Background and career
Vanessa Chantal Paradis (French pronunciation: [vanɛsa ʃɑ̃tal paʁadi]; born 22 December 1972) is a French singer, model, and actress. Paradis first achieved acclaim at the age of 14 with the international success of her single "Joe le taxi" (1987). At age 18, she was awarded France's highest honours as both a singer and an actress with the Prix Romy Schneider and the César Award for Most Promising Actress for Jean-Claude Brisseau's Noce Blanche, as well as the Victoires de la Musique for Best Female Singer for her album Variations sur le même t'aime.
Her most notable films also include Élisa (1995) alongside Gérard Depardieu, Witch Way Love (1997) opposite Jean Reno, Une chance sur deux (1998) co-starring with Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon, Girl on the Bridge (1999), Heartbreaker (2010) and Café de Flore (2011). Her tribute to Jeanne Moreau at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival during which they sang in duet "Le Tourbillon" became notable in French popular culture. In 2022, she was nominated for the Molière Award for Best Actress for her performance in the play Maman.
Her music has been cited as a source of inspiration for musicians and lyricists including Étienne Roda-Gil (1988), Serge Gainsbourg (1990), Lenny Kravitz (1992), Matthieu Chedid (2007), Benjamin Biolay (2013), Samuel Benchetrit and The Bees (2018). As a model, Paradis has appeared on more than 300 magazine covers worldwide including Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Madame Figaro, Paris Match, Vanity Fair, Glamour, Premiere, and Marie Claire. Since 1991, she has been a spokesmodel for Chanel chosen by Karl Lagerfeld starting with the birdcage commercial "L'Esprit de Chanel" directed by Jean-Paul Goude. Paradis was made Officier (Officer) in the Order of Arts and Letters in 2011 and was named Chevalier (Knight) in the Legion of Honour in 2015.
