Sylvie Vartan (; born Sylvie Georges Vartanian on 15 August 1944) is a Bulgarian-French singer and actress. She is known as one of the most productive and tough-sounding

yé-yé ''Yé-yé'' () or ''yeyé'' () was a style of pop music that emerged in Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe in the early 1960s. The French term ''yé-yé'' was derived from the English "yeah! yeah!", popularized by British beat music ban ...

artists. Her performances often featured elaborate show-dance choreography, and she made many appearances on French and Italian TV. Yearly shows with then-husband

Johnny Hallyday Jean-Philippe Léo Smet (; 15 June 1943 – 5 December 2017), better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday, was a French rock and roll and Pop music, pop singer and actor, credited with having brought rock and roll to France. During a career ...

attracted full houses at the Olympia and the Palais des congrès de Paris throughout the 1960s and mid-1970s. In 2004, after a break in performances, she began recording and giving concerts of jazz ballads in

francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

countries.

Early life

Sylvie Vartan was born in Iskrets,

Sofia Province Sofia Province () is a province (''oblast'') of Bulgaria. The province does not include Sofia in its territories, but Sofia remains the seat of its administration. The province borders on the provinces of Pernik, Kyustendil, Blagoevgrad, Paz ...

, in the then

Kingdom of Bulgaria The Tsardom of Bulgaria (), also known as the Third Bulgarian Tsardom (), usually known in English as the Kingdom of Bulgaria, or simply Bulgaria, was a constitutional monarchy in Southeastern Europe, which was established on , when the Bulgaria ...

. Her father, Georges Vartanian (1912–1970), was born in France to a Bulgarian mother named Slavka and an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

father. He worked as an

attaché In diplomacy, an attaché () is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified ac ...

at the French embassy in Sofia. The family shortened the name Vartanian to Vartan. Her mother, Ilona (née Mayer 1914–2007), daughter of prominent architect Rudolf Mayer, was of

Hungarian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Hungary dates back to at least the Kingdom of Hungary, with some records even predating the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 895 CE by over 600 years. Written sources prove that Jewish communities lived i ...

descent. When the

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

invaded Bulgaria in September 1944, the Vartanian family house was nationalised and they moved to

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

. In 1952, a friend of Sylvie's father, film director Dako Dakovski, offered her the role of a schoolgirl in the movie ''Pod igoto'', a film about Bulgarian rebels against the Ottoman occupation. Participating in the film made her dream of becoming an entertainer come true. The hardships of postwar Bulgaria made the family emigrate to Paris in December 1952. At first they stayed in the Lion d'Argent hotel near

Les Halles Les Halles (; 'The Halls') was Paris' central fresh food market. It last operated on 12 January 1973 and was replaced by an underground shopping centre and a park. The unpopular modernist development was demolished yet again in 2010, and replac ...

, where Georges found a job, then for the next four years they stayed in a single room at the Angleterre Hotel. Young Sylvie had to work hard to keep up at school and blend in with her schoolmates. She spent two years learning French. In 1960, her family moved to an apartment in Michel Bizot Avenue. Thanks to the influence of her music producer brother Eddie, music became teenage Sylvie's main interest. Her most influential genres were

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and, out of spite toward her strict high school,

rock 'n' roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

. Her favourite artists included

Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Primarily performing rockabilly, pop, country and Christmas music, she achieved her first ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' hit aged 12 i ...

Bill Haley William John Clifton Haley (; July 6, 1925 – February 9, 1981) was an American rock and roll musician. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and million-sel ...

, and

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

Career

Twisting schoolgirl

In 1961, Eddie offered Sylvie the chance to record the song "Panne d'essence" with French rocker Frankie Jordan. The

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

EP was a surprise hit. Although she was not credited on the sleeve, "Panne d'essence" provided Vartan her first appearance on

French television Television in France was introduced in 1931, when the first experimental broadcasts began. Colour television was introduced in October 1967 on La Deuxième Chaîne. Digital terrestrial television The digital terrestrial television platform ...

