'I Love The Speed': Ann-Margret Is Proof You Don't Have To Stop Seeking Thrills As You Age

With her fiery red hair and wild dance moves, Ann-Margret became one of the biggest stars of the 1960s. Her style, somehow wholesome and dangerous at the same time, made her stand out from the crowd, with the press crowning her "the female Elvis." Ann-Margret and Elvis Presley even shared a close relationship both on and off screen that was shaped, in part, by their mutual love for motorcycles. And while her romance with the king of rock 'n' roll ended when he married Priscilla, her love of road hogs has endured. 

In 2023, Ann-Margret celebrated her love for all things fast with her album "Born to Be Wild," the cover of which features a shot of the icon wearing a form-fitting silver biker suit while sitting on a Triumph. In a 2024 chat with People, the then-82-year-old star revealed she still found time to hit the road on her Harley Davidson, saying, "It's lavender and it's got white daisies all over it. There's flowers on the back fender and on the front fender. I love the speed." 

Ann-Margret sold her 1997 Harley-Davidson Sportster XL883 Hugger at auction for $16,000 in 2026, but she is still riding bikes, telling Fox News that she does it for the "freedom, freedom, freedom!"

While Ann-Margret was raised to be what was considered a "proper lady" when she was growing up in Sweden, the need for speed was always in her blood. Speaking with Woman's World (via Yahoo!), she explained, "My father had two motorcycles, and my uncle had a big motorcycle in Sweden so I was surrounded by them." She expounded on how she came to love choppers, telling Variety she would ride on the back of her uncle's bike as a kid. "You look to the right, and it was the mountains. You look to the left, it was the fjords," she said. 

But as she revealed to the audience at the TCM Classic Film Festival (via Modern Times), what really made her want to ride was one of Hollywood's greatest legends: "When I saw 'The Wild Ones' with Marlon Brando, it just blew me away. I had to have a motorcycle." And while she may not have ridden with the "Chicago Fire" biker gang, Ann-Margret did get to cruise the roads alongside Steve McQueen while filming "The Cincinnati Kid." 

Sometimes the speed would get the better of Ann-Margret, who still looks amazing today. The "Bye Bye Birdie" star admitted at the same festival that she once got her bike up to 120 miles per hour on the famously winding Mulholland Drive. And while she might not have suffered any issues during that adventure, the actor did take a spill when she was 59, breaking three ribs and her shoulder in the process. But like any serious rider, the occasional crash isn't going to keep her from getting back on the bike, explaining to Woman's World, "Even though I've had many broken bones, I still love speed."