La vie d‘Édith Piaf adapted from with information from

Early life Édith Piaf was born Édith Giovanna Gassion in Paris on 19 December Her mother, Anetta Maillard, an Italian café singer, abandoned her at the age of two months. Her father, a travelling acrobat, placed her in the care of her grandmother.

Early Life Her grandmother was the owner of a low-class brothel in Normandy. Édith Piaf stayed there until she was seven. She was completely blind from ages 3-7, and she claimed to have been miraculously cured when the prostitutes prayed for her on a religious pilgrimage.

Childhood At the age of seven she began travelling from town to town with her father, singing as part of his show. At the age of fifteen, she took a job as a servant, to free herself from her father's authority. She quickly left this job to return to singing.

Early career Initially she was singing as part of a duo with Simone Bertéaut. The two girls entertained people on the streets and in military camps.

Early career In one of these military camps, the sixteen- year-old Édith met a young soldier, Louis Dupont. He fell in love with her. In 1932 Édith became pregnant.

Édith’s daughter Louis was transferred before the baby was born. They had a daughter, Cécelle, but she died of meningitis in 1935 before she was two years old.

Édith moves on While she was performing, she was spotted by impresario Louis Leplée. He booked her to sing at Gerny's club.

Édith’s career takes off Leplée became her mentor and presented her as ‘La Môme Piaf' (Parisian slang for ‘The Kid Sparrow‘- she was tiny, as she stood only 4’8”) She was wearing a plain black dress which was to become her trademark. In early 1936, however, Leplée was murdered.

The 1940’s As the war began, Édith was earning her living singing for a Night Club. In 1946 Édith met boxer Marcel Cerdan in Paris. They never married, but she said he was the love of her life.

Édith et Marcel When she made her first trip to America, she encouraged Cerdan to come and fight in Washington, where she was staying. He did so and beat George Abrams. He became a national hero.

Tragedy strikes again… Marcel was killed in a plane crash in photo.html

… and again In 1951 Piaf was involved in a car crash along with Charles Aznavour, a famous French singer. Breaking an arm and two ribs in this accident lead to a lifelong morphine and alcohol addiction.

The aftermath Piaf was world famous, but a wreck. Piaf married singer Jacques Pills in They divorced in 1956.

Love life In 1962, Piaf married singer/actor Theo Sarapo, who was twenty years her junior. They stayed married until Piaf's death h jpg

Death of a legend Piaf died of liver cancer, on the French Riviera, on 10 October 1963.

Death of a legend She is buried in Paris, in Père Lachaise cemetery.

La Vie en Rose In 2007, a biopic about Piaf’s life was released. It was named after her most famous song. The actress who played Piaf, Marion Cotillard, won the Best Actress Oscar in 2008 for her portrayal of the singer.