Vanessa Paradis

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Vanessa Paradis Mini Bio

Singer, actress and model Vanessa Paradis was born in Saint-Maur dès Fossés (near Paris) to parents Andre and Corinne. When Vanessa was very young she took piano and dance lessons, then, when she was just 7 years old, she made her first television appearance in Jacques Martin's "l'école des fans" singing Philippe Chatel's "Emilie Jolie".
5 years later in 1985, Vanessa recorded her first single (in association with Les Forbans) "La magie des surprises parties" for the children's Eurovision in Turin. But she shot to fame with the release of her next single "Joe le Taxi" which was an instant hit, not only in France but in the UK where it reached number 3 in the charts, uncommon for a french language song at that time.

In 1989 Vanessa's transition onto the silver screen was instantly successful when she starred in Jean-Claude Brisseau's "Noce Blanche", her excellent performance garnered her the Ceaser award (French equivalent of an Oscar). Now Vanessa was focusing on both singing and acting, she went on to star in many more films such as "Élisa", "Un amour de sorcière" and "Une chance sur deux". She also released several more albums including her first full album sung English, the self titled "Vanessa Paradis" (1992) with help from at the time boyfriend Lenny Kravitz, this was a milestone for Vanessa and another success.

Vital Stats Vanessa Paradis Information

Full name:	Vanessa Chantal Paradis
Height:	5' 3" (1.60 m)
Hair:	Light Brown
Eyes:	Green
Notable features:	Cheekbones, Teeth, Eyes
Star sign:	Western - Capricorn Chinese - Rat
Nationality:	French
Education:	First literary section A3 at the lyceum in Fontenay-sous-Bois. Vanessa quit school at age 16.
Family:	Father: Andre Paradis Mother: Corrine Paradis Sister: Alysson "Lilou" Paradis (younger) Uncle: Didier Pain Partner: Johnny Depp Daughter: Lily - Rose Melody Depp Son: John Christopher "Jack" Depp III
Resides in:	Plan de la Tour, France Hollywood Hills, CA, USA Timsbury, England, UK Paris, Manhattan and the Bahamas (apartments)
Interests/Hobbies:	Singing, dancing, ice-skating, art, guitar, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, antiques, cooking
Charities/Causes:	AIDS Research Rêve VP: "This association gives ill and hospitalized children the opportunity to have one of their dreams come true. Their wishes are very different from one another : see a horse for real, meet and artist, have a computer game, a book. These are not extraordinary things. Anyone can help this association by giving a few hours of his time off, or going there and telling these children about your job or your passion. These small things can be enough to fulfill a child's dream. In this case we can all become fairies." - DS Magazine, November 2000
Other:	In 2007, the French government named Vanessa 'Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres' (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters). This honour represents the recognition of significant contributions to the arts, literature, or the propagation of these fields. To achieve it, French citizens must be at least thirty years old, respect French civil law, and must have, "significantly contributed to the enrichment of the French cultural inheritance."

Vanessa Paradis Loves Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers and Gene Kelly. Liza Minelli in "New York, New York". Barbra Streisand in "Funny Girl". At 8 years old Vanessa would sing along with the songs without knowing what they were about. Marilyn Monroe, comedies like "Some Like it Hot", and in dramas like "The Misfits". Katharine Hepburn, Marlon Brando in "A Streetcar Named Desire", but also Arletty, Jean Gabin and Louis de Funès. Romy Schneider in "César et Rosalie". Le Père Noël est Une Ordure. The directors Pedro Almodóvar and Tim Burton. The painter Gustav Klimt. Marvin Gaye, Serge Gainsbourg and Tom Waits, she says they are her gods. Billie Holiday, Norah Jones, Lauryn Hill, Catherine Ringer and Carla Bruni, she says she loves their voices. Her Chanel jacket, which she prefers to wear with jeans. Velours, it’s her favourite fabric because “it shines, it’s soft and it moves”. The clothes worn by Adèle, her character in La Fille Sur Le Pont, she was given all of the costumes she wore during the movie as a gift.

