# Édith Piaf

| Édith Piaf |
| --- |
|  |
| Background information |
| Birth name | Édith Giovanna Gassion |
| Also known as | La Môme Piaf (*The Little Sparrow*) |
| Born | (1915-12-19)19 December 1915 Belleville, Paris, France |
| Died | 11 October 1963(1963-10-11) (aged 47) Placassier, Alpes-Maritimes, France |
| Genres | Cabaret Torch songs Chanson |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, actress |
| Instruments | Voice |
| Years active | 1935–1963 |
| Labels | Pathé Records, Pathé-Marconi |

**Édith Piaf** (aka. "La Môme Piaf") (December 19, 1915 – October 11, 1963) was one of France's most-loved singers. Her real name was **Édith Giovanna Gassion**. She became a national icon. Her music was an image of her tragic life. Piaf was known for singing ballads in a heartbreaking voice.

## Life and career

As child at her grandmother's in Normandy, she suffered from keratitis, but
**1925** - 10 A pilgrimage to Lisieux in the Normandy honoring Saint Thérèse of Lisieux / (Sainte Thérèse de l'Enfant-Jésus), and the intense devoutness of the family resulted in a miraculous healing, Édith said.

**1930** – 15 Her manager gave her the stage name "*la môme Piaf*", "la Môme", Édith Piaf, or just **Piaf**. She was only 1.47 metres (4 ft 10 in) tall and puny, but sharp and lively like a sparrow. She always wore a black dress on the stage.

She sang first in Pigalle, then in *Le Gerny*, the nightclub of Louis Leplée near the Champs-Élysées.
She met Raymond Asso (1901-1968) and Marguerite Monnot (1903-1961), who wrote and composed her best songs; she stroke up an acquaintance with actor and singer Maurice Chevalier.

**1948** – 32 The love of Piaf's life, the boxer Marcel Cerdan, middleweight champion of the world, died in a plane crash in October 1949, in the Azores, while flying from Paris to New York City to meet her.

**1952** – 36 Piaf married Jacques Pills in 1952 (her matron of honour was Marlene Dietrich). She divorced him in 1956. In 1962, she wed Théo Sarapo (Theophanis Lamboukas), a Greek hairdresser who was 20 years her junior.

She suffered from different illnesses during her life, especially after several car crashes.

**1963** – 47 Piaf died of liver cancer at Plascassier, near Grasse (Département Alpes-Maritimes), on 10 October 1963.

Among her most famous songs are "*Mon légionnaire*" (1936), "*Le fanion de la Légion*" (1936), "*La vie en rose*" (1946), "*Hymne à l'amour*" (1949), "*Padam... Padam...*" (1951), "*l'Accordéoniste*" (1955), "*Les amants d'un jour*" (1956),"*La foule*" (1957), "*Milord*" (1959) and "*Non, je ne regrette rien*" (1960).

Although she was denied a solemn funeral mass, her funeral procession from her residence, Boulevard Lannes (Paris, XVI arr.) drew tens of thousands of mourners onto the streets of Paris, that caused a huge traffic jam. The ceremony at the cemetery‚ Le Père-Lachaise (Paris, XX arr.), was attended by more than 100,000 fans.

Albums: Chansons Parisiennes (1949)Chansons des Cafés de Paris (1950)Edith Piaf (1953)Le Tour de Chant d'Édith Piaf a l'Olympia - No. 1 (1955)Le Tour de Chant d'Édith Piaf a l'Olympia - No. 2 (1956)Le Tour de Chant d'Édith Piaf a l'Olympia - No. 3 (1958)Récital 1961Récital 1962

* Huey, Steve. *Edith Piaf: Biography*. Yahoo! Music.

## Other websites

* Edith Piaf
* Édith Piaf on IMDb