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| Birth Name(s) : Marie Helene Gauthier |
Date of Birth: September 12, 1961 |
| Status:
Single
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Partner:
N/A |
| Profession:
Actor/Musician |
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Full Mylene Farmer Biography
Her videos, since 1986's "Libertine", have mostly been long projects, ranging from 10 minutes to sometimes 20, and are mostly directed by Laurent Boutonnat. However, since the flop feature film project "Giorgino", her videos have been mostly directed by famous, well-respected artists, and most of them all filmed in the United States.
Is a major recording star in Europe, especially in France. She released her first video and single in 1984, and her first album in 1986. As of March 2002, she has had ten albums, all huge hits in Europe.
Is featured in the Guinness Book of World Records twice: For top-selling single of all-time, for 1991's "Desenchantee", and for most exported album of all-time, for 1995's "Anamorphosee".
Her entire career has been based on mystery: Very little is known of Farmer as a person. Her professional recordings are all centered around themes like death, dying, blood, religion (she is opposed to it), and fatherhood. |
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Additional Mylene Farmer Biography
Mylène Farmer (French IPA: ) (September 12, 1961), born Mylène Jeanne Gautier, is a Canadian-born French singer and songwriter. She is the most successful French recording female artist of all time, having sold some 25 million records.
In her teenage years, Mylène was passionate about horses and she would devote all her time to riding (going on to pass her riding instructor exam at the famous equestrian centre in Saumur). But at 17, Mylène discovered her other great passion - acting and she would eventually abandon the stables to take a three-year course at the Cours Florent, a prestigious drama school in Paris. Changing her name to Mylène Farmer (after her favourite American actress Frances Farmer), she began to earn a living as a model and even went on to star in several TV ads.
Much of Mylène's fame and success can be attributed to her elaborate and theatrical music videos which often span 8 minutes or longer. Indeed, her concerts and videos are often compared to those of Michael Jackson and Madonna ("Pourvu qu'elles soient douces" lasts 17 minutes, while "California" was directed by Abel Ferrara and cost $700,000).
Farmer also gained fame with songs featuring ambiguous or shocking lyrics, and somewhat explicit music videos: "Maman a tort" was about the love of a young girl for her female nurse in a hospital. "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces" was about a man with an obsession for the buttocks of his lover, with hints of sodomy; the video, set in the 18th century, featured a caning. "Libertine" is said to feature the first nude appearance by a singer on a major music video. "Que mon cœur lâche" was about love with condoms in the age of AIDS; the video for the song features a scene in which God tells Jesus he won't send him to Earth again because the last time he did, "it was a disaster."
Boutonnat teamed up with the young songwriter, Jérôme Dahan, and the pair went on to write Mylène’s first hit, "Maman à tort" - a single which rocketed straight to the top of the French charts as soon as it was released in March 1984. The video which accompanied the single release, cost the modest sum of 5,000 francs, but it would cause a veritable stir in the music world. Boutonnat cast Mylène as a kind of provocative Lolita figure, and the singer would deliberately cultivate this image in the early days of her career, especially on her début album, "Cendres de lunes". This album, released in January 1986, proved to be an immense success, selling over 1 million copies.
In spite of all her drama courses, Mylène still found it difficult to overcome her natural shyness and perform in front of an audience. It was only after much hesitation that the singer finally agreed to do a live concert in 1989. After singing at a small venue in St Etienne, as a kind of test run, Mylène finally arrived in Paris to perform at the Palais des Sports where fans packed the auditorium out for a whole week in May. Mylène wasted no time in overcoming her stage fright and even appeared to enjoy performing on stage, for she followed the Paris concerts with an extensive tour which included 52 dates throughout France and Europe. A live album documenting the tour was released at the end of the year, simply titled "En Concert".
Mylène's spectacular stage shows together with her wacky appearance and piercing vocals, soon began to attract an increasing number of fans. Meanwhile Mylène continued to surround herself with an air of mystery, refusing to give interviews or to appear in the media - but this only served to excite fans' curiosity about the reclusive star.
By the turn of the decade Mylène was a full blown superstar in France, but it wasn't until the release of her third album, "L'Autre", and lead single "Désenchantée" that she became iconic. "Désenchantée" is considered one of the most important songs ever released in France, striking a universal chord with the political and social dissatisfactions of many of the citizens of France. The song debuted at #12 before going #1 and went on to become the best selling French single of all time (both in country and around the globe), according to Guinness Book of World Records and IFOP. Likewise, its parent album "L'Autre" sold more than 2 million copies in France alone, making it the third best selling album of all time in the country. The album also supported the platinum-hits "Regrets", a duet with French recording-star Jean-Louis Murat, and "Je t'aime melancolie", the video for which, portraying Farmer as a professional boxer, received play all around Europe.
Alizée's image was closely guarded and crafted by Farmer and Boutonnat; she was allowed to do few interviews at no more than twenty minutes apiece, and only a limited number of promotional appearances. In 2005 Alizée parted ways with the duo to strike it on her own, her third album is expected in late 2007.
At the end of 2001 Polydor issued Mylène's first greatest hits collection: Les mots, whose title track & lead single featured a duet with Seal. "Les Mots" was the #1 selling album of 2001 & 2002, and remains the best selling compilation album in France with 1.7 million sold.
She has recorded a single with Moby, "Slipping Away (Crier la vie)", which was released in September 2006, and became her fourth number one single in France. |
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