View source for Isabelle Aubret

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{short description|French singer}}
{{BLP sources|date=August 2014}}
{{expand French|date=February 2024|topic=bio}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name             = Isabelle Aubret
| image            = Isabelle Aubret sur la tournée Âge Tendre.jpg
| alt              = A smiling woman with short blond hair faces a microphone. Her arms are flung wide open to either side.
| caption          = Aubret in 2017
| birth_name       = Thérèse Coquerelle
| alias            = 
| birth_date       = {{Birth date and age|1938|07|27|df=yes}}
| birth_place      = [[Lille]], France
| death_place      = 
| genre            = 
| occupation       = Singer
| years_active     = 1956–present
}}

'''Isabelle Aubret '''({{IPA|fr|izabɛl obʁɛ}}; born '''Thérèse Coquerelle'''; 27 July 1938) is a French singer best known for winning the [[Eurovision Song Contest 1962|Eurovision Song Contest in 1962]] with the song "[[Un premier amour]]".

==Early life==
Thérèse Coquerelle was born in [[Lille]], France, on 27 July 1938. She was the fifth of eleven children; her father was a foreman in a spinning mill, while her mother, of Ukrainian origin, was a housewife.<ref name="RFI">"[http://www.rfimusique.com/artiste/chanson/isabelle-aubret/biographie Isabelle Aubret Biography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160104224518/http://www.rfimusique.com/artiste/chanson/isabelle-aubret/biographie |date=4 January 2016 }}", RFI Musique. Retrieved 17 August 2014</ref> Coquerelle trained in gymnastics as a child, and in 1952 she won the national [[French Gymnastics Championships|French Gymnastics Championship]].<ref name="Thompson" /> That same year, she left school and was hired as a winder in the Lemaire-Destombes factory in Saint-André, where her father worked.{{Cite needed|date=September 2022}}  

A few years later, she returned to this spinning mill to sing in the theatre of her family house, as part of a radio program. She continued to take drama and classical dance classes. At the same time, she participated in local singing competitions. Her drama teacher introduced her to the director of a Lille radio station, and Coquerelle took the stage for the first time.{{Cite needed|date=September 2022}} She sang in ensembles, and in 1956, at the age of eighteen, she joined an orchestra in [[Le Havre]].<ref name="RFI" /> In 1960 she won a singing competition at the [[Olympia (Paris)|Olympia]], where she was noticed by the director of the room, [[Bruno Coquatrix]]. After Coquerelle secured a cabaret spot in [[Pigalle, Paris|Pigalle]], she released her debut single "Nous les Amoureux" in 1961 under the name Isabelle Aubret.<ref name="Thompson" />

== Career ==
[[File:Eurovisie Songfestival 1962 te Luxemburg, voor Frankrijk Isabella Aubret, Bestanddeelnr 913-6612.jpg|thumb|upright|Aubret at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1962|alt=A young woman with shoulder-length blond hair and a floral dress stands in front of a microphone. There are curtains and two decorative chandeliers in the background.]]
Aubret won the [[Eurovision Song Contest]] in 1962, representing France and singing "[[Un premier amour]]" ("A first love")<ref name="RFI" /><ref name="Thompson">Thompson, Dave "[http://www.allmusic.com/artist/isabelle-aubret-mn0000088051/biography Isabelle Aubret Biography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123214440/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/isabelle-aubret-mn0000088051/biography |date=23 January 2023 }}", [[Allmusic]]; retrieved 17 August 2014.</ref> with music composed by Claude-Henri Vic and lyrics by Roland Stéphane Valade. In 1963, she was approached by director [[Jacques Demy]] and musician [[Michel Legrand]] for the main role of the film ''[[Les parapluies de Cherbourg]]'', but Aubret was subsequently injured in a car accident when her car skidded on a bend. One person died and three were seriously injured, including pianist Serge Sentis. Aubret was hospitalized in [[Autun]], going through multiple operations and a long rehabilitation.{{Cite needed|date=September 2022}} In 1968, she returned to Eurovision and again represented France, this time singing "[[La source (song)|La source]]" ("The Spring/Fountain")<ref name="RFI" /><ref name="Thompson" /> with music by Daniel Faure and lyrics by Henri Dijan and [[Guy Bonnet]]. 

