Nina Persson

Nina Persson is a Swedish singer, lyricist, and performer born on 6 September 1974 in Jönköping, Sweden. She is best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the Swedish rock band The Cardigans. Growing up in a middle-class academic household with two younger brothers, Persson initially pursued an interest in visual art rather than music, attending art school before being recruited into the band. She has described her entry into music as unplanned, driven more by restlessness in her hometown than by any deliberate ambition to become a performer.

Beyond her work with The Cardigans, Persson has maintained an active solo career. She released two albums under the name A Camp and one full-length record under her own name, Animal Heart, which appeared on 10 February 2014 through the independent British label Lojinx Records. Her acting debut came with the 2006 film Om Gud vill. She made her Broadway appearance in 2009 and had previously participated in The 24 Hour Plays in 2004.

Persson has contributed to a number of collaborative recordings across her career. She appeared on the Manic Street Preachers track "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough," included on their album Send Away the Tigers, which reached number two on the UK singles chart. She also sang on "Daddy's Gone," part of the 2009 Sparklehorse and Danger Mouse project Dark Night of the Soul. In 2016, she provided guest vocals on the Local Natives song "Dark Days," performing the second verse. In October 2022, Domino Recording Company released "Hold Out For Love," a single by James Yorkston, Persson, and The Secondhand Orchestra, drawn from the album The Great White Sea Eagle. That record was made in Malmö with Yorkston and Karl-Jonas Winqvist of The Second Hand Orchestra, and Persson joined them on a UK tour in both 2022 and 2023. In 2025, Yorkston and Persson released a second collaborative album, Songs for Nina and Johanna, followed by a UK tour.

On 16 June 2001, Persson married American songwriter and author Nathan Larson. The couple's son was born on 30 September 2010, following three rounds of in vitro fertilization. The family lived in Harlem, New York City for several years before relocating to Malmö in 2015. Persson was diagnosed with cervical cancer, which was in remission as of 2013. She has indicated that The Cardigans may occasionally perform together but that there are no plans to record new studio material as a band.