Childhood and youth
Edith's birth coincided with the beginning of the 1915 war. The father and mother were people of art, an actress and an acrobat, they could hardly feed their only child. Fate began to write the pages of the child’s biography from cruel moments. The father was taken to the front, the girl was sent to her drinking grandmother. The woman often calmed her granddaughter with a dose of alcohol mixed into the milk. When the father returned from the war, he saw that no one was caring for the girl, she was exhausted. The man sent the child to his mother.
Only in Normandy did Louis Gassion’s daughter, who was only three years old at that time, feel what it was like to be cared for by a loved one. It turned out that the girl was blind; her maternal grandmother did not notice the initial stage of the disease. Either the constant prayers of her grandmother, or the efforts of the doctors, restored Edith’s sight. The image of Saint Teresa was next to the future singer until her very last day.
The singer was blind since childhood
Since at first no one cared about the child, no one noticed that the girl was developing cataracts. For the first three years of her life, little Edith was completely blind.
As Simone Berto, a friend of the singer, writes in her book, a real miracle healed the girl. The grandmother once decided to take her granddaughter on a pilgrimage to Saint Therese in Lisieux. The girls from the brothel also went to the cathedral with them to pray for the girl and for themselves. They asked the saint that the girl would receive her sight on St. Louis - Edith's father's birthday. And the prayers helped: the girl regained her sight, and within the time “prescribed” by her grandmother. And the first thing the future artist could see were the piano keys.
Music
A grandmother and her granddaughter lived in a brothel. There is no exact information about who the elderly woman was and why such a dubious establishment was chosen as her place of residence. For this reason, the girl was not allowed to go to school, and when she turned 9 years old, she was sent to Paris, where her father lived. It was difficult for the man to feed eight children, brothers and sisters of the eldest of all Edith.
He took his daughter to work. The acrobat earned money by performing in street squares. The girl sang beautifully, she began to help her father, and together father and daughter began to earn more. Edith's biography began on the street. At the age of 14, she moved away from performing together and began singing separately. She saved money for housing. The teenage girl's rags didn't go well with her beautiful voice.
Career
One day Edith was noticed by a man who ran a cabaret.
The girl, one and a half meters tall, captivated everyone with her voice. Music made her face spiritual, then beauty filled the singer’s entire being. The cabaret, located on the Champs Elysees, invited the singer to its place. Owner Louis Leple gave the singer a nickname, with which she began performing on stage. Piaf means "little sparrow". The woman learned a lot, which made her work more professional. Edith learned to listen to the accompanist, dress beautifully, and behave correctly on stage. Louis was a tough and merciless teacher, but his little sparrow became a real star right away. Her recording on the radio instantly made the new singer famous. Someone shot Leple's patron, and everyone began to be suspected of murder; Piaf was no exception, so the public boycotted her and disrupted her concerts.
Recognition came to the singer again after she met songwriter Raymond Asso. Composer Margaret Monnot soon joined the duo. And when Edith Piaf performed at the ABC music hall, the entire press exploded with the news that a star had been born. After some time, the singer began acting in films, and during the war she actively gave concerts for French prisoners of war.
The war is over, Edith Piaf is touring America. The singer, who was in the hospital for several months, turned out to have liver cancer. Alcohol, drugs, and arthritis greatly undermined the poor health of the “little singing sparrow.” But the singer continued to sing, giving her fans her best songs. 1963 was the last year for the singer, she performed at the Lilla Opera House.
Facts from the life of Edith Piaf
The singer got her name in honor of nurse Edith Cavell, who was shot by the Germans in the First World War.
Louis Leple strictly ordered the singer to wear a black dress to concerts. Later, black dresses became the singer's trademark.
Edith found out about Marcel’s death on the day of the next concert, but found the strength to go on stage, declaring that she would sing for the sake of her beloved.
Upon learning of Edith's death, her friend and poet Jacques Cocteau quietly said: “I want to die next.” He passed away a few hours later.
Theo did everything to give the public the impression that Edith died in Paris. He believed that the singer, who personified France, should complete her journey in this city.
Edith Piaf's height is 1.47 m. Zodiac sign is Sagittarius. Birthday: December 19, 1915. Day of death - October 10, 1963 (Grasse, France).
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