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Roxette singer Marie Fredriksson dead at 61

STOCKHOLM — Marie Fredriksson, singer for the Swedish pop duo Roxette, has died, multiple news outlets are reporting. She was 61.

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In a statement, Dimberg Jernberg Management said Fredriksson, who had been fighting cancer for 17 years, died Monday morning, the BBC reported.

"Marie leaves us a grand musical legacy," the statement said of Fredriksson, who formed Roxette with Per Gessle in 1986. "Her amazing voice – both strong and sensitive – and her magical live performances will be remembered by all of us who was lucky enough to witness them. But we also remember a wonderful person with a huge appetite for life, and woman with a very big heart who cared for everybody she met."

The duo, known for songs such as "It Must Have Been Love" (1987) and "The Look" (1989), went on to sell "more than 80 million records" and go on multiple international tours, the statement said.

According to the management company, doctors diagnosed Fredriksson with a brain tumor in 2002. Following her "aggressive treatment," Fredriksson began touring with Roxette again in 2009.

Seven years later, doctors "advised her to stop touring and focus on her health," the company said.

Gessle remembered Fredriksson as “an outstanding musician, a master of the voice, an amazing performer."

"Thanks for painting my black and white songs in the most beautiful colours," he said in a statement. "You were the most wonderful friend for over 40 years. I'm proud, honored and happy to have been able to share so much of your time, talent, warmth, generosity and sense of humor."

Fredriksson is survived by her husband, Mikael Bolyos, and two children, according to the management company.

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