http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapha%C3%ABl_Haroche

Raphaël Haroche (born 7 November 1975), professionally known under his mononym Raphaël, is a French singer–songwriter and actor.

Contents [show] Personal and media life[edit] Raphaël was born as Raphaël Haroche on 7 November 1975 in Paris, France, and was raised in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine. Through his father he is of Moroccan Jewish and Russian descent and his mother is Argentinian.[1][2] During his childhood and his adolescence, his idols were David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Téléphone, and Barbara. Raphaël played the piano and the guitar, and did not like school.[3]

In June 2007, Raphaël placed ninth on the French Elle magazine "15 Sexiest Man" list.[4] He has been in a relationship with actress Mélanie Thierry, who appeared in the music video for his single "Caravan". On 24 May 2008, Thierry gave birth to the couple's first child, Roman.[5][6]

His uncle is Serge Haroche, 2012 Nobel Physics Prize laureate.

Musical career[edit] In 2000, Raphaël released his first album Hôtel de l'univers (the title is a tribute to Arthur Rimbaud), but it was not until three years later that he enjoyed his first mainstream success with the song Sur la Route, a duo with famous French singer Jean-Louis Aubert, included in his second album La Réalité. With this album, he chose folk music.

In 2005, Raphaël released his third album, Caravane, to huge critical acclaim and commercial success. He received three Music's Victories in 2006.

In September 2006, Raphaël released the double live album Résistance à la nuit featuring songs from his first three albums as well as a nod to Íngrid Betancourt in the form of the songs La petite chanson and Ceci n'est pas un adieu.

At the beginning of 2007, Raphaël became a member of the supergroup Les Aventuriers d'un autre Monde with Jean-Louis Aubert, Alain Bashung, Cali, Daniel Darc, and Richard Kolinka.

In February 2007, Raphaël released his live acoustic album Une nuit au Châtelet which is partly a tribute to French singers such as Bernard Lavilliers, Gérard Manset, and Serge Gainsbourg. Amongst the many musicians working on this project was ex-David Bowie pianist Mike Garson.

Raphaël's fourth studio album, Je sais que la terre est plate was released on 17 March 2008. This album featured the song Haïti, a collaboration with the Jamaican group Toots & the Maytals.

On 27 September 2010, Raphaël released his fifth studio album, Pacific 231.

Other work[edit] In 1999, Raphaël made a brief appearance in the comedy film Peut-être (French: Maybe), directed by Cédric Klapisch. He would subsequently had small roles in The Dancer (2000) and the television film Les grand gamins. In 2010, Raphaël portrayed the character of Louis in Ces amours-là, directed by Claude Lelouch.[7] The film was premiered in France on 15 September 2011.[8]

• Reference: Biographical Summaries of Notable People - SmartCopy: Dec 27 2018, 17:49:48 UTC