Vanessa Paradis Trivia

Is one of the faces of Coco Chanel. In 1991 Vanessa promoted the fragrance "Coco" for Chanel. In 2004 she promoted their new handbags "Ligne du Cambon", and in 2007 she modeled again for "The New Mademoiselle" handbag.
VP: "I was numbed, in my eyes I was the last person they would come up with."

Vanessa was excited to work for Chanel as she associated it with her idol Marilyn Monroe. At 6 years old she watched, fascinated "Some Like it Hot", she hung pictures of her idol on the walls of her bedroom. Vanessa loved Monroe's blonde hair, fragility, voice and looks. Now, years later, partner Johnny Depp bought her a dress worn by her idol.

Growing up, Vanessa loved her stars, amongst her idols were, Christopher Lambert, Béatrice Dalle, Madonna, James Dean and of course, Marilyn Monroe. Vanessa would cut out magazine pictures of them and glue them into enormous albums.

Vanessa was the new face of Miu Miu for autumn/winter 2008-09.

Vanessa had her look-alike puppet in the French show "Les Guignols de l'info" (1988)

As a child, she loved to play in their garden filled with Lilies.

Nanny (Vanessa's grandmother) taught her how to work in the garden, how to ice-skate and even how to ski.

Vanessa loved to watch musicals, she was captivated seeing Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. She quickly got used to hearing English songs and was singing along with them before she understood what they meant.

The first label Vanessa signed with was Polydor.

Vanessa met Johnny Depp in the spring of 1998 at Hôtel Costes while he was in France filming "The Ninth Gate".
VP: "When we shook hands I couldn’t see who he was, but I felt his presence in my fingers, my arm, my whole body.."

Vanessa is very selective in her movie role choices, she says that the character must be very intense to convince her.

In May 1993 Vanessa fainted during one of her concerts in Toulon.

Both of Vanessa's children were born in the American Hospital in Neuilly.

The first official appearance of Vanessa and Johnny as a couple was on November 16 1999 at Hollywood Boulevard, when Johnny was honoured with a star on the walk of fame.

In December 1999 at a private Iggy Pop concert, Vanessa sang three songs with him and Johnny accompanied them on the guitar.

Vanessa Paradis Discography Tracklistings, descriptions and audio. May take a moment or two for the songs to load.

