Laura Annikki "Laila" Kinnunen, also known as Laila Kinnunen, was born on November 8, 1939, in Helsinki Rural Municipality, and was a Finnish pop singer. Raised in a musical family, she was the daughter of farm laborer and fiddler Artturi Kinnunen and Kerttu Kinnunen, and her sister, Ritva Kinnunen, also became a singer. During World War II, she and her sister spent five years in Sweden as war children, an experience that influenced her early life, and she returned to Finland at age ten and began her music career. Her first recording, "Lazzarella", was released in 1957, which proved successful. She represented Finland at the 1961 Eurovision Song Contest, marking the country's debut in the event. Her notable albums include Laila (1965) and Iskelmiä vuosien varrelta (1974). Throughout her career until 1980, she suffered from severe alcoholism during the 1970s. On October 26, 2000, she died in Heinävesi at age 60 after a tragic accident.
