Vanessa Chantal Paradis (; born 22 December 1972) is a French singer, model and actress. Paradis first achieved acclaim at the age of 14 with the international success of her single "Joe le taxi" (1987). At age 18, she was awarded France's highest honours as both a singer and an actress with the Prix Romy Schneider and the César Award for Most Promising Actress for Jean-Claude Brisseau's Noce Blanche, as well as the Victoires de la Musique for Best Female Singer for her album Variations sur le même t'aime.
Her most notable films also include Élisa (1995) alongside Gérard Depardieu, Witch Way Love (1997) opposite Jean Reno, Une chance sur deux (1998) co-starring with Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon, Girl on the Bridge (1999), Heartbreaker (2010) and Café de Flore (2011). Her tribute to Jeanne Moreau at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival during which they sang in duet "Le Tourbillon" became notable in French popular culture. In 2022, she was nominated for the Molière Award for Best Actress for her performance in the play Maman.
Her music has been cited as a source of inspiration for musicians and lyricists including Étienne Roda-Gil (1988), Serge Gainsbourg (1990), Lenny Kravitz (1992), Matthieu Chedid (2007), Benjamin Biolay (2013), Samuel Benchetrit and The Bees (2018). As a model, Paradis has appeared on more than 300 magazine covers worldwide including Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Madame Figaro, Paris Match, Vanity Fair, Glamour, Premiere, and Marie Claire. Since 1991, she has been a spokesmodel for Chanel chosen by Karl Lagerfeld starting with the birdcage commercial "L'Esprit de Chanel" directed by Jean-Paul Goude. Paradis was made Officier (Officer) in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2011 and was named Chevalier (Knight) in the Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur in 2015.
Early life
Paradis was born in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, in Paris’ suburbs, to interior designers André and Corinne Paradis. As a child she was enrolled in dance lessons, learned the basics of piano, and attended child model casting sessions. At the age of eight, Paradis appeared on the local television program L'École des fans, a talent show for child singers.
Career
1983–1991
Paradis recorded her first single, "La Magie des surprises-parties", in 1983 and performed it at an Italian festival in 1985. Although not a hit, it paved the way for the song with which she became internationally famous, "Joe le taxi," composed by Franck Langolff in 1987, when she was 14. It was number one in France for 11 weeks and, unusually for a song sung in French, was released in the United Kingdom, where it reached number three. It was taken from her first album M&J (for Marilyn & John) which placed 13th in France, but did not enter the British chart.
In March 1989, at age 16, she left high school to pursue her singing career. 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 French composer Serge Gainsbourg, whom she met when she received the best singer award at Victoires de la Musique, on 4 February 1990.
In 1990, she won the César Award for Most Promising Actress for her role in Noce Blanche.
upright|thumb|Paradis in 1991
In 1991, Paradis promoted the fragrance Coco for Chanel. In the advertisement, she was covered in black feathers, portraying a bird swinging in a cage. The advert was shot by Jean-Paul Goude. Paradis spoke of her continued admiration of Chanel in 2010 saying, "The more I know them, the more I love Chanel."
1992–1996
In 1992, Paradis moved to the United States to work with Lenny Kravitz, whom she was dating at the time. The film was released in 2011, and Paradis garnered a Genie Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 2012 Genie Awards.
thumb|Paradis performing in 2007
Paradis released an acoustic album in November 2010 entitled Une nuit à Versailles. The album was recorded at L'Opéra of the Palace of Versailles during her Vanessa Paradis Concert Acoustique Tour. She also released a set of DVDs in 2010 called Anthologie which collected rare live performances and interviews from 1987 to 2007.
In 2010 she became the face of Chanel's new lipstick, Rouge Coco. She also became the face of their new handbag line, Ranger.
Her 2011 international tour included performances in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe and Turkey.
In May 2013, Paradis released a new album, Love Songs, a double LP produced by French singer and producer Benjamin Biolay. The first single, Love Song, was also written by Biolay. The second single was Les espaces et les sentiments. The third single, Mi Amor, was written by BB Brunes frontman Adrien Gallo. Other people that have contributed to the songwriting of the album include Mickey 3D frontman Mickaël Furnon, as well as Johnny Depp and Lily-Rose Depp. The same year, she was a member of the main competition jury of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.
