Teddy Scholten | |
|---|---|
 Scholten in 1978 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Dorothea Margaretha van Zwieteren |
| Also known as | Thea van Zwieteren |
| Born | 11 May 1926 Rijswijk, Netherlands |
| Died | 8 April 2010 (aged 83) The Hague, Netherlands |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, presenter |
| Years active | 1955–1975 |
Dorothea Margaretha "Teddy" Scholten (née van Zwieteren; 11 May 1926 – 8 April 2010) was a Dutch singer and television presenter.[1] She is known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 1959 with the song "Een beetje", representing the Netherlands.
In 1950, Scholten was invited by The Coca-Cola Company to perform at a show in the United States.[2] She was one of the first Dutch popular music artists to perform in the United States.
In 1959, she won the Nationaal Songfestival 1959 with the song "Een beetje", written by Willy van Hemert and Dick Schallies.[3] This gave her the right to represent the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 1959, held in Cannes, France. She went on to win the competition, receiving a total of 21 points from the international juries. This marked the second win of the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest. "Een beetje" was also recorded in French ("Un p'tit peu"), German ("Sei ehrlich"), Italian ("Un poco") and Swedish ("Om våren").
With her husband, Henk Scholten, she recorded several albums, many of them containing songs for children. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s she appeared in popular television shows in the Netherlands. In 1965 and 1966, she presented the Nationaal Songfestival, the Dutch national final for the Eurovision Song Contest.[4]
