VANESSA PARADIS, A TRUE PARISIENNE : “WHEN I’M IN PARIS, I FEEL LIKE MYSELF, I CAN BREATHE EASY.”

Maybe it's because she has been an ageless beauty for as long we can remember that we forget Vanessa Paradis first became a child star at the age of 14, with the worldwide success of her song "Joe le taxi". Then she became a brilliant actress (she was awarded a 'César', French equivalent of Oscar, for her debut movie 'Noce blanche'), a fashion icon (spokes model for Chanel), wife to Johnny Depp, a mom to Lily-Rose and John Jack Christopher. And she sailed through all of it with her indelible Parisian je ne sais quoi. This native Parisian and French style icon knows the capital like the back of her hand, citing the Eiffel Tower and the Debilly bridge as her favorite landmarks.

Vanessa, the singer

• The singing career of Vanessa Paradis began at the age of seven when her uncle, record producer Didier Pain, helped her appear on the local television program "L’Ecole des Fans” a talent French show for child singers. 

1• Then, she became a star at the age of fourteen, with the worldwide success of her song "Joe le taxi".

• Vanessa Paradis 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 Serge Gainsbourg.

• In 1992, Vanessa Paradis moved to the United States to work with Lenny Kravitz, She started working on a new album in English that topped the French chart. "Be My Baby", one of the singles from it made number 5 in France and gave her another Top 10 hit in the UK.

• In 2007, Vanessa Paradis released a new album, the "Divinidylle". She won 'Les Victoires de la Musique' awards for this album. 

• In 2010, Paradis released an acoustic album entitled "Une nuit à Versailles". The album was recorded at L'Opéra of the Palace of Versailles. 

• Some of her later projects are a greatest hits CD "Best of Vanessa Paradis", which includes the commercial jingle "I love Paris in the Springtime".

• In May 2013, Vanessa Paradis released a new album, "Love Songs", a double LP produced by French singer and producer Benjamin Biolay. 

Vanessa, the actress

• In April 1994, Paradis filmed "Élisa", under the direction of Jean Becker.  The film was a big success in France, and was released internationally.4

• 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. 

• The Canadian film director Jean-Marc Vallée cast Paradis in a starring role in his film "Café de Flore", in which she plays the single mother of a Down syndrome child in the 1960s. The film was released in 2011, and Paradis garnered a Genie Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 2012 Genie Awards.

• In 2016, Paradis starred in "Yoga Hosers" with her daughter Lily Rose, as a history teacher. 

• In 2016, she was also a member of the main competition jury of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. 

Vanessa, the model

3• As she left her teen years behind her, the green-eyed beauty's transition into modelling was almost inevitable, Vanessa Paradis became no less than the face of Chanel, swinging from a trapeze in a gilded cage in 1992 adverts for "Coco fragrance". 

• 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 modelled for Miu Miu. 

• In 2010 she became the face of Chanel's new lipstick, "Rouge Coco". She also became the face of their new handbag line, "Ranger".

 

Vanessa’s love stories

• Paradis dated French singer Florent Pagny from 1988 to 1991. 

• From 1992 to 1997, she was in a relationship with Lenny Kravitz, who also produced her 1992 self-titled album. 2

• She also dated French actor Stanislas Merhar from 1997 to 1998. 

• From 1998 to 2012, Paradis was in a relationship (and married) with American actor Johnny Depp. 

• In May 2014, at a Chanel show in Dubaï , Vanessa Paradis confirmed her relationship with French singer Benjamin Biolay. They broke up in 2015. 

• In November 2016, she began dating Samuel Benchetrit, who directed her in his fifth film, "Dog". In June 2018, Paradis and Benchetrit married in the small French town of Saint-Simeon. 

Vanessa’s personality

• "She's more than an actress," says director Patrice Leconte, who hand-picked her for the role for which she won rave reviews. "She's got this kind of infinite grace and she seems very fragile but she is the opposite of fragility." 

6• Box office success isn't exactly a priority for Vanessa: "Movies are more like relaxation for me," she said. "I'm not in love with my work and I'm not in love with my music. But I'm sincere with it." 

• The fame which accompanied her early career wasn't easy for Vanessa Paradis, who found herself coping with the wrath of throngs of anti-fans.

• In 2000, Vanessa Paradis said: "People had this image of me as someone completely cretinous. It was a shock. I never understood why... I guess people will always be jealous and envious of people whose lives are lucky. And you know, my life is very lucky." It is not true Vanessa, we love you and admire you a lot !

Her style

• Bohemian style with her natural feline figure, Vanessa Paradis has something of an irresistible, magnetic childlike quality. 

• From her adolescent jeans and t-shirt phase, she graduated to a folk-inspired style upon moving to New York.

•  Then her style evolved into a more bourgeois-bohemian look during her time with Johnny Depp. 

• But Vanessa Paradis can also slip back into her signature French look, with timeless, classic pieces.

10

Copyright all photos: Vanessa Paradis and Chanel.

 

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Isabelle - Spotlight

Bonjour, my name is Isabelle. At my parent’s, a week didn’t go by without a social gathering. It may have been a garden-party, a bridge party or a diner dance. No caterers, of course, everything was homemade! With my sisters, we learned how to put different spreads on toast, the right way of course, arrange the flowers for the tables or decorate the buffet, to say the right thing to each guest or organize an elegant picnic. As appropriate, I learned etiquette during these receptions and also had “savoir-vivre” lessons. Today, I work in public relations in Paris and the education that I received is of great use. I’ll give you several very Parisian tips…

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Edita da RIZZOLI, Sophie la Parigina è una guida di stile moderna su PARIGI. Illustrata dai disegni di Alessandra Ceriani, completata da un elenco degli indirizzi preferiti dalla parigina e arricchita di ricette gastronomiche.

 

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Published by RIZZOLI New York, Sophie the Parisian'sis a modern life style guide about PARIS. Illustrated with color drawings, complemented by a list of Parisians' favorite locations and enriched with gastronomic recipes.

 
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