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All Music Guide:
French singer and model Vanessa Paradis first hit the charts in 1987 at the tender age of 14. Her single "Joe le Taxi" spent 11 weeks at the top of the French charts, and proved an international success as well. She recorded two albums in Paris before traveling to New York in 1992 to record her self-titled English-language debut, with one-time boyfriend Lenny Kravitz as producer. The album's "Be My Baby" was also a hit, but Paradis' popularity waned a bit. Among the various film, television, and modeling engagements she was involved with (Chanel's Coco ad campaign for one), Paradis found time to release Live in 1994. More film and modelling work followed throughout the next several years, largely replacing her music career for a time. In early 2000 she returned to the music scene with the French-released Bliss, followed by another live album, Au Zénith, in 2001. After that, it was back to yet more film and modelling work (and quality time with the two-child family she built with actor Johnny Depp). Paradis returned to music once again in 2007 with the release of her fifth full-length album, Divinidylle.
Wikipedia:
Vanessa Chantal Paradis (French pronunciation: [vanɛsa ʃɑ̃tal paʁadi]) (born December 22, 1972) is a French singer, model and actress. She became a child star at 14 with the worldwide success of her single "Joe le taxi". Since then, she has accomplished a career in music, movies and modelling.
Childhood
Vanessa Paradis was born on December 22, 1972, at Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, near Paris. She spent her childhood in Villiers-sur-Marne with her parents, André and Corinne Paradis. She was attracted to cinema early on. Her admiration for Marilyn Monroe led her to take dance and piano lessons. Paradis spent a lot of time with her uncle, Didier Pain, and his musician friends.
Career
1981–1986
Her first TV appearance was on the show L'École des fans in 1981. She recorded her first single, "La Magie des surprises-parties", in 1983 and performed it in an Italian festival in 1985 but failed to win the first prize.
1987–1991
Although "La Magie des surprises-parties" was not a hit, it paved the way for the song with which she became internationally famous, "Joe le taxi", in 1987, while she was still only 14 years old. It was #1 in France for 11 weeks and, unusually for a song sung in French, was released in the United Kingdom year (25 January), where it reached #3. It was taken from her first album M&J (it stands for Marilyn & John) which, although it gained a number 13 placing in France, drew little attention in the UK and did not enter the chart. In March 1989, aged 16, she decided to leave high school in order to pursue her career.
She released the album Variations sur le même t'aime in 1990, containing a remake of the Lou Reed song "Walk on the Wild Side". The album was written by acclaimed French composer Serge Gainsbourg, whom she met when she received the best singer award at Les Victoires de la Musique, on 4 February 1990. In 1990, Paradis won the 1990 César Award for Most Promising Actress for her role in Noce Blanche.
In 1991, Paradis promoted a fragrance for Chanel, titled Coco. In the advertisement, she was dressed in all black and feathers, portraying a bird swinging in a cage. The advert was shot by Jean-Paul Goude. Paradis spoke of her continued admiration of Chanel in 2010 saying, "The more I know them, the more I love Chanel."
1992–1993
In 1992, she moved to the United States to work with Lenny Kravitz. Paradis started working on a new album in English, a language in which she was now fluent. Written and produced by Kravitz, the album, titled Vanessa Paradis, topped the French chart and briefly made the UK listings (number 45). One of the singles from it was "Be My Baby", which made number 5 in France and gave her another Top 10 hit in the UK, peaking at #6.
In March 1993, Paradis started her first international tour, the "Natural High Tour"; she performed in France, England and Canada. The tour was canceled, for health reasons, before she could perform in Japan and in the United States.
1993–2011
In February 1994, Live was released in France.
In April 1994, Paradis filmed Élisa, under the direction of Jean Becker. Elisa was a big success in France, and was released internationally.
In 1997, Paradis played in Un amour de sorcière with Jeanne Moreau and Jean Reno, before filming Une chance sur deux, with Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo. In March 1999, La fille sur le Pont, by Patrice Leconte was released. This movie was shot and released in black and white. In 2004, she promoted Chanel's new handbags called Ligne Cambon. In 2005, she modeled for Chanel again for The New Mademoiselle handbag. In 2008, she modeled for Miu Miu.
On the musical side, she was included in the French children's album and concert Le Soldat Rose in 2006. Paradis released a new album (Divinidylle) in 2007 which was released in the UK on 11 December (September in France). There are three versions (regular, limited edition, and the Christmas edition). She started the Divinidylle Tour in October. Some concerts were filmed and a DVD/CD of the tour was released. Paradis won two 'Les Victoires de la Musique' awards for this album in February 2008. Some of her later projects include a greatest hits CD (Best of Vanessa Paradis) which includes the commercial jingle "I love Paris in the Springtime"; she also starred in the animated film Un monstre à Paris, released in 2010.
Her latest film in theatres is the romantic comedy Heartbreaker alongside Romain Duris and Andrew Lincoln, which grossed over €30 million in France and has also been well-received by critics. It was released in the UK in July 2010.
Canadian film director Jean-Marc Vallée cast Paradis in a starring role in his film Café de Flore, in which she plays a single mother in the 1960s with a down syndrome child. The film was released in 2011, and Paradis garnered a Genie Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 2012 Genie Awards.
She released an acoustic album in November 2010 entitled Une nuit à Versailles. The album was recorded at L'Opéra of the Palace of Versailles during her Vanessa Paradis Concert Acoustique Tour. She also released a set of DVDs in 2010 called Anthologie which collected rare live performances and interviews from 1987–2007.
In 2010, she became the face of Chanel's new lipstick, Rouge Coco, and also became the face of Chanel's new handbag line. Her 2011 international tour which included performances in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe and Turkey.
Personal life
Paradis dated French singer Florent Pagny from 1988 to 1991. She was rumored to be dating American singer Lenny Kravitz from 1992 to 1996 and dated and lived with French-Slovenian actor Stanislas Merhar in 1997 and 1998.
Since 1998, Paradis has been in a relationship with American actor Johnny Depp. They have a daughter, Lily-Rose Melody Depp (born May 27, 1999), and a son, John Christopher "Jack" Depp III (born April 9, 2002).
Paradis and Depp divide their time between homes in Los Angeles and the village of Plan-de-la-Tour, France. They own a house in the Paris suburb of Meudon, an apartment in New York and an island in the Bahamas. Paradis has said that she longs for a house in England.
In 2000, Paradis released her album Bliss which was dedicated to Depp and their daughter.
In 2012, Vanessa Paradis, has officially denied the many rumors of possible separation, live on French TV.
Paradis has a sister, the actress Alysson Paradis, who is 11 years younger and has starred in many French horror films. The actor and film producer Didier Pain is their uncle.