. The journalists gave her the nickname ''la collégienne du twist''. After the "twisting schoolgirl" had finished the Victor Hugo High School, she was free to sign a contract with Decca Records to start recording her own EP; carrying the title song "Quand le film est triste", a cover of Sue Thompson's " Sad Movies (Make Me Cry)", the EP was on sale by the beginning of December 1961. It was another hit, that served her first concert in

Paris Olympia The Olympia (; commonly known as L'Olympia or in the English-speaking world as Olympia Hall) is a concert venue in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France, located at 28 Boulevard des Capucines, equally distancing Madeleine church and Opéra ...

Hall on 12 December 1961. "Est-ce que tu le sais?", her version of

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

' "

What'd I Say "What'd I Say" (or "What I Say") is an American rhythm and blues song by Ray Charles, released in 1959. As a single divided into two parts, it was one of the first soul songs. The composition was improvised one evening late in 1958 when Charl ...

", was quickly released. She opened for

Vince Taylor Vince Taylor (14 July 1939 – 28 August 1991), born Brian Maurice Holden, was an English-American rock and roll singer. As the lead singer of Vince Taylor and His Playboys, sometimes called Vince Taylor and the Playboys, he was successful prim ...

at Paris Olympia for her second concert. In July she toured France with

Gilbert Bécaud François Gilbert Léopold Silly (24 October 1927 – 18 December 2001), known professionally as Gilbert Bécaud (), was a French singer, composer, pianist and actor, known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his energetic performances. His best-know ...

. In autumn 1962 she released her version of "

The Loco-Motion "The Loco-Motion" (or "Locomotion") is a pop music, pop song written by American songwriters Gerry Goffin and Carole King. "The Loco-Motion" was originally written for R&B singer Dee Dee Sharp, but Sharp turned the song down. The song is espec ...

" on EP and her first LP, ''Sylvie''. Her next hit was " Tous mes copains", issued on EP in 1962. She also had her first adult part in a movie with the small part of a singer in the film ''Un clair de lune à Maubeuge''. In 1963,

Paul Anka Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter and actor. His songs include " Diana", “ You Are My Destiny", “Lonely Boy", " Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and " (You're) Having My Baby". Anka also wr ...

offered her the song " I'm Watching You", which became her first international hit in Japan and Korea. She rounded out the year with four TV specials and becoming the darling of the teen magazine ''Salut les Copains''. Six of her 31 songs released in 1962/1963 became Top-20 European hits. In late winter 1963, Vartan toured France with

and starred with him in the movie ''D'où viens-tu, Johnny?''. Later, after announcing their engagement over the radio, the young couple performed to a noisy audience of 200,000 at Paris' Place de la Nation. At the year's end they traveled to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

to record an album with

The Jordanaires The Jordanaires were an American vocal quartet that formed as a gospel group in 1948. Over the years, they recorded both sacred and secular music for recording companies such as Capitol Records, RCA Victor, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Vo ...

. With the special treatment of vocalists, strings, and brass sections in the true Nashville style, these recordings were a great commercial success in France. The album ''Sylvie à Nashville'' included the hits " La plus belle pour aller danser" and " Si je chante" and three new songs in English (one featuring Paul Anka). Accompanied by the movie ''

Cherchez l'idole ''Cherchez l'idole'' (Italian title: ''Sciarada alla francese'', English title: ''The Chase'') is a 1964 French-Italian film directed by Michel Boisrond. Enjoying great success in Japan, notably with the interpretation of Sylvie Vartan and her ...

'', the EP with "La plus belle pour aller danser" became number one in France, sold over a million copies in Japan, was very successful in Korea and Spain, and was her first release in Italy. "Il n'a rien retrouvé" became another international hit that year. In January 1964, she appeared at the

as one of the support acts (which also included

Trini Lopez Trinidad López III (May 15, 1937 – August 11, 2020), known as Trini Lopez, was an American singer and guitarist. His first album included a cover version of Pete Seeger's " If I Had a Hammer", which earned a gold disc for him. His other ...

) for

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

. A commercial for the "Renown" clothing line and a supporting role in the film ''Patate'' increased her fame. She also appeared on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...

Shindig! ''Shindig!'' is an American musical variety series which aired on ABC from September 16, 1964 to January 8, 1966. The show was hosted by Jimmy O'Neill, a disc jockey in Los Angeles,Hullabaloo'', and an international concert tour, including Canada, South America and Polynesia. In Tokyo she gave 13 concerts in 12 days.

