CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE
Mylène Gautier was born in Pierrefonds (borough of Montréal) on September 12, 1961 at 5:17 a.m. Her father, Max Gautier, was a road engineer and worked on the construction of the Manicouagan dam. He was the youngest of four children. His mother, Marguerite Martin, took care of their children. Mylène grew up in a quiet environment with her brothers and sisters: Brigitte, two years older than her, Jean Loup, her brother, born in 1960, and Michel, her second brother, born in 1969. She likes to say that she has few childhood memories, apart from the whiteness of the snow and maple syrup.
Mylène loved animals from an early age and wanted to become a veterinarian. Mylène was a distant student at school.
Mylène and her family emigrated to France in the early 70s. They settled in Ville d'Avray, Paris. Mylène was very unhappy with the transplant. It marked her life forever. The suburbs replaced a more convivial Canadian world.
Mylène often goes to the Garches hospital to visit sick children.
At the age of ten, Mylène won a singing competition. Her prize: a book, "The White Rabbit".
She was passionate about animals and enrolled in riding lessons at the Cadre Noir in Saumur. After two days in a literary final year class, she obtained her baccalaureate at the age of eighteen.
THE BEGINNINGS (1982-1985)
- Mylène decides to pursue an artistic career.
She began her career in theater. She enrolled at the Cours Florent, then continued to study with actor Daniel Mesguish. She played, among other things, the role of Zezette in "Le Pere Noel est une ordure", a play staged at the Cours Florent by her friend Thierry Lhermitte.
A few odd jobs earned her some pocket money. She was an assistant to a dentist, then to a doctor. She tried her hand at advertising and modeling. She first appeared in the press with an advertisement for Ikea furniture. Then, she appeared on television in various spots, including those for Fiskars scissors and Le Chat laundry soap, and Loto. She also immersed herself in the poetry of Baudelaire and Edgar Allan Poe.
It was at this time that she met Laurent Boutonnat. He would be a crucial element in her future.
After a casting by Laurent Boutonnat, Jérôme Dahan, Mylène made her singing debut in 1984. She recorded "Maman a Tort", a sour nursery rhyme, and signed with RCA. In memory of the American actress Frances Farmer, she chose Mylene Farmer as her stage name. Bertrand Le Page was her manager and the song was a huge success, with over 100,000 copies sold and numerous radio broadcasts. The English version of "My mum is wrong" was released for export, but it was not successful.
Mylène Farmer released two singles in 1985. "On est tous les imbéciles" was a failure, and RCA did not renew the singer's contract. Mylène signed with Polydor in 1985 and released a new single, Grandir. Success was there with a breathtaking video clip and a budget of 330,000 francs (around 50,000 euros), but sales were disappointing.
THE ASHES OF THE MOON YEARS (1986-1987)
It was in 1986 that real success finally arrived. "Libertine" was her first single to reach the French Top 50. It was also Mylène's first certification with a silver disc. Mylène Farmer's physical transformation allowed her to become a redhead, which gave her a unique appearance that distinguished her from other singers. It was also the music video for "Libertine", directed by Laurent Boutonnat.This short film will revolutionize French music videos and establish the Farmer / Boutonnat brand.
1987 saw the reissue of "Cendres de lune", which contained the previously unreleased "Tristana".
THE YEARS ARE SO I... AND TOUR 89 (1987 - 1990)
In October, "Sans contrefacon" is the song that announces the release of the second album. Mylène Farmer is a success and a gay icon.
In 1988, the album "Ainsi soit je...?" was released. It was released after "Sans contrefacon", "...
"Ainsi soit je..." is the first diamond album awarded to a French singer (with more than 1,400,000 copies sold). Laurent Boutonnat's music videos are always made with the greatest care. The video for "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces", "Libertine II", lasts more than 17 minutes and is a huge success. It sells more than 10,000 copies per day in December 1988.
In November, Mylene received the Victoire de la Musique award for female artist of the year.
