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Helen Merrill (born Jelena Ana Milcetic, 1930) is an American jazz vocalist.

Merrill's recording career has spanned six decades and she is popular with fans of jazz in Japan and Italy (where she lived for many years) as well as in her native United States. She has recorded and performed with some of the most notable figures in the American jazz scene.

Merrill was born in New York City in 1930, to Croatian immigrant parents. She began singing in jazz clubs in the Bronx at the age of fourteen. By the time she was sixteen, Merrill had taken up music full-time. In 1952, Merrill made her recording debut when she was asked to sing "A Cigarette For Company" with the Earl Hines Band; the song was released on the D'Oro label, created specifically to record Hines' band with Merrill. Etta Jones was in Hines' band at the time and she too sang on this session, which was reissued on the Xanadu label in 1985.

As a result of the exposure she received from "A Cigarette for Company" and two subsequent singles recorded for the Roost record label, Merrill was signed by Mercury Records for their new Emarcy label.

After recording sporadically through the late 1950s and 1960s, Merrill spent much of her time touring Europe, where she enjoyed more commercial success than she had in the United States. She settled for a time in Italy, recording an album there and doing concerts with jazz musicians Piero Umiliani, Chet Baker, Romano Mussolini, and Stan Getz.

She recorded in Italy with Umiliani's orchestra in the early 1960s while Merrill was living there. Many standard songs are elevated to classic status by Merrill's perfect phrasing, sublime high notes, and emotionally flawless renditions.

Merrill moved to Japan in 1966, staying after touring there due to a romantic involvement.

Merrill returned to the US in 1972 and has continued recording and regular touring since then. Her later career has seen her experiment in different music genres. She has recorded a bossa nova album, a Christmas album and a record's worth of Rodgers and Hammerstein, among many others.

Two albums from Merrill's later career have been tributes to past musical partners. 
In 1987 she co-produced a CD 'Billy Eckstine sing with Benny Carter' and sings in duet with Mr.B two ballads.
In 1995 she recorded 'Brownie: Homage to Clifford Brown' as a tribute to the trumpeter.

One of Merrill's millennium released recordings draws from her Croatian heritage as well as her American upbringing. Jelena Ana Milcetic, a.k.a. Helen Merrill (2000), combines jazz, pop and blues songs with several traditional Croatian songs sung in Croatian.

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Helen Merrill - 1954 - Helen Merrill
Helen Merrill - 1955 - Helen Merrill With Strings
Helen Merrill - 1956 - Dream Of You
Helen Merrill - 1958 - The Nearness Of You
Helen Merrill - 1959 - You've Got A Date With The Blues
Helen Merrill - 1960 - Parole E Musica
Helen Merrill - 1962 - Helen Merrill In Italy
Helen Merrill - 1963 - Helen Merrill In Tokyo
Helen Merrill - 1965 - The Artistry Of Helen Merrill (LP)
Helen Merrill - 1966 - Sings Folk
Helen Merrill - 1967 - Bossa Nova In Tokyo
Helen Merrill - 1968 - Sings Screen Favorites
Helen Merrill - 1970 - Sings The Beatles
Helen Merrill - 1979 - Chasin The Bird
Helen Merrill - 1980 - Casa Forte
Helen Merrill - 1986 - Cole Porter Album
Helen Merrill - 1986 - The Complete Helen Merrill On Mercury (4CD)
Helen Merrill - 1991 - Christmas Song Book
Helen Merrill - 1991 - Clear Out Of This World
Helen Merrill - 1994 - Brownie Homage To Clifford Brown
Helen Merrill - 1996 - Carrousel
Helen Merrill - 1996 - You And The Night And The Music
Helen Merrill - 1999 - Jelena Ana Milcetic a.k.a. Helen Merrill
Helen Merrill - 2002 - Lilac Wine
Helen Merrill & Dick Katz - 1965 - The Feeling Is Mutual
Helen Merrill & Dick Katz - 1968 - A Shade Of Difference
Helen Merrill & Gary Peacock Trio - 1971 - Sposin'
Helen Merrill & Gil Evans - 1987 - Collaboration
Helen Merrill & Gordon Beck - 1984 - No Tears... No Goodbyes
Helen Merrill & Ron Carter - 1988 - Duets
Helen Merrill & Stan Getz - 1989 - Just Friends
Helen Merrill & Teddy Wilson - 1970 - Helen Sings, Teddy Swings
Helen Merrill With Gil Evans & Clifford Brown (1954-1956) - 1990
Helen Merrill, Gordon Beck, Grappelli, Steve Lacy - 1986 - Music Makers
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