Edith Piaf

EDITH PIAF d1963. French singer noted as France's national chanteuse and one of the country's most widely known international stars. Her music was often autobiographical and she specialized in chanson and torch ballads about love, loss and sorrow. Her most widely known songs include ; "La Vie en Rose" (1946) / "Padam Padam" (1951) / "Non. Je ne Regrette Rien" (1960) / "Hymne a Lamour" (1949) / "Milord" (1959) and "La Foule" (1957). In later life her health severely declined after years of alcohol abuse, alongside copious amounts of medications, initially for arthritic pains and later insomnia. A series of car accidents only exacerbated her addictions and she eventually underwent a series of surgeries for a stomach ulcer in 1959. By 1962, she had lost a significant amount of weight. She died of liver failure aged just 47 at her villa on the French Riviera on October 10th 1963. Her last words ; "Every damn thing you do in this life, you have to pay for ...." Since her death, she has become one of the most celebrated performers of the 20th century