Edith Piaf

On the 19th of December 1915, a little girl named Edith Giovani Gassion was born in Paris. She will become one of the biggest female singers of the 20th century, so let me tell you her story. From a mother who was a singer and a father who will become a soldier in the World Wars, she spent her youth singing in the streets to earn some money, because she and her family were living in bad and poor conditions. After Edith's teenage years, she was noticed in 1936, by Louis Leplée. Louis Leplée was the director of a Parisian cabaret, who want crazy over Edith Gassion when he met her in the streets. It is also thanks to this man that we know Edith Gassion better under the name of Edith Piaf. "Piaf" is the informal name we use to give birds in French, so when Mr Leplée heard her sing, he thought she was singing like a bird, like a "piaf". Therefore, Piaf has quickly became very popular thanks to Mr Leplée : she attended big tours, people could see her on cinema screens and theaters. This rise was followed by an international career, because she often traveled to the United States to sing, in fact, Americans loved her and her voice.

Love is a really important part in her life : all her songs are about love or are sad songs because of emotional grief. We can now say that Marcel Sardan was the greatest love in her life. He was a well-known boxer at the time and died in a plane crash; this event had a huge impact on the singer. We can assume that her song entitled "Mon Dieu" ("My God" in English) was dedicated to Sardan. Even if his death destroyed her, he wasn't the last man in her life : she met Théo Sarapot with whom she wrote "A quoi ça sert l'amour ?" ("What is love for" in English). This little lady who was only 1m47, ended her life in 1963, at the age of 47 years old, buried in the Père Lachaise's cemetery.

Edith Piaf isn't a heroine, because she hasn't changed the world by writing committed songs, nor was in charity programs, but she is my heroine. She is, because she inspired me a lot : she loved what she was doing, she even said in an interview "If I don't sing, I would kill myself", and I think it's really powerful to see how passionate a person must be. And finally, she is my heroine, because she made me believe in love with a great "L", and for this I am very grateful.