Sylvie Vartan's Amazing Career from Ye-Ye to the Present

In the 1960s, Sylvie Vartan got into music in quite an accidental way. Her brother, Eddie, was a producer for RCA-France. Eddie asked her to fill in on a duet that rocker Frankie Jordan was trying to make called "Out of Gas," or "Panne d'essence" in French. Put on the B side of Jordan's single with no credit to Sylvie, it nevertheless became a hit in 1961 and Sylvie was soon known in the press as the "school girl twister." RCA thought her incredible cuteness was worth a contract and signed her up. Sylvie was immediately on her way to becoming France's top yé-yé girl. This was the beginning of a career that would lead Sylvie down many road.

In the 60s, Sylvie covered Ray Charles' "What'd I say?" She covered "The Locomotion". Paul Anka wrote a song for Sylvie, called "I'm Watching You", which they performed together. When the Beatles performed at Paris' famed Olympia Theatre, Sylvie was on the bill and the Beatles were a little upset that she was a bigger hit with the audience than they were.

Sylvie met French rocker, Johnny Hallyday, in 1962. Johnny Hallyday told Sylvie's brother that he had a crush on her, not knowing that she was Eddie's sister. Sylvie had a boyfriend and was not immediately smitten with the French Elvis, as Johnny was often called. A courtship followed and in 1965, the couple married. Despite the fact that she already had a huge fan base when they met, Sylvie became the target of remarks that she was only famous because she was married to Johnny. Sylvie and Johnny became known as France's Golden Couple of Rock throughout the 60s, and were known individually as the King of Rock and The Queen of Yé-Yés.

Sylvie and Johnny performed together many times during their heyday. At the same time, like any other famous couple, they were the subject of tabloid gossip and divorce rumors many times throughout their long marriage, which finally did end in 1980. They had one son, David Hallyday, who is a musician himself today. Sylvie Vartan and Johnny Hallyday have maintained an amicable relationship, despite their divorce.

In addition to being the cutest yé-yé girl, Sylvie was also the most prolific. Sylvie Vartan put her God-given talent for language to good use and recorded an amazing number of French, Italian, Spanish and German songs, both in the original language and in French. In January 67, she was voted top singer in Spain in 1967, and also went straight to the top of the Italian charts with the Italian version of her French hit, "2 minutes 35 de bonheur". She sang duets with both men and woman, including French songstress, Francoise Hardy, and British star, Petula Clark, who was fluent in French.

Returning to France from a tour of South America in 1968, Sylvie was in a car accident. Her friend who was a passenger died, and Sylvie sank into a deep depression. With the support of friends and family, she pulled herself back together and went forward with her career, beginning now to change herself from yé-yé girl to a sexy and mature showwoman.

Tragedy struck again in 1970, when both Sylvie and Johnny were in a serious car accident. Sylvie was covered with blood and Johnny Hallyday initially thought the worst. Her extensive injuries required extensive plastic surgery and she was sent to the United States. Despite this second horrible setback, Sylvie Vartan showed once again that she was dedicated to her art. In New York City, she met Barbara Streisand's dancemaster, JoJo Smith, who masterminded her future stage shows.

Sylvie married Italian-American producer, Tony Scotti, in 1984. Tony starred in the 1967 movie, "Valley of the Dolls", as Sharon Tate's love interest, and went into the producing end o fthe business sometime after that. He met Sylvie Vartan in 1981, and they became constant companions. That same year, Sylvie performed at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas back by famous American dancer and singer, Gene Kelly. Now dividing her time between Paris and Los Angeles, the stunning performer also published "Beauty Book", sharing her beauty secrets with her fans, who believe that Sylvie only grows more beautiful with time.

Sylvie was actually born in Iskretz, Bulgaria on August 15, 1944, and arrived in France when she was 10 years old. One of her hits songs, called "la Maritza", was about her homeland. In October of 1990, Sylvie Vartan returned to her native country where she performed "la Maritza" in Sofia, with the audience singing along.

When Sylvie's ex-husband Johnny Hallyday celebrated his 50^th birthday with a concert at the Parc des Princes on June 15, 1993, Sylvie appeared to sing "Tes tendres années" to Johnny, to the delight of the 60.000 fans in attendance.

Throughout the 1990s, Sylvie continued to release albums, to perform in concert and also began to pursue a career in acting. Her performance in the film "L'Ange Noire" received fine reviews.

Sylvie also recorded two children's albums, and in 1998, Sylvie Vartan and husband, Tony Scotti, adopted a young Bulgarian girl, Darina. Also in 1998, Sylvie was awarded the ""Legion d'honneur" in recognition of her long and amazing career.

Sadly, in June of 2001, Sylvie lost her beloved brother, Eddie, just as she was beginning work on a new television drama drama entitled "Mausolée pour une garce".

Sylvie Vartan's list of accomplishments continue: in 2004, she published her autobiography, "Entre ombre et lumière" ("In Between the Shadows and the Light"), in which Sylvie shows us her world from her childhood in Bulgaria, talks frankly about her marriage to Johnny Hallday, the birth of her son, David Hallyday, and brings us into her current life with Tony Scotti and their daughter, Darina. She released a new album, entitled "Sylvie".

On March 15, 2005, Sylvie Vartan was appointed The World Health Organization's (WHO) Goodwill Ambassador for Maternal and Child Health in the European Region. She also heads up the Sylvie Vartan Foundation for Bulgaria, which helps Bulgarian children with in difficulty.