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Suzanne SolidorFrench singer, actress.
Country:
 France |
Content:
Biography of Suzy Solidor
Suzy Solidor was a French singer, actress, model, and writer. She was born as Suzanne Roché in 1900 in Saint-Malo, France. She was the illegitimate daughter of lawyer and deputy Robert-Henri Surcouf, who was a descendant of the legendary corsair Robert Surcouf. Suzy's mother married Eugène Prudhomme-Roche in 1907, who adopted her and gave her the surname Roché. Suzy took the stage name Solidor from the name of a neighborhood in Saint-Servan, where her family lived for a time.
Early Career
After World War I, Solidor moved to Paris where she worked as a model for Jeanne Lanvin and performed in cabarets. She was known for her romantic relationships with notable figures such as antiquities collector Yvonne de Bremont d'Ar and aviator Jean Mermoz, a friend of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. From 1933 to 1946, she owned and performed at her own cabaret called "Parisian Life" on Rue Sainte-Anne in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. During the occupation, her cabaret was frequented by German officers, and Solidor became the first person in France to perform the popular song "Lili Marlene." However, after the war, she was banned from performing for five years due to her collaboration with the enemy.
Later Life and Legacy
In 1952, Solidor opened a café called "Chez Suzy Solidor" on Rue Balzac in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. In the early 1960s, she moved to the town of Cannes-sur-Mer in the French Alps where she opened an antique shop and a cabaret, where she continued to perform until 1967. Solidor never married and was known to be a lesbian.
Solidor became one of the iconic figures of Paris in the 1920s and 1930s and was a favorite subject for many artists and sculptors, including Georges Braque, Francis Bacon, and Pablo Picasso. In 1973, she donated forty of her portraits to the town of Cannes-sur-Mer, where they are now displayed in the local museum and castle, Château Grimaldi. Solidor also wrote several novels in the 1930s and 1940s.
A documentary film about her life, "La Merveilleuse Vie de Suzy Solidor" (The Strange Fate of Suzy Solidor), was made by Alain Gallet, and her songs continue to be reissued on record to this day.
