Ruth Jacott was born in Paramaribo, Surinam in 1960. At the age of 9 her family moved to the Netherlands. At the age of 17 she started her singing career. In 1986 Ruth wins ,as part of the Dutch team, the Knokke festival in Belgium. In 1987 she plays one of the leading roles in the Dutch version of the musical 'Cats' Her career took a step forwards when she was chosen to represent the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1993. Out of the 8 submitted songs a professional jury selected 'Vrede' to represent The Netherlands in Millstreet