Édith Piaf, Biography Of The Paris Sparrow

Édith Piaf has one of the most fascinating life stories in the entire artistic world, not only because of the impressive evolution of her talent, but also because of the extraordinary vicissitudes she had to go through. She was, above all, a brave woman, who overcame the crudest misery and became a muse for many composers and an inspiration for millions of people in the world.

The Sparrow of Paris, as she was nicknamed at the height of her career, was a small and petite woman , who sang more with her soul than with her throat. His unique style marked an entire era. She was the quintessential diva in the 1950s and was considered a Parisian icon throughout the world.

Édith Piaf had a singularly tragic life. However, those who knew her described her as someone with a fabulous personality, enormous generosity and great detachment. They say that only at the end of the Second World War and during the funeral of the Piaf, Paris was completely paralyzed.

Édith Piaf was born on the street

Édith Piaf was born on December 19, 1915, on a street in Paris. His father was a circus acrobat and his mother a traveling singer. When the moment of delivery came, the father celebrated by getting drunk. The mother tried to get to the hospital alone, but was unsuccessful. That is why little Édith was born under a lamppost on Rue Belleville in Paris.

Édith’s father and mother were both alcoholics. Anneta, her mother, decided to leave her in the care of her maternal grandmother for a while. The woman gave him wine instead of milk, saying that this was good for his health. She was then handed over to her father, who in turn left her with her paternal grandmother . This was the owner of a brothel. Édith Piaf was raised by a group of prostitutes.

La Piaf earned her living singing in the subway and in cafes in the Parisian suburbs. At 16, she fell in love with a 17-year-old boy and became pregnant. He had a daughter whom he named Marcelle. When the girl was 2 years old, she became ill with meningitis. Édith Piaf had to prostitute herself one night to get the money to care for her daughter. However, it died and left a mark on his soul forever.

The Sparrow of Paris

Édith Piaf’s life changed forever when a passerby stopped to hear her sing in the street. This man was Louis Leplée, the owner of one of the most famous cabarets in Paris. He gave her a little test and then hired her and trained her to be the great diva she became. Its success was immediate. However, Leplée was assassinated and the Piaf was singled out as a suspect. Society relegated her and she ended up singing again in the slums.

Later, composer Raymond Asso, who was her lover, rescued her and turned her into a professional singer. Édith Piaf became a star of the song and the great composers wrote exclusively for her. He fell in love with the Parisian public and then with people from all over the world. He ventured into the cinema and continued singing, even during the Nazi occupation. In fact, she was considered a protector of Jewish artists.

Once the war is over, Piaf writes the lyrics for his most famous song: La vie en rose (life in pink). By then he was having a torrid affair with Yves Montand. Then in 1947 she went on a tour of the United States with him, but they soon parted ways.

A sad ending

In 1948, Édith Piaf met his great love, the boxer Marcel Cerdan. She was only with him for a year, as Cerdan died in a plane crash in 1949. She was already a victim of various addictions, but this loss plunged her into deep pain. This led her to become addicted to morphine.

Later he had several love stories with well-known characters such as Marlon Brando, Georges Moustaki, Charles Aznavour and others. At the same time, his fame continued to grow, but so did his dependence on morphine. His health began to deteriorate visibly, to the point that he fainted on stage.

In 1961, he performed his immortal song Non, je ne regrette rien (I do not regret anything) at the Olympia in Paris, to the amazement and emotion of the audience. In 1962 she married Theo Sarapo, a 26-year-old young man. I was already very sick at the time. A year later he died in Paris, at the age of 47.