M&J (1988) Marilyn & John Maxou Le Bon Dieu est.. Mosquito Soldat Joe le Taxi Coupe coupe Scarabée 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Marilyn & John Maxou Le Bon Dieu est un marin Mosquito Soldat Joe le Taxi Coupe coupe Chat ananas Scarabée Marilyn & John [English version] Vanessa was just 16 when her first album was released, but M&J is considered one of the most successful French language debut albums in recording history.The album contains a few childish tracks which lyrics have little or no significance, for example "chat ananas" meaning "pineapple cat". This was because Vanessa had no creative control over her album on account of being so young. At this stage in her career Vanessa often ridiculed her work, and even now refuses to perform many songs from this album, as you can see from her live albums "Live" and "Au Zénith". M&J marked the beginning of a long lasting collaboration with Franck Langolff. Variations sur le même t'aime (1990) Dis lui toi que je.. L'Amour en soi La Vague à lames Tandem Variations sur le.. Walk on the Wild.. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. L'Amour à deux Dis lui toi que je t'aime L'Amour en soi La Vague à lames Ophélie Flagrant délire Tandem Au charme non plus Variations sur le même t'aime Amour jamais Ardoise Walk on the Wild Side For this album Vanessa collaborated with Serge Gainsbourg along with the team of writers and producers from her first album. This album was very successful, charting higher than 'M&J', but none of it's singles matched the success of "Joe le Taxi'. The album is notable for being the last record Gainsbourg worked on for a female singer before his death in 1991. Despite being released in 1990, the album continues to sell sell a sizable number of copies each year, primarily in her native France, as well as in French-speaking Canada. Vanessa Paradis (1992) Natural High I'm Waiting for.. Be My Baby Lonely Rainbows Sunday Mondays The Future Song 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Natural High I'm Waiting for the Man Silver and Gold Be My Baby Lonely Rainbows Sunday Mondays Your Love Has Got a Handle on My Mind The Future Song Paradis Just as Long as You Are There Gotta Have It (bonus track) On this album Vanessa participated in the writing and producing for the first time. At the time boyfriend Lenny Kravitz produced and co-wrote. The album was one of her most successful and critically acclaimed, proving to be popular not only in France but the UK too. It contains several successful singles, including the recognisable "Be My Baby". Vanessa's personal favourite off of the album is track 10. This album is now officially out of print and can be found at various collector stores, and on Ebay. Live (1994) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. Natural High Les Cactus Marilyn & John As Tears Go By Tandem Dis-lui toi que je t'aime Joe le Taxi La Vague à lames Maxou Sunday Mondays Silver And Gold Gotta Have It Lonely Rainbows I'm Waiting For the Man Be My Baby Just As Long As You Are There Bliss (2000) L'Eau et le Vin Commando Pourtant Que fait la vie? Les Acrobates La La La Song La Ballade de Lily.. Bliss 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. L' Eau et le Vin Commando When I Say Pourtant Que fait la vie? Les Acrobates La La La Song L'Air du temps St. Germain Dans mon café Firmaman La Ballade de Lily Rose Bliss This was one of Vanessa's least successful albums. But it is unique as it's the recording debut of Vanessa's daughter Lily Rose Depp, she features on one track. Johnny Depp also plays on some of the tracks. "Bliss" did not rate high in the charts and produced few hit singles, but the main single was "Pourtant" and is regarded as Vanessa's most poetic work, the other songs released as singles were "Commando" and "Que Fait la Vie?". Bliss can also be noted for its extensive artwork which was all hand painted using watercolours by Vanessa herself and partner Johnny Depp. Au Zénith (2001) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. Intro L'Eau et le Vin Sunday Mondays Dans mon café Walk on the Wild Side Dis-lui toi que je t'aime L'Eau à la bouche Joe le Taxi St Germain Requiem pour un con Que fait la vie? La La La Song This Will Be Our Year Pourtant Tandem Commando Marilyn & John Bliss Les Acrobates Divinidylle (2007) Divine Idylle Dès que je te vois L'incendie Jackadi 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. Divine Idylle Chet Baker Les Piles Dès que je te vois Les Revenants Junior suite L'Incendie Irrésistiblement La Bataille La Mélodie Jackadi I Wouldn't Dare (bonus track for Japan only) Emmenez-moi (bonus track for Japan only) Recorded between November 2005 through June 2007. Reached number 1 in the French album charts and released 2 singles "Divine Idylle" and "Dès que je te vois". Vanessa and Johnny's son Jack's voice can be heard at the beginning of track 11 "Jackadi".

Vanessa Paradis for Chanel Coco, Ligne du Cambon, Mademoiselle

In 1991 Vanessa signed a $500,000 contract to be the face of Chanel's perfume "Coco", replacing the top model Inès de la Fressange. Jean-Paul Goude made a memorable advert for the perfume. To capture the magic of Chanel he stayed in a hotel room at the Ritz where Coco Chanel had once lived. It was here the story for the commercial came to him. It's about a bird of paradise in a gilded cage with a cat just outside dreaming of catching it. Vanessa, of course, plays the bird. Goude started his crazy project by getting architect Yves Bernard to build a cage that measures 15 metres high and 8 metres wide, the same scale as Cirque d'Hiver. Vanessa, who decided against a stunt double, was in training at the circus school of Annie Fratelli where she mastered the trapeze. The shooting began on December 15 1990 and took 6 days. A real accomplishment, artistically and technically, the commercial became a true masterpiece for Chanel winning many awards, and a new credit for Vanessa winning her a lot of respect. The success lead to Karl Lagerfeld asking Vanessa to be the face of Chanel's handbags ‘Ligne du Cambon’ in 2004, and in 2007 she modeled again for "The New Mademoiselle" handbag.

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