Nolwenn Leroy

Chanteuse Nolwenn Leroy was one of a generation of French pop luminaries who rocketed to overnight fame via the television amateur showcase Star Academy. Born September 28, 1982, in the Breton city of St. Renan, Leroy was the daughter of professional footballer Jean Luc le Magueresse. Raised in a series of different locales per her father's team transfers, she later attended college at Saint-Yorre's Collège des Célestins, where a music teacher encouraged her to study violin. Leroy also exhibited a talent for graphic arts, and at age 13 won a national drawing contest that awarded her the opportunity to distribute art supplies in Mali. After a brief return to France, she entered a foreign exchange program and spent a year studying in the U.S., including a two-day course at Cincinnati's Performing Arts School. The experience was pivotal in convincing Leroy to pursue a career as a singer, and upon arriving home she enrolled in classical vocal classes at the Clermont-Ferrand Conservatoire, concurrently studying law with an eye on a fallback calling in international diplomacy. A fan of the fledgling TV series Star Academy, Leroy in 2001 signed up to study under program judge and music teacher Armande Altaï, who encouraged her new pupil to audition for the show's sophomore season. The night she was selected as a finalist, Leroy also received word she was chosen to star as Scarlett O'Hara in Autant en Emporte le Vent, a French stage musical adaptation of the classic novel Gone with the Wind. Leroy ultimately opted for Star Academy and her faith was rewarded on December 21, 2002, when she was crowned champion in viewer voting. Her self-titled debut LP followed in March 2003, launching the hit singles "Cassé" and "Suivre une Étoile." For the 2005 follow-up, Histoires Naturelles, Leroy teamed with legendary French pop composer Laurent Voulzy, forging a mystical, deeply romantic record that earned critical comparison to the likes of Kate Bush and Tori Amos.