Michel Jean-Pierre Barda (; born 7 March 1965) is a Swedish and Israeli singer, actor, make up artist and hair dresser of French/Algerian

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

descent. He is one of the founding members of the pop group

Army of Lovers Army of Lovers is a Swedish dance-pop group which formed in 1987 and had a number of hits in Europe throughout the 1990s. Some of their biggest successes include the song "Crucified", which was a big hit in Europe, charting 31 weeks in the Eu ...

Biography

Jean-Pierre Barda was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France. His father was of Algerian Jewish origin. When he was seven, he moved to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

with his family, settling in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. Barda

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in 2015. He currently lives in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

. He has been openly gay since he

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

at age 16. His parents kicked him out for his sexuality, and he did not have contact with them for 15 years after.

Music and acting career

Barda started out working with

Alexander Bard Alexander Bengt Magnus Bard (born 17 March 1961) is a Swedish musician, author, lecturer, artist, songwriter, music producer, TV personality, religious and political activist, and one of the founders of the Syntheism, Syntheist religious movement ...

as a part of the music group Barbie. He initially called himself Farouk, but reverted to his real name when Barbie later evolved into the group Army of Lovers. Barda has been with the group throughout all of its incarnations. In 2004, Barda considered joining a new band called

Bodies Without Organs BWO was a Swedish electropop group, formed in 2003. Prior to early 2006 they used the name Bodies Without Organs. In Sweden they have enjoyed considerable commercial success throughout their career, so far notching up 15 Top 40 singles, inclu ...

. This did not come to fruition, and Barda's explicit involvement extended only as far as co-writing BWO's first single "Living in a Fantasy". Barda is also known as a hair-dresser and make-up artist. He has starred in movies, television and photo shoots.

Theater

* (Swedish version of ) (1995) – the butler

Film

* "Army of Lovers in the Holy Land" (2018) — himself * "" (2000) – himself * "Once in a Lifetime" (2000) (International: English title) – himself * "House of Angels: The Second Summer" (1994) – himself

TV

* (Swedish version of ''

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous ''Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous'' is an American television series that aired in syndication from 1984 to 1995. The show featured the extravagant lifestyles of wealthy entertainers, athletes, socialites and magnates. Cast and crew Th ...

'') – host * ''

Miss Sweden The Miss Sweden or Miss Universe Sweden (), is the title of the Swedish beauty pageant, qualifying delegates to the Miss Universe competition. In 2009 the pageant renamed as Miss Universe Sweden and the first national final was held on 6 June 200 ...

2002 Competition'' – host * ''Sally'' (1999) – himself * ''Silikon'' (1999–2001) – make-over artist/host

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barda, Jean-Pierre 1965 births Swedish Jews Gay Jews Living people Musicians from Stockholm French emigrants to Sweden Swedish emigrants to Israel Swedish dance musicians French dance musicians Swedish male film actors Swedish male television actors French people of Algerian-Jewish descent Swedish LGBTQ singers French LGBTQ singers Israeli LGBTQ singers French gay actors French gay musicians Swedish gay actors Swedish gay musicians Israeli gay actors Israeli gay musicians English-language singers from Sweden Gay singers 20th-century French LGBTQ people 21st-century French LGBTQ people 20th-century Swedish LGBTQ people 21st-century Swedish LGBTQ people 20th-century Israeli LGBTQ people 21st-century Israeli LGBTQ people