Hilde Rens (3 March 1972 – 25 June 2009), better known by her stage name Yasmine, was a Belgian singer, presenter and television personality.

Career

Music

Rens became known as a singer during the 1980s. At the age of 17, Yasmine made her television debut in 1989 as a contestant on a Flemish television talent show, performing a rendition of " Don't Cry for Me Argentina" as Julie Covington. Two years later, she earned a record deal, releasing her first single, "Wie Denk Jij Wel Dat Je Bent" and her first album, ''Mooi zo'' in the same year. She went on to record another five mainstream pop albums before releasing ''Vandaag (Het morgen van gisteren)'' in 2004, a critically lauded CD of

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

songs translated into Dutch. Her last album, ''Licht Ontvlambaar'', was released in 2006.

Broadcasting

Up until her death, Yasmine was a regular on the VRT's main television station, één, where she was an in-vision

continuity announcer In broadcasting, continuity or presentation (or station break in the U.S. and Canada) is announcements, messages and graphics played by the broadcaster between specific programmes. It typically includes programme schedules, announcement of the ...

and a presenter for various entertainment shows including ''De Rode Loper'', ''Memento'' and ''Zo is er maar één''. Prior to joining the VRT, she presented music programmes and was part of the promotion team for commercial station VTM during the 1990s and was one of the launch VJs for

TMF Flanders TMF was a Belgian pay television channel whose programming was centred towards pop music videoclips. TMF was operated by Viacom International Media Networks. Originally an abbreviation of "The Music Factory", the channel was launched as TMF Vlaa ...

. She was also a presenter for two VRT radio stations - Studio Brussel and the now-defunct pop station

Donna Donna may refer to the short form of the honorific ''nobildonna'', the female form of Don (honorific) in Italian. People *Donna (given name); includes name origin and list of people and characters with the name * Roberto Di Donna (born 1968), Ita ...

Personal life and death

Rens came out as a

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

in 1996, becoming an established

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

icon for Flemish and Dutch youth. Yasmine further positioned herself as a leading LGBT icon by marrying television personality Marianne Dupon (winner of the reality TV show '' De Mol'') in 2003, following a 2-year relationship. On 9 March 2007, Dupon gave birth to a daughter named Ella-Louise. The couple divorced in April 2009. On 25 June 2009, Yasmine's body was found near her sister's home in Kontich where she had

hanged Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The '' Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging ...

herself from a tree - her suicide reportedly followed a severe depression allegedly inflicted by her split with Dupon.Flemish TV personality Yasmine takes her own life
, ''Flanders Today'', Retrieved on 26 June 2009

Discography

Albums

*1991: ''Mooi Zo'' *1993: ''Als Jij Dat Wil'' *1995: ''Portfolio'' *1997: ''Prêt-a-Porter'' *1999: ''Blauw'' *2001: ''Yasmine'' *2004: ''Vandaag, Het Morgen Van Gisteren'' *2006: ''Licht Ontvlambaar''

References

:''Based on a translation from

French Wikipedia The French Wikipedia (french: Wikipédia en français) is the French-language edition of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. This edition was started on 23 March 2001, two months after the official creation of Wikipedia. It has articl ...

External links

The Belgian Pop and Rock Archives - Yasmine profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yasmine (Singer) 1972 births 2009 suicides 20th-century Belgian women singers Belgian radio presenters Belgian women radio presenters Belgian women television presenters Dutch-language singers of Belgium Flemish television presenters LGBT singers from Belgium Lesbian musicians Musicians from Antwerp Radio and television announcers Suicides by hanging in Belgium Mass media people from Antwerp 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people