Barbara (1930-1997)

Barbara

SINGER (FRANCE)

BORN 9 Jun 1930, Paris - DIED 24 Nov 1997, Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine: Hôpital Americain
BIRTH NAME Serf, Monique
GRAVE LOCATION Bagneux, Hauts-de-Seine: Cimetière Parisien de Bagneux, 45 Avenue Marx Dormoy (division 04, 3 NOR, nr 10)

Barbara was born in a Jewish family and had to go into hiding during the Second World War. After the war she attended the École Supérieure de Musique. After her father left the family she lived in Brussels from 1950 to 1952. After her return to Paris she met Jacques Brel who became a friend for life. In the 1950s she sang in clubs and she recorded her first single in Brussels in 1957. She had married the Belgian law student Claude John Luc Sluys in 1953, but they divorced in 1956.

Her performance in a long black robe in 1961 at the Bobino Music-Hall in Montparnasse made her better known to the public. After recording material that she had written herself her career really took off in 1964.

In 1970 she debuted as an actress in the play "Madame". It was a commercial failure, but in 1971 she appeared next to Brel in "Franz" and in 1973 she starred in "L'Oiseau rare". Her last movie appearance was in "Je suis né à Venise" (1975).

During the 1970s she appeared on many television shows and in the 1980s she was active against AIDS. In 1996 she recorded a new album that was a huge success but she died in 1997.

Images
The grave of Barbara at the Cimetière Parisien, Bagneux. Picture by Androom (03 Nov 2017)	The grave of Barbara at the Cimetière Parisien, Bagneux. Picture by Androom (03 Nov 2017)