Édith Piaf, biography of the Paris sparrow

Édith Piaf has one of the most fascinating life stories in the entire artistic world, not only because of the impressive evolution of his talent, but because of the extraordinary vicissitudes he had to go through. She was, above all, a brave woman, who overcame the harshest misery and became a muse for many composers and an inspiration for millions of people around the world.

The Paris Sparrow, as she was nicknamed at the height of her career, was a woman small and petite, who sang more with her soul than with her throat. His unique style marked an entire era. She was the quintessential diva of the 1950s and was considered a Parisian icon around the world.

Édith Piaf had a singularly tragic life. However, those who knew her described her as someone with a personality fabulous, of enormous generosity and great detachment. They say that only at the end of the Second World War and during Piaf’s funeral did Paris come to a complete standstill.

Édith Piaf was born on the street

Édith Piaf was born on December 19, 1915, on a street in Paris. Her father was a circus acrobat and her mother a traveling singer. When it was time for her birth, her father celebrated by getting drunk. Her mother tried to get to the hospital alone, but she couldn’t. That’s why, little Édith was born under a street lamp in the StreetBelleville from Paris.

Both Édith’s father and mother were alcoholics. Anneta, her mother, decided to leave her in the care of her maternal grandmother for a while. The woman gave her wine instead of milk, as she said that this was good for her health. She was then handed over to her father, who in turn he left her with her grandmother paternal She was the owner of a brothel. Édith Piaf was raised by a group of prostitutes.

La Piaf earned her living singing on the subway and in cafes in the Paris suburbs. At 16 she fell in love with a 17-year-old boy and she became pregnant. She had a daughter whom she named Marcelle. When the girl was 2 years old she fell ill with meningitis. Édith Piaf had to prostitute herself one night to get the money to care for her daughter. However, this she died and left a mark on her soul forever.

The Paris Sparrow

Édith Piaf’s life changed forever when a passerby stopped to listen to her sing in the street. This man was Luis Leplée, the owner of one of the most famous cabarets in Paris. He gave her a little test and then hired her and trained her to be the great diva that he became. Her success was immediate. However, Leplée was murdered and Piaf was named as a suspect. Society relegated her and she ended up singing in the slums again.

Later, The composer Raymond Asso, who was her lover, rescued her and turned her into a professional singer.. Édith Piaf became a singing star and great composers wrote exclusively for her. She fell in love with the Parisian public and then people from all over the world. She ventured into film and continued singing, even during the Nazi occupation. In fact, she was considered a protector of Jewish artists.

Once the war ends, Piaf writes the lyrics of her most famous song: La vie en rose (life in Pink). By then she was having a torrid romance with Yves Montand. Then, in 1947 she left with him on a tour of the United States, but they soon separated.

A sad ending

In 1948, Édith Piaf met her great love, the boxer Marcel Cerdan. She was only with him for a year, since Cerdan died in a plane crash in 1949. She was already a victim of several addictions, but this loss plunged her into very deep pain. This led her to become addicted to morphine.

Later she had several love stories with well-known figures such as Marlon Brando, Georges Moustaki, Charles Aznavour and others. At the same time, his fame continued to grow, but so did his dependence on morphine.. Her health began to visibly deteriorate, to the point that she fainted on stage.

In 1961, he performed his immortal song Non, je ne regrette rien (I don’t regret anything) at the Olympia in Paris, to the stupor and emotion of the attendees. In 1962 she married Theo Sarapo, a 26-year-old young man. She was already very sick at that time. A year later she died in Paris, aged 47.

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