Marianne James (born 18 February 1962) is a French singer, writer, actress, TV host and fashion designer. She has co-presented the French coverage of the '' Eurovision Song Contest''.

Early life

Born in

Montélimar Montélimar (; Vivaro-Alpine: ''Montelaimar'' ; la, Acumum) is a town in the Drôme department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in north Provence, Southeastern France. It is the second-largest city in the department after Valence. In 2018 ...

, Marianne Gandolfi grew up in the family shop, Place du Marché, with her father Maurice, chocolatier pastry chef and nougatier, her mother Jacqueline, from whom she gets her Italian origins, and her sister Pascale, four years older than her. She took guitar lessons at the age of 11 with Antoine Petrucciani, known as "Tony", a renowned jazz guitarist and father of pianist

Michel Petrucciani Michel Petrucciani (; ; 28 December 1962 – 6 January 1999) was a French jazz pianist. From birth he had osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic disease that causes brittle bones and, in his case, short stature. He became one of the most accomplish ...

. From the age of 15 to 23, she took advantage of her holidays to sing in the streets with her sister and a friend. In 1980, after creating her first group "The Swingums", she graduated with a degree in musicology from

Sorbonne University Sorbonne University (french: Sorbonne Université; la Sorbonne: 'the Sorbonne') is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de Sor ...

and won a first prize for singing at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

. In 1981, Marianne James joined the band "Les Démones Loulou" with whom she opened for

William Sheller William Sheller (born William Desboeuf on 9 July 1946) is a French classical composer and singer-songwriter. A prominent artist of French popular music since the 1970s, William Sheller has the particularity of being one of the few singers of Fre ...

at the Olympia. She continued to sing in the streets of Paris.

Theater

Album

* 1999 : Les Mandarines * 2006 : Marianne James * 2015 : Les Symphonies Subaquatiques * 2016 : Tous au lit ! * 2018 : Tous heureux !

Television

Filmography

Actress

Dubbing

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Marianne 1962 births Living people French women singers French-language singers French film actresses French television actresses French fashion designers French voice actresses French people of Italian descent 21st-century French actresses People from Montélimar French women fashion designers La France a un incroyable talent