Yé-yé singer

In December 1964, as Hallyday went into military service, Sylvie's brother Eddie hired two English songwriting

session musicians A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a record ...

, Tommy Brown on drums and Mick Jones on guitar, as they went to record in New York; they wrote her the hit "Cette lettre-là". On 16 January 1964, Sylvie performed with The Beatles, and opened their show at Olympia. Set in the smart design of the ''J.C. Averty Show'', "Cette lettre-là" was the first of Sylvie Vartan's TV variety night performances. In 1966–67 she recorded more original hits. "Dis moi, que tu m'aimes" premiered on TV on 9 July 1967 was accompanied by a group of male dancers. "Le jour qui vient" was aired on the '' Dim Dam Dom'' program of the French Television 1 in color on 14 January 1968. "2'35 de bonheur" and " Comme un garçon" were other #1s in France, Italy, Belgium, Japan, or Korea. On 11 April 1968, Vartan suffered injuries in a traffic accident but was back on tour in August. She showed off her new sexy

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

-dancer image to the French TV audience in the "Jolie poupée" show on 4 December 1968; the collaboration with Maritie and Gilbert Carpentier produced a highly entertaining result. The variety night included the performance of " Irrésistiblement", accompanied by elaborate girl-group choreography, and "Jolie Poupée", a dialogue between a doll Sylvie and an adult one. The hits of the "Jolie poupée" show were released as the ''Maritza'' album. In Italy, she released a cover version of Mina's "Zum zum zum". Being the 23rd-biggest-selling single of 1969 in Italy, Vartan's version did better in Italian charts than Mina's original. Vartan continued with her one-woman shows at the Paris Olympia in December 1968; they were published as the documentary ''Sylvie à L'Olympia''. For nine Saturday nights in winter of 1969, Vartan starred in the ''Doppia coppia'' variety nights of

RAI (), commercially styled as since 2000 and known until 1954 as (RAI), is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terrestrial and subscription television channels a ...

, performing her hits " Irrésistiblement" ("Irresistibilmente") and "Le jour qui vient" ("Una cicala canta") in Italian. In March 1969, "Irresistibilmente" entered the Italian charts at No. 3, peaked at No. 2 and stayed in Top Ten for 10 weeks. In 1969 the single was the No. 22 single on the Italian chart. The tender ballad "Blam blam blam", written especially for ''Doppia coppia'', peaked at No. 14 on the Italian charts and was among the 100 biggest-selling singles in Italy in 1969. After her world tour in autumn 1969, she returned to Italy to perform "Festa negli occhi, festa nel cuore" on a '' Canzonissima'' variety night and "C'est un jour à rester couché" on the ''Incontro con Sylvie Vartan'' TV show, recorded in the Gattopardo Club of

Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

. Her appearances were popular in Italy and France; she donned a different costume for each song, including plenty of short skirts and Barbarella boots. The cartoonists of both countries even drew Sylvie Vartan lookalikes.

1970–present

Despite suffering a second serious car accident in 1970, Sylvie Vartan continued to perform and record extensively; and in 1972 she starred in the film '' Malpertuis''. She sold millions of records on the RCA label, which made her its most prolific artist after Elvis Presley. Her most famous songs are "J'ai un probleme", "L'amour au Diapason" (73), "Parle moi de ta vie"(71), " Petit rainbow" (77), "Bye Bye Leroy Brown" (74), "Disco Queen" and "Nicolas" (79), and "Caro Mozart", an international hit in Italian (72). However, her annual world tours and Italian TV shows continued to include her biggest late-1960s hits. In 1976 she recorded " Qu'est-ce qui fait pleurer les blondes?", a disco-style cover of a

John Kongos John Theodore Kongos (born 6 August 1945) is a South African singer and songwriter of Greek ancestry, best known for his 1971 Top 10 hit single " He's Gonna Step on You Again", on which Happy Mondays based their hit " Step On". His other big hit ...

track, which topped the French chart for several weeks. Her disco era climaxed at the ''Dancing star'' TV show on

TF1 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is part ...

