We Love Her, Ye Ye Ye

Of all of the famed "Ye-Ye Girls" of 1960's French pop, none rocked harder than Sylvie Vartan. Where Francoise Hardy was cool and detached, and France Gall cheerful and accessible, Sylvie was dirty and low-down. No girlish chirping or cooing; Sylvie growled out French language versions of Ray Charles and The Ikettes, and made it sound completely plausible.

When she made her debut in 1961, Sylvie came across rather like a young Joey Heatherton -- brash sexuality barely concealed by her prim blouses and below-the-knee skirts. But her knowing smirk and come-hither stare conveyed to all and sundry that she was a good girl willing to go bad.

In 1965, Sylvie married fellow French rocker Johnny Hallyday, and the couple became Pop Royalty of the highest order. We applaud her courage in marrying someone with an equal, if not greater, penchant for smoldering gazes, blond highlights and pouty posturing.



Surviving two serious car accidents (the second of which required extensive reconstructive cosmetic surgery), Sylvie continued her success into the 1970's. Her material veered more towards the mainstream at this point, encompassing bubblegum pop and cabaret-style ballads.



In need of a career rejuvenation, Sylvie embraced the disco craze with characteristic elan and glamour. Her disco diva phase even resulted in a brief vogue in America, culminating in a highly-touted stint at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas before a star-studded audience. Sylvie wowed the crowd with her renditions of Donna Summer, Laura Branigan and Diana Ross hits, as well as her own material, and showed off her remarkable figure in a variety of Dietrich-esque gowns and costumes.



Vartan and Hallyday divorced in 1980; Sylvie continued to perform, but at a less frenetic pace, for the remainder of the decade and the 1990's. She briefly retired from public view after the 2001 shooting death of her brother, but returned to performing in 2004, looking as glamorous as ever.


Oh, and as if Sylvie and her colorful life and career weren't fabulous enough already, she's also aunt to this:


MICHAEL VARTAN