French singer and model
Vanessa Paradis first hit the charts in 1987 at the tender age of 14. Her single "Joe le Taxi" spent 11 weeks at the top of the French charts, and proved an international success as well. She recorded two albums in Paris before traveling to New York in 1992 to record her self-titled English-language debut, with one-time boyfriend
Lenny Kravitz as producer. The album's "Be My Baby" was also a hit, but
Paradis' popularity waned a bit. Among the various film, television, and modeling engagements she was involved with (Chanel's Coco ad campaign for one),
Paradis found time to release
Live in 1994. More film and modelling work followed throughout the next several years, largely replacing her music career for a time. In early 2000 she returned to the music scene with the French-released
Bliss, followed by another live album,
Au Zénith, in 2001. After that, it was back to yet more film and modelling work (and quality time with the two-child family she built with actor
Johnny Depp).
Paradis returned to music once again in 2007 with the release of her fifth full-length album,
Divinidylle. The following few years saw the release of two live albums - Divinidylle Tour (2008) followed by Une nuit à Versailles (2010) - both of which available as CD/DVD packages. In the summer 2012,
Vanessa Paradis and
Johnny Depp seperated.
–
John Bush, Rovi