Dalida

The daughter of Italian immigrants born in Cairo, Egypt, on January 17, 1933 and died in Paris on May 3, 1987, Iolanda Gigliotti aka Dalida's destiny was as extraordinary as it was tragic. Named Miss Egypt in 1954, she acted in a few films before arriving in Paris, where she met three men who were to shape her life: Olympia director Bruno Coquatrix, record company boss Eddie Barclay and Europe 1 radio station director Lucien Morrisse, whom she married in 1961. Thanks to a string of hits, the first of which was "Bambino ", Dalida became a star whose fame was not affected by the yé-yé wave, to which she contributed with "Itsi bitsi petit bikini" and "T'aimer follement". She went from brunette to blonde, managed by her brother Orlando, and had a secret love affair with Italian singer Luigi Tenco, who committed suicide in 1967, followed three years later by her husband. Dalida survived these tragedies and returned to the limelight in the 1970s with a series of hits such as "Darladirladada", the duet "Paroles paroles" with Alain Delon, "Il venait d'avoir dix-huit ans" and "Gigi l'Amoroso". She turned to disco with "J'attendrai" and returned to her oriental roots with "Salma Ya Salama", before receiving her first diamond disc as a reward for her sales. Close to intellectual circles, she played in Le Sixième jour, directed by Youssef Chahine. However, her personal life caught up with her and, after yet another sentimental drama, Dalida committed suicide in her home in Montmartre, Paris. A veritable cult around the singer ensued, producing tributes such as a TV soap opera in 2005, an exhibition in 2007 and a feature film in 2016.

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