right|thumb|Fréhel
Fréhel (; born Marguerite Boulc'h (); 13 July 1891 – 3 February 1951) was a French singer and actress.
Biography
Born in Paris to a poor and dysfunctional Breton family, Marguerite Boulc'h was a child left to a life on the streets in the sordid side of Paris. In her teens, she got a break when she met one of the female music-hall performers who heard her sing and introduced her to show business promoters.
She began performing under the stage name Pervenche, and soon met and married Robert Hollard, a performer who used the nom de guerre "Roberty". Alcohol entered her life at an early age and her drinking became a problem for her husband. Their marriage did not last long and her husband left her for another Parisian singer, Damia. Fréhel then began a relationship with Maurice Chevalier but that too did not last long and after he left her for the much older megastar Mistinguett. At 19 years old, she attempted suicide.
Following her suicide attempt, in 1913 she tried to escape her pain and travelled to Bucharest, Turkey and then to Russia where she remained for more than ten years.