Anita Lerche  Anita Lerche () is a singer-songwriter, composer and actress from Denmark. With the release of her album "Heer from Denmark" in November 2006, she became the first non-Asian woman from the west to create a solo album in Punjabi. In addition to singing in Punjabi, she has sung in a total of 16 different languages. Lerche was born on December 21, 1973, in Glostrup and grew up in Herlev, which are suburbs of Copenhagen. She grew up in a musical household, with her father Mogens Flemming Lerche singing and playing the guitar. Her great grandfather Knud Peter Emil Nielsen was a professional singer and musician. About her father's influence on her love of music, Anita said, “He was my big inspiration. He has a great voice and was always playing the guitar and singing. I was just listening, and I got inspired by him.” At the age of seven, Lerche began singing publicly when she joined the Herlev School choir. At the age of 13, she was accepted to the choir of Radio Denmark and was chosen to sing in an opera for children called "Lykken og Forstanden." Two years later, she started training in the western classical music style and got her first professional job as a church singer. After earning her high school diploma from Sankt Annæ Gymnasium in 1992, Lerche enrolled in a three-year Rytmikpædagog, a rhythm-based music education program. She graduated in 1996. Lerche studied musical theatre at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London. Prior to Mountview, she also studied piano performance, learning works by Bach and Chopin among other composers. About the experience, she has said, “I always wanted to become a professional. So I wanted to get a very good education. I've had around 16 years of classical singing training. Musical theatre is a great way of expressing oneself, and I got some great tools for acting and dancing as well.” After completing her bachelor's degree in 2001, Anita performed in many musical theatre productions in London and Denmark. In 2001, Lerche performed the duet song "Mit Hjerte Det Banker (My Heart Is Beating)" alongside Simon Munk as a part of Dansk Melodi Grand Prix, the Danish branch of the Eurovision Song Contest. She also sang the American national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner, at the boxing match between Mike Tyson and Brian Nielsen.