Mylene Farmer was the first person to go on stage in May 1989. The "Tour 89" attracted more than 300,000,000 spectators in France, Belgium, Switzerland, and France. It ended in December with two dates at the Palais Omnisport De Paris Bercy.
Mylène will release a single during her tour including two new tracks: "A quoi Je sers" and "La veuve Noire".
"In Concert", which immortalized the tour, was released on December 6, 1989. Allan is the first single from the live album. Plus Grandir is the second.
After a long editing process, the video was presented in November 1990.
THE OTHER YEARS...AND THE DANCE REMIXES (1991 - 1993)
After a few months of promotion and rest for the album "Ainsi soit Je ..." in Europe, Mylène Farmer released the single "Désenchantée" on March 18, 1991. It was a huge success, with more than 800,000 sales. It also remained at the top of the charts for nine consecutive weeks.
On April 8, 1991, his third album "L'autre..." was released. It was certified diamond and exceeded 2 million copies sold in France.
After four singles ("Désenchantée", "Regrets" in duet with Jean-Louis Murat, "Je t'aime mélancolie", and "Beyond My Control"), Mylène Farmer asked Luc Besson for her video clip "Que mon cœur lâche", an unreleased title announcing her first compilation, a compilation of remixes called "Dance Remixes", which was released on November 23, 1993.
1993: Mylène receives the World Music Awards Monte Carlo for best-selling record by a French artist.
THE GIORGINO YEARS (1993 - 1994)
A few months later, Mylène Farmer began filming her first feature film, Giorgino, under the direction of Laurent Boutonnat. The film was released in theaters on October 5, 1994.
The meeting is neither critical nor public. The Farmer-Boutonnat duo experiences its first failure.
THE ANAMORPHIC YEARS & 1996 TOUR (1995 - 1998)
Mylène Farmer takes a break to think and records her fourth album in California. She changes her image and discovers herself. "Anamorphosée", released on October 17, 1995, is an unexpected album that presents a more rock sound and highlights a more feminine and sexy image of the singer.
It contains several singles: "XXL", the hymn to love, "L'Instant X", and "California", which announces his second French tour, "Tour 1996" with three sold-out dates at Paris-Bercy), as well as "Comme j'ai mal" and "Rever". Each single is a success, both in sales and on the radio, and contributes to establishing the popularity of the new album which has sold more than a million copies.It was only with "Rever", at the beginning of 1997, that he reached the top of the French charts.
"Anamorphosée" is the most exported French album of 1996.
The album "Live a Bercy" was released on May 20, 1997. It sold nearly 900,000 copies! It is the first French live album. Mylène Farmer sings a duet with Khaled, a cover of Michel Polnareff's "La poupee qu'non".
THE INNAMORAMENTO & MYLENIUM TOUR YEARS (1999 - 2000)
Laurent Boutonnat and Mylène Farmer record their new album in the United States. This fifth studio album, "Innamoramento", is released on April 7, 1999. It contains many surprises.
- Mylène composed the music for several songs.
A new Mylène Farmer is back, brighter than ever, in the images taken by Ching Siu Tung to promote her new single "L'AmeStram-Gram".
This is the first time a new single has been released with a scandal since "Beyond my Control". The video clip "Je te rends àn amour" was indeed censored. Mylène decided to release the video on VHS and the profits will go directly to Sidaction.
The album will also include three singles, "Souviens-toi de jour", "Optimistique-moi" and "Innamoramento". This will allow it to sell more than a million copies in France and become a diamond album.
The "Mylenium Tour" begins simultaneously. It includes several dates at Bercy (again sold out) and a tour across France. Three dates in Russia are also planned for the first time.
Mylène Farmer sponsors a young artist in June 2000. Alizée came to sing "Moi.... Lolita", which was a huge success all over the world. Many singles come out of the album "Gourmandises", written by Mylène Farmer and whose music is composed by Laurent Boutonnat.
