Édith Piaf

Édith Piaf (aka. "La Môme Piaf") (December 19, 1915 – October 11, 1963)October 11 is the official date of her death. She actually died on October 10. 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", Édith Piaf, or just Piaf. She was only  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

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

 Notes 

 Other websites 
 Edith Piaf


Category:1915 births
Category:1963 deaths
Category:Actors from Paris
Category:Cancer deaths in France
Category:Deaths from liver cancer
Category:French movie actors
Category:Singers from Paris