In September 2021, Paradis made her theatre debut in the play Maman, written and directed by her husband, Samuel Benchetrit, at the Edouard VII theatre in Paris. For her performance in the play, she was nominated for the Molière Award for Best Actress in a Private Theatre. They have a daughter, Lily-Rose Depp (born 1999) and a son John "Jack" Christopher Depp III (Jack Depp), born in 2002.
In May 2014, at a Chanel show in Dubai, Vanessa Paradis confirmed her relationship with French singer Benjamin Biolay. They broke up in May 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 town of Saint-Siméon. Vanessa Paradis has a country estate nearby, and her late father owned a small restaurant in the quiet country commune.
Paradis's sister, Alysson Paradis, is also an actress.
Philanthropy
Paradis has been a member of the Les Enfoirés charity ensemble since 1993.
Other activities
- In 1991, Paradis was approached by Calvin Klein to become the face of his new advertising campaign alongside Mark Wahlberg. She declined the offer, which made Klein's second choice, Kate Moss, famous.
- In 2001, Carla Bruni wrote several songs for Paradis, who found them too personal and encouraged Bruni to record them herself, resulting in the album Quelqu'un m'a dit released in 2002.
- In 2014, her song "Mi amor" was chosen for the TV advertising campaign for the Love Story fragrance from the house of Chloé directed by Mélanie Laurent.
Discography
- M&J (1988)
- Variations sur le même t'aime (1990)
- Vanessa Paradis (1992)
- Bliss (2000)
- Divinidylle (2007)
- Love Songs (2013)
- Les Sources (2018)
- Le retour des beaux jours (2025)
Concert tours
- Natural High Tour (1993)
- Bliss Tour (2001)
- Divinidylle Tour (2007–08)
- Vanessa Paradis Concert Acoustique Tour (2009–10)
- International Tour 2011 (2011)
- Love Songs Tour (2013)
- Tournée les sources (2019)
Filmography
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Film and television
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
|1989
|Noce Blanche
|Mathilde Tessier
|
|-
|1995
|Élisa
|Marie Desmoulin
|
|-
|1997
|Witch Way Love
|Morgane
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |1998
|Pleasure (And Its Little Inconveniences)
|La voix du nouvel âge (voice)
|
|-
|Une chance sur deux
|Alice Tomaso
|
|-
|1999
|Girl on the Bridge
|Adèle
|
|-
|-
|2002
|Lost in La Mancha
|Herself
|
|-
|2004
|My Angel
|Colette
|
|-
|2005
|'
|Margotte (voice)
|
|-
|2006
|Le soldat Rose
|Made in Asia
|Television film
|-
|2007
|La clef
|Cécile
|
|-
|2010
|Heartbreaker
|Juliette Van Der Becq
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |2011
|'
|Lucille (voice)
|
|-
|Café de Flore
|Jacqueline
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |2012
|Dubaï Flamingo
|Jackie
|
|-
|Je me suis fait tout petit
|Emmanuelle
|
|-
|Cornouaille
|Odile
|
|-
|2013
|Fading Gigolo
|Avigal
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |2014
|Rio, I Love You
|Mulher
|
|-
|French Women
|Rose
|
|-
| 2016
| Yoga Hosers
| Ms. Maurice
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |2017
|Maryline
|Jeanne Desmarais
|
|-
| Frost
| Marianne
|
|-
|Chien
|Hélène
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |2018
|Photo de famille
|Gabrielle
|
|-
| Knife + Heart
|Anne Parèze
|
|-
|2020
|Les Deux Alfred
|Albane
|
|-
|2021
|Love Songs for Tough Guys
|Suzanne
|
|}
Theatre
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Author
! Director
! class="unsortable" | Notes
! class="unsortable"|
|-
| 2021 || Maman || Jeanne || Samuel Benchetrit || Samuel Benchetrit || Nominated–Molière Award for Best Actress in a Private Theatre ||
|-
| 2018
| Brooklyn Horror Film Festival
| Best Actress
| Knife+Heart
|
|-
| 2022
| Molière Award
| Best Actress in a Private Theatre
| Maman
|