Monique Leyrac, (26 February 1928 – 15 December 2019) was a Canadian singer and actress who popularized many songs by French-Canadian composers.

Early life

Leyrac was born Monique Tremblay in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

.Alexis Luko, Rachelle Taylor and Hélène Plouffe
"Monique Leyrac"
''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available f ...

'', 12 March 2007. She helped raise her siblings while her mother worked as a

milliner Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of ...

, while educating herself by reading poetry and fiction. She studied drama with Madame Maubourg.

Career

Leyrac began her acting career on the radio in 1943, using her knowledge of music and drama. In 1965 she won the grand prize at the

Sopot International Song Festival The Sopot International Song Festival or Sopot Festival (later called ''Sopot Music Festival Grand Prix'', ''Sopot Top of the Top Festival'' from 2012–13 and ''Polsat Sopot Festival'' in 2014) is an annual international song contest held in S ...

in Poland for her rendition of

Gilles Vigneault Gilles Vigneault (; born 27 October 1928) is a Canadian poet, publisher, singer-songwriter, and Quebec nationalist and sovereigntist. Two of his songs are considered by many to be Quebec's unofficial anthems: " Mon pays" and " Gens du pays", ...

's "

Mon Pays "Mon pays" ("My Country", or "My Homeland", in English) is a song composed by Quebec singer-songwriter Gilles Vigneault in 1964.Suzanne Thomas, Stephen C. Willis and Hélène Plouffe"Mon Pays" ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', November 20, 2011. T ...

".Carlotta Hacker.
The Book of Canadians
'. Hurtig; 1 October 1983. . p. 130. That year she also won first prize at the Festival de la Chanson at Ostende, Belgium. In 1967 she sang at

Expo 67 The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It was a category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most su ...

.Bill Marshall.
France and the Americas
'. ABC-CLIO; 2005. . p. 720. Leyrac was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1967 and was the subject of an hour-long documentary on CBC television in 1972. She received the 1979 Prix de musique Calixa-Lavallée. She recorded ten albums of music, and in the 1980s she began to write and stage one-woman shows in which she sang and acted. In 1997, Leyrac received the

Governor General's Performing Arts Award A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, Canada's highest honour in the performing arts. In 1998, she was made a Knight of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as ''l'Ordre national du Québec'', and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is an order of merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governo ...

. In 2007 a boxed set, ''Leyrac/La diva des années 60'', was released, containing three albums of her performed songs, many by Quebec composers, as well as a DVD with a short documentary of her life and career. In 2013 Leyrac was presented with the Prix Denise-Pelletier for her outstanding career in the performing arts. In 2019 a biography of Leyrac's life, written by François Dompierre, was released. Leyrac had been married for twenty-five years to actor-director Jean Dalmain, from 1952 to 1977. Leyrac died on 15 December 2019 in Cowansville, Quebec at the age of 91.Mayssa Ferah
"La chanteuse Monique Leyrac s’éteint à 91 ans"
'' La Presse'', 15 December 2019.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leyrac, Monique 1928 births 2019 deaths Actresses from Montreal French Quebecers French-language singers of Canada Columbia Records artists Knights of the National Order of Quebec Officers of the Order of Canada Canadian television actresses Canadian film actresses Sopot International Song Festival winners Singers from Montreal Governor General's Performing Arts Award winners Canadian women pop singers