House Mafia. After their 2013 farewell tour, they launched Axwell ^ Ingrosso, which debuted at the Governors Ball Music Festival in New York. The single "Sun is Shining" was released in June 12, 2015 and in March 2016 the group announced on its Facebook page that the song has been listened to over 100 million times on Spotify.

Candy Crush Saga is the hit video game with more than eight million active mobile users on a daily basis. King, the company behind Candy Crush Saga, was formed by Stockholm-based founders Sebastian Knutsson, Lars Markgren, Patrik Stymne and Thomas Hartwig in 2003. Players of Candy Crush Saga collect points by placing pieces of candy in different formations. In 2012, a version of the game was launched for smartphones and as a Facebook application. In the spring of 2015, the founders sold the game giant to Activision Blizzard.

One of the world's most eminent architects and designers, known for buildings such as the Stockholm Stock Exchange and the Gåshaga Jetty on the island of Lidingö. He has also designed the interiors of the shops Ordning & Reda and Polarn & Pyret, the restaurant East and Stockholm's Moderna Museet. Among other honours, he has received nine Excellent Swedish Design awards between 1984 and 1994 as well as the German Red Dot Award 2001. He has worked for a number of furniture manufacturers such as Capellini, Svenskt Tenn, Asplund, Room and Ikea.

Plays to packed stadiums the world over and has had big hits with songs like "Levels" and "Wake Me Up". Was twice named third best DJ in the world by DJ Magazine and won the Swedish Government's Music Export Award in 2013. He has collaborated with international artists such as Madonna, Robbie Williams and Lenny Kravitz.

Directed the Swedish TV series Bert and feature film Bert – den siste oskulden('Bert – the last virgin'). As a member of the comic group Killinggänget, he directed the 1999 film Torsk på Tallinn ('Screwed in Tallinn'). His major breakthrough was Låt den rätte komma in ('Let the right one in'), which was named best narrative feature film at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York and won five Guldbagge awards, Sweden's top film prize, including best director. On the international scene, he has directed the acclaimed Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, which was nominated for an Oscar.

Was discovered as a songwriter through her collaboration with music producer Max Martin. She has written songs for many artists, including Icona Pop. Her breakthrough as a singer came with her hit "Habits", which climbed to third place on the Billboard chart and was named one of the best songs of 2014 by the US music magazine Rolling Stone. Was named New Artist of the Year at the Swedish radio station P3's Gold Gala awards in 2015.

With her first album, Vatten and bröd ('Water and bread'), she instantly established a brand-new sound for Swedish pop music to come. Her texts get their start in the small stories, almost like scenes in a film, that usually take place right around her. She has won numerous honours, including Swedish Grammy awards for Best Songwriter, Pop Songwriter of the Year and Lyrics Composer of the Year.

Zara Larsson is a successful female singer and songwriter who, among other honours, was named Artist of the Year at the 2017 Swedish Grammis and at the Swedish Radio awards show P3 Guld. She also received the Swedish government’s prestigious Music Export Prize in 2016 from then Minister of Enterprise Mikael Damberg. Just 25 years old, she has had a successful career as a singer and songwriter within a short period of time, but she is also known for her independent spirit and plain-spokenness, which have made her a strong role model for many people.