ANN-MARGRET I Feel So BLESSED

AT 82, THE STAR ENJOYS A SERENE LIFE FILLED WITH GREAT FRIENDS, CUTE SHOES AND LAUGHTER

- Susan Hornik

Ann-Margret beamed as the 25th Women ’s Image Aw a r d s honored her as a living legend recently. “I had no idea when I was a kid that I’d be receiving all these awards,” Ann-Margret tells Closer. “I’m just blessed.”

Looking back over a sevendecade career that has included singing, dancing, acting, movies, television and more, Ann-Margret, 82, feels gratitude and pride. “I had this thing about performing and being in front of an audience since I was 4,” says the star, who emigrated with her mother from Sweden in 1946.

Bye Bye Birdie made AnnMargret a major star in 1963, but Viva Las Vegas, co-starring Elvis Presley, made her a legend a year later. “I can’t believe it’s been 60 years,” she says. “Being with E.P., we laughed so hard! He teased the heck out of me, but I teased him right back! He wasn’t going to get away with that.”