Pauline Wiktor

**Pauline Wiktor Duro** (née **Wiktor**; born 14 July 1966) is a Lungarian singer, songwriter, and actress. One of the most successful musicians of the 1980s and 1990s, Wiktor has been named one of the most influential women in Lungarian music of all-time.

Born in rural Beckhause, Wiktor began her career in 1982, after dropping out from high school and running away to Munbach. In 1984, Wiktor was signed to Mammoth Music Lungary and Island Music to begin a music career. Her debut single "Köl" was released the following year, and became a number-one hit in Lungary, Haff, and Efterland. The single was followed by her debut studio album *Pauline* (1985), which further cemented her status as a teen icon, along with her sophomore release *Högt* (1987). Following the success of her music career, Wiktor began pursuing acting. She starred in the successful films *Wanderlust* (1987), *Stardust* (1989), and *High Above, Far Below* (1990), before returning to her music career in the 1990s, releasing the wildly successful albums *Feel It Again* (1991), *Brave* (1992), *Brown Bear* (1994), *Colorless Colors* (1996), and *Dreamscape* (1999). Beginning in the 21st-century, Wiktor began abandoning pop music to focus on soft rock and adult contemporary music. While she no longer saw chart success with her singles, her albums *Where My Heart Is* (2003), *Create Again* (2007), and *Reborn* (2010) still saw massive success and multi-platinum certifications.

With eleven number-one singles in her career, Wiktor holds the record for the third-highest amount of number-one hits in Lungary. She has sold over 120 million albums and 400 million singles, making Wiktor the most-successful Lungarian musician of all-time. Hailed as one of the most successful women in Lungarian music of all-time, Wiktor has been variously referred to as the "Queen of Pop", "Princess of Pop", and "Teen Dream Queen" by the Lungarian media throughout her career.

## Early life

Wiktor was born as **Pauline Tifanja Wiktor** on 14 July 1966 in Nettenheim, Beckhause, a rural village in Lu County, to parents Lionel and Tifanja Wiktor (née *Görasch*). Raised on her family's farm, Wiktor grew up doing manual labor for her family, taking care of animals and helping with the crops. She is the eighth of twelve children; her siblings consist of nine sisters and two brothers. Wiktor has stated that she is not close with her family, and that growing up her parents were neglectful and verbally abusive.

Wiktor began primary school in 1972, attending a local public school in her village. Growing up, Wiktor enjoyed school immensely, as it allowed her time away from her family and let her foster her creativity in classes like art and music. Through these creative classes, Wiktor discovered a love for performing. She often found herself staying at school after classes ended, in order to put on performances with friends and listen to popular music, which was not allowed at her home. When Wiktor was 13, she began writing her own songs. Wiktor graduated from primary school in 1982. Although she wished to attend a music school in Warner, her parents forbade her and forced her to enroll in the Lu County Vocational School, a *kariersküle* where Wiktor studied to become a secretary. Unhappy with her classes, peers, and family controlling her life, Wiktor stopped attending classes only a month after beginning high school; her parents did not notice.

In October 1982, Wiktor stole $20 from her parents, packed a bag, and boarded a train to Munbach in order to pursue a career as a musician. Upon arriving in Munbach, Wiktor stayed at a women's shelter for her first month and began working as a waitress. She soon was able to afford a small studio apartment in Lower Munbach, where she resided for one-and-a-half years. While working as a waitress during the day, Wiktor performed original songs at small venues during the night, where she was eventually discovered.

## Career

### 1984–1985: Breakthrough and *Pauline*

After performing in small venues such as record stores and coffee shops for almost two years, Wiktor was discovered by record executives from Mammoth Music Lungary and Island Music during the summer of 1984. She soon afterwards signed to the labels, and began work on her debut studio album. Wiktor almost stepped out of her contract when executives did not want her to cowrite the songs for her album. However, as they did not want to lose her, believing Wiktor had one of the best voices they had heard in recent years, they gave in and allowed her to work as a cowriter.

Wiktor released her debut single "Köl" the following year. The song established Wiktor as a pop star crooner, and was a dramatic love ballad that showcased Wiktor's powerhouse vocals. "Köl" went on to become a massive success, peaking at number-one in Lungary for seven consecutive weeks. The song was also successful in Haff and Efterland. Following the immediate success of the single, Wiktor's debut studio album was rushed for an earlier release; Wiktor has gone on to say that she was writing and recording for the album almost 24-hours a day. Her debut studio album, *Pauline*, was later released in April 1985. Like its lead single, *Pauline* became a chart-topping success in Lungary, Haff, and Efterland; it additionally became the best-selling album of 1985 in Lungary and Haff, becoming certified diamond in both countries. With the album's success, Wiktor embarked on her first concert tour *A Night with Pauline*, which performed shows in Lungary, Haff, and Efterland from May to August 1985. At the 1986 Lungarian Music Awards, Wiktor was awarded the Lungarian Music Award for Best New Artist.

