Biography
Sylvie Vartan (born Sylvie Georges Vartanian; 15 August 1944) is a Armenian-Bulgarian-French singer and actress. She is known as one of the most productive and tough-sounding yé-yé artists. Her performances often featured elaborate show-dance choreography, and she made many appearances on French and Italian TV. With 50 million records and CD's sold worldwide, 2000 magazine covers (number one French female artist before Bardot and Deneuve) and being the number one French female singer with concerts and audience worldwide, Sylvie Vartan is considered a true Legend and icon.
Yearly shows with then-husband Johnny Hallyday attracted full houses at the Olympia and the Palais des congrès de Paris throughout the 1960s and mid-1970s. In 2004, after a break in performances, she began recording and giving concerts of jazz ballads in francophone countries.
Sylvie Vartan was born in Iskrets, Sofia Province, in the then Kingdom of Bulgaria. Her father, Georges Vartanian (1912—1970), was born in France to a Bulgarian mother named Slavka and an Armenian father. He worked as an attaché at the French embassy in Sofia. The family shortened the name Vartanian to Vartan. Her mother, Ilona (née Mayer 1914–2007), daughter of prominent architect Rudolf Mayer, was of Hungarian-Jewish descent.
When the Soviet Army invaded Bulgaria in September 1944, the Vartanian family house was nationalised and they moved to Sofia. In 1952, a friend of Sylvie's father, film director Dako Dakovski, offered her the role of a schoolgirl in the movie Pod igoto, a film about Bulgarian rebels against the Ottoman occupation. Participating in the film made her dream of becoming an entertainer come true.
The hardships of postwar Bulgaria made the family emigrate to Paris in December 1952. At first they stayed in the Lion d'Argent hotel near Les Halles, where Georges found a job, then for the next four years they stayed in a single room at the Angleterre Hotel. Young Sylvie had to work hard to keep up at school and blend in with her schoolmates. She spent two years learning French.
In 1960, her family moved to an apartment in Michel Bizot Avenue. Thanks to the influence of her music producer brother Eddie, music became teenage Sylvie's main interest. Her most influential genres were jazz and, out of spite toward her strict high school, rock 'n' roll. Her favourite artists included Brenda Lee, Bill Haley, and Elvis Presley.
In 1961, Eddie offered Sylvie the chance to record the song "Panne d'essence" with French rocker Frankie Jordan. The Decca Records EP was a surprise hit. Although she was not credited on the sleeve, "Panne d'essence" provided Vartan her first appearance on French television. The journalists gave her the nickname la collégienne du twist. After the "twisting schoolgirl" had finished the Victor Hugo High School, she was free to sign a contract with Decca Records to start recording her own EP; carrying the title song "Quand le film est triste", a cover of Sue Thompson's "Sad Movies (Make Me Cry)", the EP was on sale by the beginning of December 1961. ...
Source: Article "Sylvie Vartan" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Filmography
all 58
self 43
TV Shows 30
Movies 28
L'Âge d'or de la pub (2023)
Sheila, toutes ces vies-là (2022)
Il était une fois Champs-Élysées (2022)
La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président (2022)
Sylvie Vartan : le récital (2021)
Michel Sardou une vie en chantant (2021)
Archives secrètes (2021)
La Boîte à secrets (2019)
The secret song (2018)
Sardou, le film de sa vie (2017)
Roger Kasparian, l'oeil des 60's (2014)
Sex, Love & Therapy (2014)
It Happened in Saint-Tropez (2013)
L'Amour, la mort, les fringues (2011)
Johnny Hallyday : Tour 66 - Stade de France (2009)
C à vous (2009)
L’ange et la femme: le cinéma de Jean-Claude Brisseau (2008)
Rare and Unseen: The Beatles (2008)
Mausolée pour une garce (2001)
Star Academy (2001)
Vivement dimanche (1998)
The Black Angel (1994)
Johnny Hallyday : Parc des Princes 93 (1993)
Stars 90 (1990)
Le monde est à vous (1987)
Victoires de la musique (1985)
Champs-Elysées (1982)
Formule un (1982)
The Big Show (1980)
Carlos Numéro 1 (1979)
Bio’s Bahnhof (1978)
Fan School (1977)
30 millions d'amis (1976)
Numéro un (1975)
Système 2 (1975)
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche (1975)
Midi Première (1975)
Klimbim (1973)
Repeated Absences (1972)
J'ai tout donné (1972)
Midi trente (1972)
Le Grand Échiquier (1972)
Cadet Rousselle (1971)
Baden-Badener Roulette (1971)
Samedi soir (1971)
Malpertuis (1971)
À bout portant (1968)
The Ponies (1967)
Europarty (1967)
Dim Dam Dom (1965)
Friends of the family (1964)
Cherchez l'idole (1964)
Where Are You From, Johnny? (1963)
Just for Fun (1963)
Les idoles (1963)
Un clair de lune à Maubeuge (1962)
Discorama (1959)
Ma mère, Dieu et Sylvie Vartan
Ratings
Gallery
Information
Known ForActing
GenderFemale
Birthday1944-08-15 (79 years old)
Birth NameСилви Жорж Вартан
Birth PlaceIskrets, Bulgaria
RelationshipsJohnny Hallyday (1965-04-12 - 1980-11-05)
SpouseTony Scotti
ChildrenDarina, David Hallyday
SiblingsEddie Vartan
RelativesMichael Vartan
CitizenshipsFrance
ResidencesParis, France, Sofia, Bulgaria
Also Known AsSylvie Georges Vartanian
AwardsOfficer of the Legion of Honour, Order of Stara Planina, Order of the cavalier of Madara, Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres, Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, Officer of the National Order of Merit, Knight of the National Order of Merit, Knight of the Legion of Honour
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