She was born in Stockholm 18/10/1934. Her real name was Berit Maria Johnson. She studied at the opera school of the Royal Swedish Opera (Kungliga Operan) under Britta von Vegesack. She is considered to be among the most distinguished singers of her generation to have interpreted roles from Wagner operas. Her first appearance at the Stockholm Opera was in the role of Countess Almaviva [Le nozze di Figaro] (1963). At the same Opera house where she remained until 1972 she interpreted the roles of Elizabeth [Tannhauser], Aida and Tosca from the operas for the same name respectively, Leonore [Fidelio], Chrysothemis [Elektra] next to Birgit Nilsson etc. She appeared at the Vienna State Opera, at the Royal Opera of Covent Garden, London (1966), the Grand Opera of Paris, the Grand Theater of Liceu in Barcelona (1972), the Bavarian State Opera of Munich (Bayerische Staatsoper) where she appeared as Brunhilde [Walküre] (1967), the Zurich Opera House (Opernhaus Zürich) as Kundry [Parsifal], the Bayreuth Festival (1967, 1968, 1969, 1973), In Amsterdam (1974), the Metropolitan Opera of New York (1975), the Marseille Opera (Opera de Marseille) (1983), the German Opera on the Rhine (The Deutsche Oper am Rhein) (1973/77), in Bremen [Die Frau ohne Schatten], (1991) etc. She participated in the debut performances of the works [Die Wiedertäufer] by Alexander Goehr and [Backanterna] by Daniel Börtz. She has sang the roles of Isolde [Tristan and Isolde], Venus [Tannhauser] and the Third Norn [Götterdämmerung]. In 1984 she became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in Stockholm and in 1988 was given the "Litteris et artibus" award. She was recorded in the operas Die Walkure (1966), Les Troyens (in the role of Cassandra), in Swedish songs etc. Her performance at the GNO in the role of Salome and in the Athens Festival was cancelled (1979/80).