Lucie Bílá | |
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Bílá performing at the 42nd KVIFF in 2007.
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Background information | |
Birth name | Hana Zaňáková |
Born |
Otvovice, ČSSR |
April 7, 1966
Genres | Pop rock, dance, soul |
Occupation(s) | singer, actress |
Instruments | vocals |
Years active | 1980–present |
Labels | EMI |
Website |
Lucie Bílá's sign |
Lucie Bílá (born April 7, 1966 as Hana Zaňáková) is a Czech pop singer. According to her label, EMI Czech Republic, the singer has sold over one million albums by now.
Lucie Bílá (born Hana Zaňáková) was born in the town of Otvovice in Czechoslovakia to Czech mother and Slovak father, where she was raised and where she attended a secondary school. Before she became involved in the field of music, she trained to be a seamstress.
Bila's first experiences with show business were as a member of the rock bands Rock-Automat and Arakain. In 1980, she was noticed by Czech music producer Petr Hannig, who created her stage name Lucie Bílá (literally, Lucy White) and penned her first recorded songs. Interestingly, her name change was originally due to confusion with another famous Czech singer, Hana Zagorová. For over three decades, Bílá has had tremendous professional success among Czechs in a broad range of endeavors, starring in the best-known stage musicals in the country, releasing several popular solo albums, and starring in several films and television specials. For several years in a row in the 2000s she topped the list of the most popular Czech singers in the coveted Český slavík awards.
Her personal relationships have been rocky and are perennial tabloid fodder. She and her boyfriend Petr Kratochvíl had a son, Filip, born in 1996. Not long after, he left her for beauty queen finalist Pavlína Babůrkova. In 2002, she was married briefly to musician Stanislav Penk, and in 2006 she married another musician, Václav "Noid" Bárta. The pair divorced in 2008. Her name Hana means "grace" in Hebrew.