Aubret was a participant in the French national heats for Eurovision in other years. Her first attempt was in 1961 with the song "Le gars de n'importe où". She was awarded second place.<ref name="Thompson"/> Another runner-up spot came Aubret's way in 1970 when she teamed up with [[Daniel Beretta]] for the song "Olivier, Olivia". She was not as successful with her 1976 effort, "Je te connais déjà", which finished sixth out of seven songs in the second semi-final. Her final challenge for Eurovision came in 1983 with the patriotic "France, France", which took her to third place.<ref name="RFI"/><ref name="Thompson"/> 

Working with French composer [[Michel Colombier]], Aubret co-produced the song "C'est Ainsi Que Les Choses Arrivent" for [[Jean-Pierre Melville]]'s 1972 film ''[[Un flic|Un Flic]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Michel Colombier, Isabelle Aubret - Un Flic (Bande Originale Du Film)|url=https://www.discogs.com/Michel-Colombier-Isabelle-Aubret-Un-Flic-Bande-Originale-Du-Film/master/1206481|access-date=9 August 2020|website=Discogs|year=1972 |language=en}}</ref> In 1981, Aubret had another accident. She was rehearsing a flying trapeze number for the {{Interlanguage link|Union of Artists Gala|fr|Gala de l'Union des artistes}} with her partner, boxer [[Jean-Claude Bouttier]], when she fell and broke both legs. It took two years of rehabilitation for her to walk again.

In 2001, she celebrated her forty-year career by giving a series of concerts at [[Bobino]].

== Personal life ==
Aubret is married to Gérard Meys.

==Partial discography==
*''Isabelle Aubret'' (1969)
*''Liberté'' (1981)
*''Le monde chante'' (1984)
*''Vague à l'homme'' (1987)
*''1989'' (1989)
*''Vivre en flèche'' (1990)
*''In love'' (1991)
*''Coups de cœur'' (1992)
*''Isabelle Aubret chante Aragon'' (1992)
*''Isabelle Aubret chante Ferrat'' (1993)
*''C'est le bonheur'' (1993)
*''Isabelle Aubret chante Brel'' (1995)
*''Isabelle Aubret chante pour les petits et les grands'' (1997)
*''Changer le monde'' (1997)
*''Parisabelle'' (1999)
*''Le paradis des musiciens'' (2001)
*''Cosette et Jean Valjean'' (2002)
*''Les Indispensables'' (2005)
*''2006'' (2006)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commonscat}}
* [http://www.isabelle-aubret.com/ Official site] (in French)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060420094640/http://www.rfimusique.com/siteen/biographie/biographie_6230.asp Biography] from [[Radio France International]] (in English)

{{s-start}}
{{s-ach}}
{{succession box |
  before={{flagicon|Luxembourg}} [[Jean-Claude Pascal]]<br> with "[[Nous les amoureux]]" |
  title=[[List of Eurovision Song Contest winners|Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest]] |
  years=[[Eurovision Song Contest 1962|1962]] |
  after={{flagicon|Denmark}} [[Grethe Ingmann|Grethe]] and [[Jørgen Ingmann]]<br> with "[[Dansevise]]"}}
{{succession box |
  before=[[Jean-Paul Mauric]]<br> with "[[Printemps, avril carillonne]]" |
  title=[[France in the Eurovision Song Contest]] |
  years=[[Eurovision Song Contest 1962|1962]] |
  after=[[Alain Barrière]]<br> with "[[Elle était si jolie]]"}}
{{succession box |
  before=[[Noëlle Cordier]]<br> with "[[Il doit faire beau là-bas]]" |
  title=[[France in the Eurovision Song Contest]] |
  years=[[Eurovision Song Contest 1968|1968]] |
  after=[[Frida Boccara]]<br> with "[[Un jour, un enfant]]" |}}
{{s-end}}
{{List of Eurovision Song Contest winners}}
{{Eurovision Song Contest 1962|state=collapsed}}
{{Eurovision Song Contest 1968|state=collapsed}}
{{France in the Eurovision Song Contest|state=collapsed}}
{{Songs of Europe (Eurovision)|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aubret, Isabelle}}
[[Category:1938 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Musicians from Lille]]
[[Category:Eurovision Song Contest winners]]
[[Category:French women singers]]
[[Category:Philips Records artists]]