### 1986–1990: *Högt* and acting career

Following the success of *Pauline*, Wiktor's record label had her begin writing new music for her follow-up release shortly after returning home from her tour in August 1985. In a January 1986 interview, Wiktor stated that she was excited to begin releasing the new music, and that it was a similar style to the sound of its predecessor, but "more mature". Wiktor released her upcoming second studio album's lead single "Förlescher himmel" in October 1986. The song became a hit, becoming Wiktor's second number-one single in Lungary, additionally peaking at number-one in Haff and Efterland. Her second studio album *Högt* was later released in January 1987, becoming her second chart-topping album. *Högt* helped establish Wiktor as a teen icon, and she promoted it with the *Högt Tour*, performing shows in Lungary, Haff, and Efterland from January to March 1987.

While on tour, reports emerged that Wiktor had been cast in the upcoming teen drama film *Wanderlust*, and would be beginning an acting career. She later confirmed the reports, and revealed that she would film the movie immediately after completing her tour. *Wanderlust* was later released in December 1987, receiving rave reviews and becoming a commercial success. She began filming the musical drama *Stardust* in 1988, and the film was later released the following year. *Stardust* became one of the most influential and successful films of the decade, with its soundtrack additionally producing a number of hit singles for both Wiktor and her costar Helene Korschtaun. Wiktor was nominated for a Lungarian Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film. In 1990, she appeared in the dramatic film *High Above, Far Below*, winning the Lungarian Movie Award for Best Leading Actress.

### 1991–1999: Pop icon

Following her appearance in *High Above, Far Below*, Wiktor stated that while she enjoyed acting, her passion was with music and she wished to return to her music career. She began writing for her third studio album in early-1990, and decided to write in English after being inspired by the success of the English-language soundtrack for *Stardust*. She later released the single "The Power of Love" in September 1990, which has gone on to become Wiktor's best-selling single and signature song. It reigned at number-one for twenty-four non-consecutive weeks, and was named the best-selling single of both 1990 and 1991 in Lungary; the song was additionally a chart-topping hit in six other countries. Her third studio album *Feel It Again* was later released in February 1991, becoming her third chart-topping album,. She promoted it with the *Feel It World Tour*, which became her first tour to visit countries other than Lungary, Haff, and Efterland. She performed shows in twelve countries, ranging from March to August 1991.

Wiktor went on to achieve massive success in the 1990s, with music journalists calling the decade the peak of her career. In 1994, she was first dubbed the "Queen of Pop" by the Lungarian media, after having been previously branded the "Princess of Pop" or "Teen Dream Queen" in her earlier career; this honorific title has remained with her throughout her ensuing career, and she is still commonly known as this. During the 1990s, she released the albums *Brave* (1992), *Brown Bear* (1994), *Colorless Colors* (1996), and *Dreamscape* (1999), all four of which became number-one hits in Lungary and certified multi-platinum. She has additionally released a further seven number-one singles in her home country, bringing her total up to eleven.

### 2000–2010: Adult contemporary and soft rock career

Following the birth of her daughter in April 2000, Wiktor took a hiatus from her music career in order to prioritize motherhood and her family life. She announced the end of her hiatus in late-2002, revealing that she had begun work on her upcoming eighth studio album. In a March 2003 interview, Wiktor revealed that she wanted her future releases to be less pop-oriented, as she was beginning to "grow out" of the genre, and wanted her music to mature at the same pace that she did. She later revealed that the upcoming album would be a two-disc box set, consisting of a greatest hits album and an album of new material. The album, titled *Where My Heart Is*, was released in August 2003. Unlike her previous material, the new music was largely devoid of uptempo numbers, instead focusing on ballads and soft rock. The album was critically well-received and became a chart-topping success, but did not produce any hit singles.

In a 2004 interview, Wiktor stated that she was "over" worrying about releasing songs that could be commercially successful. She reaffirmed her decision to release music that she saw as mature and reminiscent of where she was in her life, not "where [she] used to be as a young adult or teenager". Wiktor released two other albums afterwards: *Create Again* (2007) and *Reborn* (2010). Both of the albums were similar to *Where My Heart Is* in many ways; they featured predominantly ballads and soft rock songs, peaked within the top five in Lungary and were certified platinum, and failed to produce any singles with major chart impact. Wiktor only embarked on a concert tour to promote *Create Again*, performing in fourteen countries for the *On the Road Again World Tour*, which ran from July 2007 to January 2008.

