Édith Piaf was one of the most beloved and emblematic artists in France during her lifetime, a singer whose voice came to symbolize French chanson itself. Through songs marked by raw emotion, tragedy, love, and resilience, she rose from extreme poverty to international fame, becoming one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century.

Early Life and Origins

Édith Piaf was born Édith Giovanna Gassion on December 19, 1915, in the Belleville district of Paris. She was named in honor of Edith Cavell, the British nurse executed during World War I for helping French soldiers escape German prison camps. The nickname “Piaf,” meaning “sparrow” in Parisian slang, would be given to her two decades later.

Her mother, Annetta Giovanna Maillard, was a street singer of mixed Italian and Georgian descent, while her father, Louis-Alphonse Gassion, was a street acrobat and contortionist. In 1917, her mother abandoned her and left for Istanbul, and Piaf was placed with her maternal grandmother, who ran a brothel. When her father returned from the war, he left Édith in the care of his own mother, who also operated a brothel, where Piaf spent three formative years.

Childhood Hardship and Street Singing

As a child, Édith Piaf suffered from a severe eye infection that left her temporarily blind and at risk of permanent vision loss. Her sight eventually returned, but her early years were marked by illness, neglect, and instability.

By the age of fourteen, Piaf began singing on the streets alongside her father. Street performance became both her livelihood and her education, shaping the emotional directness and intensity that would later define her music.

Early Love, Loss, and Despair

While singing in the streets, Piaf met her first great love, Louis Dupont, known as P’tit Louis. She was sixteen, he was seventeen. Leaving her father, she moved in with him, and the couple lived in extreme poverty. They had a daughter, Marcelle, who tragically died of meningitis at the age of two. The loss devastated Piaf and marked the beginning of her dependence on alcohol.

Her life spiraled further as she drifted through the underworld of Pigalle, frequenting cheap bars and living among pimps and prostitutes. During this period, she was exploited by a man named Albert, who forced her into prostitution, deepening her sense of despair and self-destruction.

Discovery and Rise to Fame

In 1935, while trying to escape her abusive situation, Édith Piaf was discovered singing on the street by Louis Leplée, the owner of the Gerny’s cabaret. He persuaded her to perform at his venue, where she achieved overnight success under the name “La Môme Piaf.” It was Leplée who gave her the stage name “Piaf.”

Shortly afterward, Louis Leplée was mysteriously murdered in a sauna, casting suspicion and scandal over Piaf’s early career. Despite this setback, she continued performing in cabarets and music halls, and from 1936 onward gained wider recognition through radio appearances and record releases.

National and International Stardom

Édith Piaf achieved lasting fame with the song “La Vie en Rose,” which became a defining anthem of postwar France. By the late 1940s, she was touring extensively in the United States, where the English-language version of the song topped international charts and established her as a global star.

From the 1940s onward, Piaf moved within elite artistic circles. In 1944, she discovered and mentored Yves Montand, launching his career. In the early 1950s, she similarly supported Charles Aznavour, taking him on tour and introducing him to the professional music world.

Love Affairs and Tragedy

From the age of sixteen, Piaf’s life was marked by intense and often destructive romantic relationships. Among the men in her life were Louis Dupont, Albert, and the singer Yves Montand.

The great love of her life, however, was the married middleweight boxing champion Marcel Cerdan. In October 1949, while flying from Paris to New York to meet Piaf, Cerdan died in a plane crash. His death shattered her emotionally and led to severe dependencies on alcohol, painkillers, and morphine.

Following a car accident on a rainy day, Piaf suffered permanent spinal injuries that left her physically weakened and forced her to walk with a stooped posture for the rest of her life.

Marriages and Final Years

Édith Piaf married her first husband, Jacques Pills, in October 1953. The marriage ended in divorce in 1957. On October 9, 1962, she married her second husband, Greek singer Théo Sarapo, who was twenty years younger than her.

Despite declining health, Piaf continued performing until the end of her life. She died of liver cancer on October 10, 1963, in Grasse, France, at the age of 48.

Death and Legacy

The Catholic Church, citing her lifestyle, refused to conduct a funeral service for Édith Piaf. Nevertheless, as her coffin was transported to Père Lachaise Cemetery, tens of thousands of mourners followed the procession, with over 100,000 people attending the burial.

Her life story was later immortalized in the 2007 biographical film La Môme, directed by Olivier Dahan, introducing her tragic and powerful legacy to a new generation.

Selected Songs

Among Édith Piaf’s most famous recordings are “La Vie en Rose” (1946), “Hymne à l’amour” (1949), “Milord” (1959), and “Non, je ne regrette rien” (1960), songs that continue to define French music worldwide.

Édith Piaf remains an enduring symbol of passion, suffering, and artistic truth—an immortal voice born from the streets of Paris.

Source: Biyografiler.com