Lill-Babs was born Barbro Svensson in Järvsö, north of Stockholm. She lived with her parents, Ragnar and Britta Svensson, for nine years in a small cottage without running water. She first sang in a church at age 11. Her first public appearance was with a colleague of her father accompanying her on the accordion. Svensson's first public performance was at Barnens dag in
Järvsö 1953. Soon after, she started singing with Lasse Schönning's orchestra. She was "discovered" when she sang on the radio program
Morgonkvisten ("Early Morning") in 1954.
Simon Brehm, a musician and record producer, liked her and took her to Stockholm where she made her professional singing debut at the Bal Palais restaurant. Brehm was Svensson's manager until his death in 1967. He gave Svensson her stage name "Lill-Babs", a play on words as a connection to the older, and at that time better known, singer
Alice Babs. She released her first music album in 1954, a gramophone record with two songs: "Min mammas boogie" ("My Mamma's Boogie") and "Svar till 'Ung och kär'" ("Answer to 'Young And In Love'"). Soon afterwards, finding herself pregnant, she returned to Järvsö and gave birth to a daughter, Monica. In 1959, Lill-Babs performed
Stikkan Anderson's song "
Är du kär i mej ännu Klas-Göran?" ("Are You Still in Love with Me, Klas-Göran?"); her recording of it became a major hit. She made her theater debut in 1958 in the play
Fly mig en greve ("Fly Me a Count") at Nöjeskatten theater. She also appeared in the films
Svenska Floyd and
En nolla för mycket ("One Zero Too Many"). ==Eurovision and later career==