Tiny, vulnerable and worshipped by her fans, Edith Piaf performed with an emotional intensity like no other, with the possible exception of Billie Holiday. Both sang about the basic incompatibility and interdependence of men and women. The message was simple: man, no good but essential; woman, always betrayed.

Piaf was as French as a Gauloise and as Parisian as Montmartre. She was born in the French capital in 1915, and by the time she died, in 1963, she was a national treasure, seen around the world as exemplifying not only the spirit of her country and the triumph of the little person against daunting odds, but also a certain sort of style. A simple dresser, she is best remembered for the expressiveness of her sad eyes set against the canvas of a plain suit and unfussy jewellery, a rare example of the clothes framing the lady – not, as is common these days, the lady framing the clothes.

What odds she triumphed over. Piaf’s father was a circus performer. Raised in poverty, as a child she sang on the streets of Paris to buy food for her family. With the help of Maurice Chevalier, she became a music-hall star. But even her growing fame couldn’t diminish the tragedies in her life: her first lover was murdered; her marriages were disastrous; and her true love – the world boxing champion Marcel Cerdan – died in a plane crash in 1949.

For all her strengths, she was, like Judy Garland, a tragic figure addicted to drink and drugs. Her frenzied moments of happiness were few, her depressions lengthy, but when the “Kid Sparrow” sang Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien, she touched a chord in people across the world. The song – and the elegant woman who sang it – still gives courage to the unhappy everywhere.

BACKGROUND

• La Vie En Rose

• La Vie En Rose - Sunday Times review

BACKGROUND

• Poor chick: the life of Piaf

• Edith Piaf

• Playing Piaf is risky for a rising star

Piaf, the woman behind the icon

French chanteuse Edith Piaf packed a lot of drama into her short life – a new biopic reveals the woman behind the icon

Related Internet Links

• 2007 London Film Festival coverage

• Times Online Film Trailers

La Vie En Rose opens in cinemas nationwide on June 22

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