- Alizée was the revelation of the year 2000 when she received her first prize at the M6 Awards in December 2000.
After a long wait, the Mylenium Tour finally came out on December 5, 2000.
The long-awaited “Dessinemoi un mouton” will be the first (and only) live single.
Mylène Farmer released the single "L'histoire d'une fee, c'est" on February 7, 2001. It's a song that we discovered on the soundtrack of the animated film "Rugrats in Paris", which was a first for her.
THE YEARS OF WORDS, LISA-LOUP AND REMIXES (2001 - 2003)
On November 13, "Les Mots" was finally released. It was sung as a duet by Seal, a talented British singer who reached the top of the charts in 1991.
Fans have been eagerly awaiting the release of this new album, "Les mots", which includes 3 new songs: "C'est une belle journée", & "Pardonne moi" which will all be released as singles.
The best of is a triumph, with a new diamond album, and around 1.6 million copies sold.
Mylène was once again nominated for the NRJ Music Awards. She won the award for best French-speaking female artist in 2003 for the fourth consecutive year.
Laurent Boutonnat and Mylène Farmer produced "Mes courant électriques", Alizee's second album in 2003. It was also her first tour.
"Lisa-Loup and the Storyteller", a story of philosophy written and illustrated by Mylène, will be released in bookstores on April 23.
The album "RemixeS", consisting of unreleased remixes by world-renowned artists, was released on December 3, 2003.
THE YEARS BEFORE THE SHADOW... (2005 - 2007)
To discover Before the shadow..., the sixth studio album, will have to wait until April 4, 2005. From which will be extracted "Fuck them all", "QI", "Redonne-moi", "L'Amour n'est rien...", "Peut-etre ài" and "Fuck them all". Despite the crisis of the record market, it will sell more than 500,000 copies throughout France. "Avant que l'ombre..." will be certified triple platinum.
Mylène gave thirteen concerts at Bercy in January 2006. The concerts were sold out for several weeks. The show "Avant que l'ombre...a Bercy" was immortalized on CD and DVD, which were released in December 2006. "Avant que l'ombre...a Bercy" was the best-selling music DVD in France, with over 400,000 sales.
Mylène had just proposed a duet with Moby, "Slipping away (Crier la vie),". It was a real success (number one in single sales, gold single for 200,000 copies), which no single from "Avant que l'ombre ..." had ever managed to achieve.
- Mylène Farmer's biggest hit in Russia is "L'Amour n'est rien...", which was one of the most listened to songs in 2006 by radio stations.
Finally, Luc Besson's film "Arthur and the Invisibles" was released on December 13. Mylène plays Princess Selenia in the French version. She will receive the "NRJ Cine Award 2007" for best dubbing.
2007 was a year without sound. Fans could console themselves with the release of "Giorgino" on video in December.
STITCH YEARS & TOUR 2009 (2008 - 2010)
In 2008, Mylène claimed that her new single "Degeneration", released in June, was "Faut qu'ca bouge" and that it moves! Tickets for the two concerts at the Stade de France, on September 11 and 12, 2009, sold out in three hours. This is a record. The 100,000 tickets were sold in one day after tickets went on sale a few days later.
Available for download from June 19, 2008, "Degeneration" ranks number 1 and sets a new download record in France (over such a short period).
When the physical media was released on August 20, "Degeneration" went straight to number one in sales with the best start of a year.
The album "Point de Suture", with a pop-electro sound, was released as a digital download on August 20 and in stores on August 25. This is the first time that Mylène has been able to rank an album at the top of both the physical and digital sales charts. "Point de Suture", a triple platinum album in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Russia, will be certified. All the singles from the album ("Dégénération", "Appelle mon numéro", "Sextonik") reached number one on the French singles chart, making Mylène the artist or group with the most singles in pole position since the creation of this chart in 1984.
Mylène also wrote the lyrics for the song "Drole de Creepie", with music by Laurent Boutonnat. This song was used in the opening credits of the French version of the cartoon "Growing Up Creepie". It is performed by Lisa, who is Mylène's niece.