, produced by Maritie and Gilbert Carpentier, on 10 September 1977.

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

published the show as the ''Dancing star'' After a week of concerts in Las Vegas in 1982, she released a duet with

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American Country music, country and Folk music, folk singer, songwriter, and actor. He was one of the most popular acoustic m ...

: "Love Again", a #85 single on ''Billboard'' Hot 100 followed in 1985 by a new album in the US with "Double Exposure" and "One-Shot Lover". In 1986 she took a break from show business; she returned in 1989 with "C'est Fatal" ("E' Fatale" in Italy). In 1990, Vartan gave a concert at Sofia's

Palace of Culture Palace of Culture (, , ''wénhuà gōng'', ) or House of Culture (Polish: ''dom kultury'') is a common name (generic term) for major Club (organization), club-houses (community centres) in the former Soviet Union and the rest of the Eastern bloc ...

, opening and closing with a Bulgarian song. This was her first visit to the city since her emigration. In 1991, she performed for three weeks at the Palais des Sports in Paris and hit the charts with "Quand tu es là". In 1995, she starred in "L'ange noir" directed by Jean-Claude Brisseau. In 1996 Sylvie recorded a successful album ("Toutes les femmes ont un secret") featuring "Je n'aime encore que toi" written by Quebecer Luc Plamondon. After her brother Eddie died in 2001, she took another break from performing in public. In fall 2004 Vartan started recording and giving concerts of jazz ballads in francophone countries and Japan. She performed two weeks in the Palais des congrès in 2004 and 2008—all sold-out concerts. In 2009 she toured Turkey, France, Japan, Switzerland, Quebec, USA, Italy, Spain, Netherlands and Belgium.

Legacy

In 2005, the singer was appointed as

WHO Goodwill Ambassador WHO Goodwill Ambassador is an official honorary title that is granted to those goodwill ambassadors and advocates who are designated by the United Nations. WHO Goodwill Ambassadors are celebrity advocates of the World Health Organization (WHO), ...

for Maternal and Child Health in the European Region. Vartan is regarded as a

gay icon A gay icon is a public figure who is regarded as a cultural icon by members of the LGBTQ community. Such figures usually have a devoted LGBTQ fanbase and act as allies to the LGBTQ community, often through their work, or they have been "openly app ...

Honours

* ''Chevalier'' (Knight) of the

Ordre national du Mérite The (; ) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's establishment was twofold: to replace the large number of ...

on 13 November 1987, ''Officier'' (Officer) in 2006. * ''Chevalier'' (Knight) of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

on 14 November 1998, ''Officier'' (Officer) in 2009.

Personal life

In 1962, during her second concert in Paris Olympia Hall, Vartan met pop-rock singer

; they were married in

Offenburg Offenburg (; "open borough" - coat of arms showing open gates; Low Alemmanic: ''Offäburg'') is a city in the state of Baden-Württemberg, in south-western Germany. With nearly 60,000 inhabitants (2019), it is the largest city and the administrat ...

on 12 April 1965. They had a son, David Michael Benjamin Smet, later known as

David Hallyday David Hallyday (born David Michael Benjamin Smet; 14 August 1966) is a French singer, songwriter, actor and amateur sports car racing, sports car racer. Early life Hallyday was born in Boulogne-Billancourt and is the son of the French singers ...

. Sylvie Vartan and Johnny Hallyday were their generation's "golden couple" in France, and their marriage was among the most carefully watched relationships for the nation's publicity. But Hallyday openly preferred his pals to parenting, sparking many disagreements, and the couple finally divorced on 4 November 1980. Vartan later married record producer Tony Scotti, and they have adopted a young Bulgarian girl, Darina. Vartan is the aunt of actor

Michael Vartan Michael Vartan (born November 27, 1968) is an American actor, known for his role as Michael Vaughn on the ABC television action drama '' Alias'', his role on the TNT medical drama '' Hawthorne'', and his role on the '' E!'' drama '' The Arrangeme ...

, the son of her older brother Eddie Vartan.

