Birgit Ridderstedt
| Birgit Ridderstedt | |
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Her regional folk costume from Stora Tuna in the Dales Province (Dalecarlia) was Birgit Ridderstedt's usual performing wardrobe. Photo: FamSAC.
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Ragnhild Birgit Anderson |
| Also known as | Bebe or Bibbi Ridderstedt |
| Born | November 26, 1914 |
| Origin | Sweden |
| Died | September 16, 1985 (aged 70) |
| Genres | Singer and producer |
| Years active | 1936–1973 |
Birgit Ridderstedt (November 26, 1914 – September 16, 1985) was a Swedish-American folk singer and cultural ambassador who appeared at festivals and on television in the 1950s and early 1960s with material she produced herself.
Born in Ludvika, Sweden, a daughter of Stefan Anderson and Ragnhild Fredrika Sandberg, she emigrated with her husband C. Erik Ridderstedt and their two small sons Stefan and Lars-Erik to the United States in 1950, settling in Chicago and later in Batavia, Illinois.
Ridderstedt was a cultural personality who gave presentations on Scandinavian music and folklore on WTTW and WGN television in Chicago in the 1950s and early 1960s. Her career in introducing Scandinavian traditions to Americans began in assisting her husband's business as an importer of gift items and handicrafted artwork from Sweden. Her television appearances on public service and eventually for commercial channels in Chicago added to her notoriety in the Chicago media market. On Polka Go-Round she featured young children singing Swedish songs and highschool youths folk dancing. When after 12 years Ridderstedt left Illinois, a total of 45 young people had been with her on some ten TV programs about such Scandinavian celebrations as Midsummer, Lucy Day and Passion Plays; she had also performed four times with her groups in the annual Swedish Days festivities of Geneva, Illinois, and had often appeared with orations and songs for various organizations.
Ridderstedt continually organized entertainment for festivals and parades in the Fox Valley (Illinois), which proved especially popular with Scandinavian-Americans, and also opened her own gift shop. She worked to establish collaborations between any talented individuals she could find of Danish, Norwegian or Swedish extraction. Ridderstedt returned to Sweden in 1962 with her family, but was also active in western Florida in the 1970s with her folk song programs.
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