Mylène Farmer

Born in Pierrefonds, Quebec in 1961 to French parents, Mylène Jeanne Gautier relocated to Chaville near Paris and tried modelling and acting before the 1984 single "Maman a tort" launched her recording career. Her second album, Ainsi soit je... (1988), sold 1.5 million copies and gave her a first French chart-topper with "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces"; the third, L'autre..., moved two million and produced "Désenchantée", the song that became her calling card. She left synth-pop behind in 1995 with Anamorphosée, recorded in the States with live instrumentation and rock and R&B leanings, then swung back toward electronics on Innamoramento (1999) and later albums. In 2010 Bleu noir returned to the dark synth-pop of the early years; 2015 brought Interstellaires, led by "Stolen Car", a duet with Sting that hit number one. She also shaped the career of Alizée, co-writing "Moi... Lolita" and directing the image, and acted in Giorgino (1994) and Ghostland (2018). Her 2001 greatest hits collection, Les Mots, remains the highest-selling compilation by a French artist, and she is the only one to earn a diamond album in four consecutive decades.