Marie Laforêt
| Marie Laforêt | |
|---|---|
Marie Laforêt
|
|
| Born |
Maïtena October 5, 1939 Soulac-sur-Mer, Gironde France |
| Nationality |
France Swiss |
| Occupation |
singer actress |
Marie Laforêt (born Maïténa Marie Brigitte Doumenach, on 5 October 1939 in Soulac-sur-Mer, Gironde) is a French singer and actress. In 1978, she moved to Geneva, Switzerland and acquired Swiss citizenship.
Her first name Maïtena, which is of Basque origin, means "beloved", and is sometimes used by the inhabitants of Languedoc, especially of Pyrénées and also resembles the diminutive of the name Marie-Thérèse, "Maïthé".
Doumenach, her last name, is Catalan in origin – Domènec in Catalan. Her birth name Maïtena Marie Brigitte Doumenach, and her repertoire which included pieces inspired from the world folklore, have led to speculation of an Armenian origin of her parents. The singer herself used to define herself sometimes as "ariégeoise", i.e. from the region of Ariège in the south of France.
Marie Laforêt was born at Soulac-sur-Mer, in Médoc, in the villa "Rithé-Rilou", named after her aunt and her mother: Marie Thérese and Marie Louise Saint Guily. Her father's family, Doumenach, were originally from Olette, a village in the Pyrénées Orientales, on the border of Têt. Her paternal great-grandfather, Louis Doumenach, led a textile factory at Lavelanet, in Ariège and his son, Charles-Joseph Doumenach, was colonel and municipal counsellor.
The singer's maternal grandfather built "cabanons" in the resort of Soulac-sur-mer, in Gironde in 1886. During the Second World War, the artist's father, industry man, was captured and detained as a prisoner of war in Germany until the liberation in May 1945. Marie, her sister Alexandra and their mother knew a period of many hardships. At the age of three Marie suffered a sexual trauma which affected her for longtime. During the war the Doumenachs found shelter at Cahors and in the province of their ancestors Ariège, in the village Lavelanet. After the war the family moved to Valenciennes where the father led a factory for railways utensils, and later they settled in Paris. After becoming more religious and having considered becoming a nun, Marie continued her secondary studies at the Lycee La Fontaine in Paris. There she began to show interest for the dramatic arts and her first experiences in this domain proved to be therapeutically useful for her through their cathartic effect.
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