The indoor concerts of the "Tour 2009" began in May 2009. There were 29 dates in France, two in Russia, St. Petersburg and Moscow. Mylène performed for the first time in stadiums in September. She did so on September 4 and 5 (her 48th birthday), at the Stade de Genève, and on the 11 and 12 (her birthday) at the Stade de France. On the 19th, it was at the Stade Roi Baudouin, in Brussels. The "Tour 2009" attracted more than 560,000 people.
The live album "Ndeg5 on Tour" which captures the indoor concerts of the "Tour 2009", is now available.It will be available on December 7, 2009. It is a double platinum album in France, which has been at the top of the sales charts since its release.
On December 2, the film "Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard" was released, in which the singer lends her voice to the character of Princess Selenia.
- The DVD "Mylène Farmer Stade de France" was released on April 12, 2010. The concert film had been screened in 19 movie theaters in France, including the Grand Rex in Paris, the day before.
"Mylène Farmers Stade de France", a Diamond DVD, was certified in less than a week and sold more than 250,000 copies.
THE BLUE YEARS & 2001.2011 (2010-2011)
Mylène lent her voice to Sélénia again on October 13, during the release of "Arthur and the War of the Two Worlds", the third and final part of Luc Besson's Arthur trilogy.
Mylène made a spectacular comeback at the end of 2010
A new single, "Yes but... RedOne released No, a new single composed and produced by RedOne on September 29. He also announced a new album without Laurent Boutonnat.
Mylène added Moby, RedOne and the group Archive to "Bleu noir", her eighth studio album.
While "Yes but... No" was a hit, and "Yes but... Bleu Noir" was also a hit abroad, achieving a platinum disc for Russia and Belgium and a gold disc for Switzerland.
In 2011, Mylène released two new singles from the album with "Bleu Noir" (and a film directed by Olivier Dahan) "Lonely Lisa" illustrated magnificently by Roy Raz. This video will reach the first place in the French singles ranking.
Mylène, in a wedding dress called "Libertine Swan", created a buzz on July 6 by parading with Jean-Paul Gaultier.
The new single 'Du Temps' from the singer's second best-seller, '2001.2011' was released on radios and legal download platforms on November 2nd,
Laurent Boutonnat returns for the music and the direction of the clip. He had not directed a video for Mylène in 2002 since "Pardonne-moi".
"2001.2011" will be available in stores and for download on December 5th. It is accompanied by a selection of three CDs, including "Les mots" (2001.2011) and "2001.2011".
On January 28, 2012, Mylène received a Diamond Award for her entire career at the "NRJ Music Awards". This is the first time that such a trophy has been given to an artist since the creation of the ceremony.
MONKEY ME and TIMELESS YEARS 2013 (2012-2014)
A press release was sent to the media on September 27, 2012. It announced Mylène's return with concerts, "Timeless 2013", (Mylène is shown with "platinum blonde" hair in the poster photo). The concerts are scheduled from September to December 2013, as well as a new record.
The ticket office opened on October 4, and the demand for concert tickets was huge. Within 24 hours, 200,000 tickets were sold, and 300,000 within two months.
The new single "A L'ombre" was released on radios on October 22. It is also available for legal download. The music video, directed by Laurent Boutonnat, will be broadcast exclusively by TF1 on December 1.
The album "Monkey Me", available on December 3, marks the return of Laurent Boutonnat, who composed all the music. The album is certified Triple Platinum in France after selling more than 385,000 copies.
Two other singles will be taken from the album "Monkey Me", 2013."Je Te Dis Tout" was released on March 4, 2013, and "Monkey Me" was released on October 7, 2013. (Note that Mylène offered, for the first time in her career, a competition to cover the single).
Between September 7 and December 6, more than 500,000 people will attend the "Timeless 2013" tour. There are 39 dates (including ten at Bercy).
The live album "Timeless 2013" will be released on December 9th. It will sell over 150,000 copies.
