366 | Édith Piaf

Édith Giovanna Gassion was born on December 19, 1915, in Paris. She grew up in poverty and had a difficult childhood. Her mother often left her alone, and her father worked as a street performer. As a young girl, Édith also sang in the streets to earn money. It soon became clear that she had an extraordinary voice.

When she was seventeen, she was discovered by a nightclub owner, who gave her the nickname “Piaf” (meaning “sparrow”) because of her small stature. Her breakthrough came in the 1930s, and she quickly became a star in the Parisian nightclub scene. She became known for her powerful voice and the emotional intensity of her singing.

During the war and the years that followed, she became one of France’s most famous singers. She performed songs that many people still know, such as La Vie en Rose, Milord and Non, je ne regrette rien. Her songs reflected the hardships and joys of her own life. Piaf had a tumultuous personal life, marked by tragedy, including the loss of the love of her life, the boxer Marcel Cerdan, in a plane crash. Nevertheless, she continued to perform, even when her health was severely failing.

Édith Piaf died on October 10, 1963, at the age of 47 from an internal hemorrhage in Plascassier. She was buried at the Père-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. Her funeral drew hundreds of thousands of mourners, and more than forty thousand admirers crowded around the cemetery. Charles Aznavour, who owed the start of his career to Piaf, later recalled that her funeral was the only moment after World War II when traffic in Paris came to a standstill.

In 2007, a biographical film about her life was released, titled La Vie en Rose, in which Marion Cotillard portrayed Édith Piaf. Cotillard even received the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance.

Édith Piaf is regarded as one of the greatest French singers of all time.