Discography

*'' Sylvie'' (1962) *'' Twiste et chante'' (1963) *''Sylvie a Nashville'' (1964) *''A gift wrapped from Paris'' (1965) *''Il y a deux filles en moi'' (1966) *''2'35 de bonheur'' (1967) *''Comme un garçon'' (1967) *''La Maritza'' (1968) *''Aime-moi'' (1970) *''Sympathie'' (1971) *Untitled (''J'ai un problème'') (1973) *''Je chante pour Swanee'' (1974) *''Shang shang a lang'' (1974) *''Qu'est-ce qui fait pleurer les blondes?'' (1976) *'' Sylvie Vartan (Ta sorcière bien-aimée)'' (1976) *''Georges'' (1977) *''Dancing Star'' (1977) *''Fantaisie'' (1978) *''I Don't Want the Night to End'' (1979) *''Déraisonnable'' (1979) *''Bienvenue solitude'' (1980) *''Ça va mal'' (1981) *''De choses et d'autres'' (1982) *''Danse ta vie'' (1983) *''Des heures de désir'' (1984) *''Made in USA'' (1985) *''Virage'' (1986) *''Confidanses'' (1989) *''Vent d'ouest'' (1992) *''Sessions acoustiques'' (1994) *''Toutes les femmes ont un secret'' (1996) *''Sensible'' (1998) *''Sylvie'' (2004) *''Nouvelle vague'' (2007) *''Toutes peines confondues'' (2009) *''Soleil bleu'' (2010) *''Sylvie in Nashville'' (2013) *''Une vie en musique'' (2015) *''Avec toi'' (2018) *''Merci pour le regard'' (2021)

Filmography

*''Pod igoto'' (1952), after the novel by

Ivan Vazov Ivan Minchov Vazov (; – 22 September 1921) was a Bulgarian poet, novelist, and playwright, often referred to as "the Patriarch of Bulgarian literature". He was born in Sopot, a town in the Rose Valley of Bulgaria (then part of the Ottoman Em ...

(''

Under the Yoke ''Under the Yoke'' (), subtitled ''A Novel About the Life of the Bulgarians on the Eve of Liberation'' () or ''A Romance of Bulgarian Liberty'' is a historical novel by Bulgarian author Ivan Vazov written from 1887 to 1888 and published in part ...

'') *''Un clair de lune à Maubeuge'' (1962) *''Cherchez l'idole'' (1963) *''D'où viens-tu, Johnny?'' (1964) *''Patate'' (1964) *'' Malpertuis'' (1971) *'' L'ange noir'' (1994) *''Mausolée pour une garce'' (2001) (TV) *''

The Missionaries ''The Missionaries'' (), also known as ''Sex, Love & Therapy'', is a 2014 romantic comedy film co-written, produced and directed by Tonie Marshall. The film stars Sophie Marceau and Patrick Bruel. Cast * Sophie Marceau as Judith Chabrier * Pa ...

'' (2014)

Notes

References

Bibliography

*''Jour après jour'', by Frédéric Quinonéro – 2008 *''Sylvie Vartan dans la lumière'', autobiography, Xo – 2007 *''Entre l'ombre et la lumière'', autobiography, Xo – 2004, *''Sylvie Vartan'', by Camilio Daccache and Isabelle Salmon, Vaderetro – 1996, *''Sylvie Vartan, une fille de l'Est'', by Eric Cazalot and Christian Cazalot, Express Prelude & Fugue – 2003, *''Sylvie Vartan, Revue de mode'', Paris-Musées – 2004, *''Dictionnaire des chansons de Sylvie Vartan'', by Benoît Cachin, Tournon – 2005,

External links

Official site
* *
Unofficial site

Season's greeting cards of Association Sylvie Vartan pour la Bulgarie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vartan, Sylvie Yé-yé singers French women pop singers Bulgarian women pop singers French film actresses 1944 births Living people Bulgarian-language singers English-language singers from Bulgaria English-language singers from France French-language singers of Bulgaria Officers of the Legion of Honour Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite RCA Victor artists Universal Music Group artists Bulgarian emigrants to France French expatriate actresses in the United States Bulgarian people of Armenian descent People from Svoge 20th-century French actresses 21st-century French actresses 20th-century French women singers 21st-century French women singers Bulgarian people of Hungarian descent Bulgarian people of Jewish descent