Vanessa Paradis is a French singer and actress from Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, France. Born in 1972, she is known for work across chanson française, pop, pop rock, pop soul and sophisti-pop, and she is also associated with Les Enfoirés.

Music career

Paradis is discovered on the television programme L'École des fans in 1980. She records her first single, La Magie des surprises-parties, in 1985. Although that release does not become a hit, it leads to the single that makes her internationally known: Joe le taxi, released in 1987 when she is still 14. The song spends 11 weeks at number one in France and reaches number 3 in the United Kingdom the following year, which is unusual for a French-language recording.

Joe le taxi comes from her first album, M&J (short for Marilyn & John). The album reaches number 13 in France, but does not chart in the UK. In 1992, she works in the United States with musician Lenny Kravitz, who also writes and produces her self-titled album, Vanessa Paradis. By then she is fluent in English and records the album in that language. It tops the French chart and reaches number 45 in the UK.

One single from that album, Be My Baby, reaches number 5 in France and number 6 in the UK. Her later album Divinidylle is issued in multiple editions, including regular, limited and Christmas versions. A tour in support of the album begins in October, and recordings from some concerts are issued as a DVD/CD. She also wins two Victoires de la Musique awards for the album.

Film work and awards

Paradis also appears in several films. Her best-known screen roles include Noce Blanche, for which she wins the César Award for Most Promising Actress in 1990, La fille sur le pont (also known as Girl on the Bridge), which becomes an arthouse box-office success in the United States, and Mon Ange. Her film DVD release La Clef is also noted among her screen work.

Personal life

She has been in a relationship with American actor Johnny Depp since 1998. They have two children: a daughter, Lily-Rose Melody Depp, born in 1999, and a son, John Christopher “Jack” Depp III, born in 2002.

Later projects

Her planned work includes a greatest-hits collection that contains the commercial jingle I love Paris in the Springtime, and film projects including The Midwife Crisis and Un monstre à Paris.