Nolwenn Leroy
| Nolwenn Leroy | |
|---|---|
Leroy attending the NRJ Music Awards in Cannes, France on 26 January 2013
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Nolwenn Le Magueresse |
| Born |
28 September 1982 Saint-Renan, France |
| Genres | Pop, world, Celtic |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Instruments | Vocals, violin, piano, tin whistle, Celtic harp |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Labels |
Universal International Mercury France |
| Website | nolwenn |
Nolwenn Le Magueresse (born 28 September 1982 in Saint-Renan, Brittany, France), known by her stage name Nolwenn Leroy (French pronunciation: [nolwɛn ləʁwa]), is a French singer-songwriter, musician and voice actress.
Originally classically trained, she rose to fame after winning the second season of the French television music competition Star Academy, in 2002. She has since recorded five studio albums and scored two number one singles, "Cassé" and "Nolwenn Ohwo!", on the French charts. In 2012, her album Bretonne was certified two times diamond for sales exceeding one million copies.
Leroy has received numerous awards and nominations. In January 2015, she was ranked 17th on Le Journal du Dimanche's 50 Most Loved Celebrities in France, making her the top female singer on the list since December 2012.
Leroy is fluent in English, having spent a year in the US as an exchange student. She sings in many languages, including French, Breton, English and Irish. She has also performed in Italian and Spanish.
Leroy's parents left Saint-Renan (Finistère) when she was four years old. After living in Paris, Lille, and Guingamp, her mother, Muriel Leroy, and her younger sister, Kay, settled with Leroy's grandparents in Saint-Yorre. Her mother divorced from her father, professional footballer Jean-Luc Le Magueresse, in 1993.
Nolwenn studied at the "Collège des Célestins" in Vichy. When Leroy was eleven, her music teacher noticed her musical talents and encouraged her to learn the violin. At the age of thirteen she won "Les écoles du désert", a contest sponsored by the Cora supermarket chain, which allowed her to travel with a humanitarian mission from Gao to Timbuktu, Mali; she later claimed this had a profound influence on her.
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