Mireille Mathieu
- Actress
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
From the beginning, Mireille Mathieu was born to be a singer. As she herself
would say, her professional career, which begain on November 21, 1965,
has for over 40 years been "a fairy tale come true." Born in Avignon the
eldest daughter of Marcelle and Roger Mathieu's 14 children, Mireille gave
her first public performance when she was 4 years old at Midnight Mass!
Her father, a stonecutter for the cemetery, had also dreamed of singing
with his tenor voice. As a child, Mireille saved her pay for her factory job
so she could pay for singing lessons. Voice instructor Laure Collière
accepted Mireille as a student. In her biography "Mon Credo", during a time
of distress she asked "that God please create a miracle" for her to arise from
poverty. In the early '60s, French pop vocalist Johnny Hallyday's manager
Johnny Stark noticed Mireille's enchanting vocal beauty when she appeared
on the TV show "Jeu de la Chance" and won first place. The American
impresario later mentored her when she signed a contract with him. With
lots of hard work and many nights when she was only able to sleep for four
hours and she needed to do a concert, Mireille performed brilliantly and was
on her way to success. She was quickly hailed as the next Édith Piaf
and her 1965 performance run at the Paris Olympia sparked her recording
relationship with Barclay Records, where her first album sold over 1 million
copies in a very short time! With much stamina, Mireille forged ahead to make
her career in France, Germany, the United States, Russia, and the rest of the
world. In 1974 she won the German "Bambi" Music Award, which is equivalent
to the American Grammy Award.
In 1997, Mireille was nominated and given the "Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite et des Arts et des Lettres" and decorated with "The Legion of Honor" for her service to the Nation of France." Of her reception by Pope John Paul II, His Holiness has said, "She is the singer of love and peace." For me, Mireille is "un cadeau d' un Dieu" as her last name literally translates.
In 1997, Mireille was nominated and given the "Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite et des Arts et des Lettres" and decorated with "The Legion of Honor" for her service to the Nation of France." Of her reception by Pope John Paul II, His Holiness has said, "She is the singer of love and peace." For me, Mireille is "un cadeau d' un Dieu" as her last name literally translates.
