Yé-yé is one of the leading names in the musical style: Who is Sylvie Vartan?
She was born in France to a Bulgarian mother named Slavka and an Armenian father. Her father worked as an attache at the French embassy in Sofia. The family shortened the Vartanian name to Vartan.
Her mother, Ilona (née Mayer 1914–2007), the daughter of the well-known architect Rudolf Mayer, was of Hungarian-Jewish descent.
When the Soviet Army invaded Bulgaria in September 1944, the Vartanyan family's home was nationalized and they moved to Sofia. In 1952, film director Dako Dakovski, a friend of Sylvie's father, offered her the role of a schoolgirl in the film "Pod igoto", about Bulgarian rebels against the Ottoman occupation. Taking part in the movie made her dream of becoming an entertainer come true.
The difficulties of post-war Bulgaria caused the family to emigrate to Paris in December 1952. They first stayed at the Lion d'Argent Hotel near Les Halles, where Georges found work, then stayed in a single room at the Angleterre Hotel for the next four years. Young Sylvie had to work hard to fit in at school and blend in with her schoolmates. She spent two years learning French.
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 artists. Her performances often featured elaborate show-dance choreography, and she made many appearances on French and Italian TV.
In 1960, her family moved to an apartment on Michel Bizot Boulevard. Music became young Sylvie's main interest, thanks to the influence of her brother, music producer Eddie Vartan. The most influential musical genres on Vartan were jazz and, despite her strict high school, rock 'n' roll. Among her favorite artists were Brenda Lee, Bill Haley, and Elvis Presley.
What remains from Sylvie Vartan is her albums that have sold over 40 million copies, 1300 songs, 2000 magazine covers, 6 films, thousands of concerts in all corners of the world, as well as two books about her own life. Sylvie Vartan described her childhood in her first book titled "Between the Shadow and the Light".
The famous artist left Bulgaria with her family when she was seven years old and recorded her first song in Paris only 10 years later... In the book in question, she tells about her love with Johnny Hallyday and Darina, who make the relationship between Sofia and Paris unique. Darina is a Bulgarian girl adopted by the famous American film producer and director Tonny Scott. Her second novel, published in 2014, is titled "Word by Word" and tells the story of Sylvie, the daughter of an immigrant family, and her path to fame by adapting to the cultural environment of a country like France. In April of the same year, Sylvie Vartan gave a magnificent concert at the National Palace of Culture (NDK) in Sofia and promoted her album "Sylvie in Nashville". Founded in 1993, the "Sylvie Vartan for Bulgaria" Foundation still supports many initiatives in the field of child health in Bulgaria.
Sylvie Vartan shared the following about the last book titled "Mama":
“I had the good fortune of growing up in a very close-knit family. Later, when I had a child, I realized the role of my mother in my life. She was an extraordinary woman, generous, noble, elegant, very brave, but never defeated. She worked for us all her life and never once showed weakness. Dignity was her main characteristic. And my mother's love meant the world to us. “.
While telling about her family, Sylvie Vartan also reflects on her childhood in Bulgaria. She continues to talk about her strong ties with her grandfather, her childhood in the village of Totleben, and her feelings that this beautiful life will continue forever. “In my difficult moments, I remember my grandfather's garden,” she says. She also cannot help but mention that she owes her first acting experience to Bulgaria.
In summary
Sylvie Georges Vartanian, stage name Sylvie Vartan, is a French singer. She was born in 1944 in Iskretz, Bulgaria. Her father, Georges Vartanian, was a half-Armenian, half-Bulgarian diplomat. Her mother, Ilona Meyer, was a Hungarian Jew. She has a son named David Hallyday, born in 1966, with musician Johnny Hallyday (1943-2017), to whom she was married from 1965 to 1980. The artist, who married American music producer Tony Scotti in 1984, has another adopted child of Bulgarian origin named Darina.