"Timeless 2013 The Movie" will be released exclusively in theaters on March 27, 2014. 101,107 people will rush to theaters in France, Belgium and Switzerland to see the film. This will allow Mylène Farmer, the artist who has gathered the most people to a single screening, to set a new record. The film will also be available in Russia, Canada and Latvia.
Mylene will be able to acquire a triple diamond video if the DVD and Blu-Ray media is released on May 16.
THE FRAGILE & INTERSTELLAR YEARS (2015 - 2016)
Mylene presents the book "Fragile" on May 15, 2015. More than 90 photos by Sylvie Langrenon, with excerpts from song lyrics.
"Stolen Car" was discovered by the avenger on August 28, 2015. It is a duet between Mylène and Sting. It is the first single from the tenth studio album "Interstellaires", released on November 6 and which will be certified triple platinum for more than 300,000.
Mylène also illustrated a philosophical tale by Michel Onfray, "Polaire", which was published on November 12.
Mylene appeared on television for the first time since her American debut, on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon". Mylene caused a stir online when she attacked Jimmy Fallon with a saucepan. Cherrytree Records was Mylene's first American release for Martin Kierszenbaum's album "Interstellar". Mylene was the co-writer of nine of the songs and the producer.
Two further singles from the album were released in 2016: "City of Love" and "C'est pas moi", while "Stolen Car" reached number one on the US club chart.
Mylène will be in Winnipeg, Quebec, on October 28th for the filming of the movie "Ghostland" directed by Pascal Laugier. Pascal Laugier had already directed the video for "City of Love".
THE GHOSTLAND YEARS, DISOBEDIENCE and LIVE 2019 (2018 - 2020)
It will be available for streaming and download on January 19, 2018, the first single from Mylene Farmer's eleventh studio album: "Rolling Stone", co-composed by Feder. It will be the number one in sales of the album.
On March 14, France released the film Ghostland by Pascal Laugier. Mylène plays the role of Pauline. Mylène's performance was praised by critics. It was seen by 250,000 people in France, which is a high number for a film of this genre. It was also released internationally.
The duet with LP, "N'oublie pas", was released on June 22. It reached number one on the singles chart in France and became Mylène's 19th number-one single.
The album "Desobeissance" is available from September 28. Feder composed twelve tracks, LP with Mike Del Rio & Leon Deutschmann. Mylène participates in the composition of two songs, and signs all the lyrics (except Baudelaire's poem "Au lecteur") Two new singles have been released: "Desobeissances" and "Des larmes". The album is certified Double Platinum in France at the end of 2019 and has sold more than 260,000 copies.
2019 Mylène brought together 235,000 people from June 7 to 22 for nine concerts at Paris La Défense Arena.It was the biggest European show.
On October 18, the album "Live 2019" was released. It was certified platinum in France, with more than 50,000 copies sold in three weeks.
"Mylène Farmer 2019 Le Film", which was released in theaters on November 7, attracted 155,000 spectators from 18 countries and 613 theaters. This made Mylene the artist with the most spectators at a single screening of a cinema event. The DVD and Bluray media of "Live2019 The Movie" were released on December 6. They include a diamond video in France, which sold more than 40,000 copies in one week, and a double-diamond certification in three weeks.
- 2020 Mylène will reveal the behind the scenes of the preparations for her concerts at Paris La Défense Arena. This documentary series, "L'Ultime Création", is available on Amazon Prime Video from September 25, 2020.
The opening and closing credits of the documentary feature a new song, "l'ame dans l'eau". It is also the last new track from Mylène's third album, Histoires of, which will be released on December 4, 2020.
Two big surprises for 2021.
- Mylène is a member of the 74th Cannes International Film Festival, chaired by Spike Lee, from July 6 to 13.
She also announced a stadium tour "Nervermore2023". Tickets sold out in just eight hours and have been a huge success since October.
Discover our paintings of Mylène in our Celebrities collection