### 2011–present: Hiatus and residency show

Following the release of *Reborn* in 2010, Wiktor revealed that she would not be releasing another album for "quite some time", in order to once again prioritize her family life. While Wiktor was still active in her public life, she continuously stated that she was not interested in releasing new music anytime soon.

In 2012, it was announced that Wiktor had signed on to perform in a year-long residency show *The Pauline Wiktor Experience* in Elgerholme. It was reported that Wiktor would be paid $600,000 per weekly show for the year of performances, leading to an overall salary of over $30 million. The show first began in March 2013, and closed in March 2014. Throughout its run, Wiktor invited special one-night-only guests and changed the setlist so it'd be different for almost every performance. After ending *The Pauline Wiktor Experience*, Wiktor revealed that she was interested in recording another album as the residency show had "reignited" her desire to make music. However, by 2015, she had revealed that she was still on hiatus and did not know when she'd be releasing another album.

## Personal life

### Family and relationships

After moving to Munbach in 1982, Wiktor had no contact with any of her family members for several years. By 1998, she had stated she was on good terms with four of her sisters and one of her brothers, although her other siblings had still never reached out to her. After the release of her debut studio album *Pauline* in 1985, Wiktor's parents attempted to contact her and ask for money, although she did not give them any. They contacted her sporadically throughout her early career to ask for money, although Wiktor never agreed and they eventually stopped communicating; Wiktor did not attend her father's funeral in 2002.

In 1995, Wiktor began a romantic relationship with Brezan television producer Kai Duro (né Durornunam), after they had met in Munbach. They became engaged after three years of dating, and later married on 22 January 1999 in Neumerschaussen Castle, after receiving permission from Otto V. Their wedding was a private affair and they did not allow any paparazzi to attend. In October 1999, Wiktor revealed that she was pregnant with her first child; her and Duro's daughter, Alessandra Michaela Duro, was later born on  (2000-04-09) 9 April 2000 (age 23).

Through her marriage to Duro, Wiktor acquired Brezan citizenship in 2006; their daughter was born a dual citizen of both Breza and Lungary. Wiktor speaks both Lungarian and English fluently, although she did not perfect English until beginning her music career in the mid-1980s; she can understand Brezan, but does not speak it.

### Political and religious beliefs

Wiktor has described her upbringing as "very religious". The family were initially members of the Church of Lungary, but abandoned the church in 1979, following a disagreement between Wiktor's mother and their local priest. Afterwards, she was raised a non-denominational Christian. Growing up, Wiktor was not allowed to listen to any genre of music other than Christian music, so she resorted to listening to popular music while away at school. In 1992, Wiktor revealed that she stopped believing in Christian teachings when she was 12 years old, although continued to pretend to believe for her parents' sake. In 2005, she identified herself as a "spiritual person" but neglected to identify with a religion. She has reiterated this statement numerous times, and in 2010, stated that she did not believe in a God.

Despite identifying as "generally a non-political person", Wiktor has still been a vocal supporter of the Social Democratic Party (SDL). She supported Uljana Heimlitz in the 2010 and 2018 leadership elections, and has performed at various campaign events for Heimlitz and the Social Democratic Party. She also appeared at a campaign rally in Beckhause with Milo Grübberbach ahead of the 2014 Lungarian federal election.

### Residences

Wiktor and her family own several residences. Their primary home is their $25 million, eighteen-bedroom mansion in the Crondacht neighborhood of Inner Munbach. They also own a six-bedroom cottage in the Koningsbarg neighborhood of East Munbach. Outside of Munbach, they own apartments in Elgerholme, Schauwe, Halverbach, and Vecker, Southeast Veckerland, which have a combined value of $10.3 million.

Internationally, the family owns a twelve-bedroom house in Kali, Breza; a seven-bedroom ski lodge estate in Khamantauss, Efterland; a five-bedroom apartment in Karenna, Haff; a ten-bedroom apartment in Morgante, Dalia; and a fifteen-bedroom beach house in Elenhem, Lemu. Overall, her total real estate investments add up to over $100 million.

## Discography

*Main article: Pauline Wiktor discography.*

* *Pauline* (1985)
* *Högt* (1987)
* *Feel It Again* (1991)
* *Brave* (1992)
* *Brown Bear* (1994)
* *Colorless Colors* (1996)
* *Dreamscape* (1999)
* *Where My Heart Is* (2003)
* *Create Again* (2007)
* *Reborn* (2010)

## Filmography

*Main article: Pauline Wiktor filmography.*

## Awards and nominations

*Main article: Awards and nominations received by Pauline Wiktor.*