Vanessa Paradis

Vanessa Paradis
Birth name	Vanessa Chantal Paradis
Born	December 22 1972 (age 35) Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, Val-de-Marne, France
Awards César Awards César Award for Most Promising Actress 1990 Noce blanche

Vanessa Chantal Paradis (born December 22 1972 in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, Val-de-Marne, France) is a French singer and actress.

Career

Vanessa Paradis was discovered on the TV show L'École des fans. She recorded her first single La Magie des surprises-parties in 1985. Although it was not a hit, it paved the way for the song with which she would become internationally famous - Joe le taxi in 1987, while she was still only 14 years old. It was #1 in France for 14 weeks and, unusually for a song sung in French, was released in the UK the following year, where it reached #3. It was taken from her first album M&J (it stands for Marilyn & John) which, although it gained a respectable #13 placing in France, drew little attention in Britain and did not chart.

In 1992, now aged 19 and working in the USA with American rock musician Lenny Kravitz, who was her boyfriend for a while, Paradis began work on a new album sung in English, in which she had become fluent. Written and produced by Kravitz, the album, titled simply Vanessa Paradis, topped the French chart and briefly made the UK listings (#45). One of the singles taken from it was Be My Baby, which made #5 in France and gave her her other Top 10 UK hit (#6). She has since appeared in several films, most famously 1999's La fille sur le pont, a black and white romance co-starring Daniel Auteuil, and 2004's Mon Ange.

In 1991, Paradis famously promoted a new fragrance for Chanel, entitled Coco. In the advertisement, she is dressed in all black and feathers, portraying a bird swinging in a cage. In 2004 they chose her once again to promote Chanel's new line of handbags called Ligne Cambon. She is now promoting Chanel's The New Mademoiselle handbag line. On the musical side, Paradis is currently working on a new album expected to be released in 2007. Also, she is included in the French childrens album "Le Soldat Rose".

Family

Since 1998, Paradis has been in a relationship with American actor Johnny Depp. Contrary to popular opinion, the couple are not wed. However, there are also rumours that they are to be wed in June of this year (2007). 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 caught Depp's eye in a hotel lobby in Paris while he was there shooting the film The Ninth Gate. They are distant to the world of fame and protective of their privacy. They divide their time between houses in the Hollywood Hills and their farm in the South of France, and also own apartments in Paris and Manhattan. Paradis's 2000 album Bliss, another French chart topper, was dedicated to Depp and their daughter.

Discography - Albums

• M&J (1988) France #13
• Variations Sur Le Même T'aime (1990) France #6
• Vanessa Paradis (1992) France #1 (UK #45)
• Live (1994) France #7
• Bliss (2000) France #1
• Au Zénith (2001) France #19

Hit Singles In France

• "Joe Le Taxi" (#1 (x14 weeks), 1987)
• "Manolo Manolete" (#10, 1988)
• "Marilyn & John" (#4, 1988)
• "Maxou" (#13, 1988)
• "Coupe Coupe" (#20, 1989)
• "Tandem" (#22, 1990)
• "Dis Lui Toi Que Je T'aime" (#41, 1990)
• "Be My Baby" (#5, 1992)
• "Sunday Mondays" (#41, 1992)
• "Commando" (#43, 2000)

Hit Singles In Britain

• "Joe Le Taxi" (#3, 1988)
• "Be My Baby" (#6, 1992)
• "Sunday Mondays" (#49, 1993)
• "Just As Long As You Are There" (#57, 1993)

Filmography

• Noce blanche (1989)
• Élisa (1995)
• Un amour de sorcière (1997)
• Le plaisir (et ses petits tracas) (1998) (voice)
• Une chance sur deux (1998)
• La fille sur le pont (1999)
• Atomik Circus - Le retour de James Bataille (2004)
• Mon ange (2004)
• The Magic Roundabout (2005) (voice)

Audio sample

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