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Helena Paparizou was born in Borås, Sweden, to Greek immigrant parents Georgios and Efrosini Paparizou and was raised in Örgryte, Gothenburg. Her father is from Volos and mother is from Karditsa. She has a sister Rita and brother Dino.

Helena's artistic talents and eagerness to excel became apparent very early, and she was soon involved in singing, dancing and acting, training in combination with her academic studies at school.

Helena, determined to succeed with and fulfill her dreams of being an entertainer, joined childhood friend and fellow Swede-Greek Nikos Panagiotidis, at the age of seventeen, to form "Antique". The duo quickly signed their first record label contract, with the Swedish record label Bonnier. Their debut single, "Opa Opa", became a huge hit, reaching number one on the single charts and gaining gold status following its release in August 1999.

The band's subsequent fame and success, strongly associated with the international promotion of Greek culture, led to them being selected as Greece's representatives for the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 in Copenhagen. The band reached a third place with the song, "(I would) Die for you".

Although equaled by Sakis Rouvas's effort "Shake It" in 2004, it was Greece's highest place in the competition until Helena won the contest as a solo artist in 2005. Antique's success in the Eurovision Song Contest led to them recording multiple platinum albums, playing a European tour, and collaborating with many other Greek artists.