Who

Bjork is the pixieish Icelandic pop star who continues to defy musical conventions and dress codes. Her partner is Matthew Barney.

Backstory

Bjork Gudmundsdóttir grew up in a hippy commune and precociously recorded her first album at the age of 11. By 13, she'd immersed herself in the Icelandic punk scene, and after forming a number of punk-inspired bands including Tappi Tíkarrass and KUKL, she came to prominence in the late 1980s as vocalist for the Sugarcubes. In 1993, she decamped to London and launched her eccentric solo career with Debut. She's continued to expand her musical repertoire and confound fans ever since. To wit: Her 2004 album Medúlla was an all-vocal affair, recorded almost entirely without instruments, and the percussion was done via beatboxing. For 2007's Volta, she collaborated with hip-hop guru Timbaland and performed sets backed by a 10-piece horn section.

Of note

Bjork's musical career has spanned genres ranging from punk and "Gothic rock" to dance and hip-hop, but it's her uncompromising weirdness that's made her an indie icon. In recent years, her freakishness has manifested itself outside the musical fold with collaborations with Danish director Lars Von Trier and her boyfriend Matthew Barney. Her warped fashion sense has also managed to convey her eccentricity quite nicely. Remember that swan dress at the 2001 Oscars? Yeah, she didn't want you to forget. As more than a few critics have observed, more than expressing herself or dismantling tradition, what Bjork cares most about is getting attention.

Drama

Bjork doesn't have a rep for being the most balanced person on the planet. She famous clashed with Lars Von Trier while filming the gloomy musical Dancer in the Dark; he bizarrely claimed that she had a mental breakdown on set and ate her own dress. In 1996, she attacked a reporter at a Bangkok airport, slamming the woman's head into the ground after she'd merely said "Welcome to Bangkok." In 2008, in another of fit of paparazzi-directed rage, she leapt onto a newspaper photographer in New Zealand and ripped his sweatshirt in half.

Personal

Bjork was romantically linked to musicians Goldie and Tricky before getting together with her current partner, the jock-turned-art star Matthew Barney. (Bjork co-starred with Barney in his latest film, Drawing Restraint 9, and also wrote the soundtrack.) The couple has a daughter, Isadora, and Bjork has a son, Sindri, from her relationship with Sugarcubes' guitarist Thor Eldon. The Gudmundsdóttir-Barneys currently live in Morris Plains, New Jersey, in a home formerly owned by playwright Noel Coward. Bjork also owns residences in London and Reykjavik.

For the record

Despite frequent claims that she's under five feet tall—a strategic lie to perpetuate the pixie persona she's cultivated—she actually stands a fairly robust 5'4".