Béatrice Bonifassi

Betty Bonifassi
Bonifassi in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada 2009
Background information
Birth name	Béatrice Bonifassi
Born	c. 1971 (age 45–46) Nice, France
Origin	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Genres	Jazz, blues, trip hop, electronica
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter Session musician
Instruments	Vocals
Associated acts	DJ Champion Deweare Beast

Béatrice "Betty" Bonifassi (born c. 1971) is a French-born vocalist based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She has a deep, contralto singing voice, sometimes referred to as "masculine", which has been compared to that of Shirley Bassey. Bonifassi has performed music of many styles in both English and French—from jazz, to traditional music, to blues, to electronica. In 2003 she gained international exposure when she provided the singing voices for the title characters of the animated film Les Triplettes de Belleville. She has collaborated with composer and saxophonist, François D'Amours and has performed and toured with musician Maxime Morin (also known as DJ Champion). Bonifassi appeared as a guest vocalist on Deweare's album High Class Trauma (2006), and she is one half of the electronic music duo Beast.

Bonifassi was born in Nice, France to a Yugoslavian mother and a father of Niçois-Italian descent. Raised in a bilingual household, and having studied foreign languages at University, she became interested in other cultures and their traditional music. She has been singing and writing music for two decades.

In 1997, Bonifassi met her now ex-husband,Québécois composer Benoît Charest, while singing Jimi Hendrix covers at a Montreal jazz club. Later that year she moved from France to Montreal to join Charest, and has lived in the Canadian city ever since.