Violetta Villas
| Violetta Villas | |
|---|---|
Violetta Villas in 1967
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| Born |
Czesława Cieślak June 10, 1938 Heusy, Belgium |
| Died | December 5, 2011 (aged 73) Lewin Kłodzki, Poland |
| Occupation | singer, songwriter, composer, actress |
| Years active | 1960–2011 |
| Spouse(s) | 1. Piotr Gospodarek (1955–1958; divorced) 2. Ted Kowalczyk (1988–1989; divorced) |
| Children | 1 (son) |
| Musical career | |
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Czesława Gospodarek (born Cieślak; 10 June 1938 – 5 December 2011), known by her stage name Violetta Villas, was a Belgian-born Polish and international cabaret star, singer, actress, composer and songwriter. Her voice was characterized as coloratura soprano, which spanned over 4 octaves. She could play the piano, violin, and trombone and had absolute pitch. Characterisations of her included "the voice of the atomic age", "the singing toast of the continent", "a voice like French champagne", and the "Polish Yma Sumac". Villas was the first star of the Casino de Paris at Dunes Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas (1966–1970).
Villas was known for her conspicuous wardrobe and number-one hits. During her show business career, Villas acted in six films, performed in numerous musical shows, and recorded almost three hundred songs in ten languages, including Polish, English, French, German, Italian, Latin, Neapolitan, Russian, Spanish and Portuguese. She was an animal rights activist.
Villas was a very controversial person for her alcohol and morphine addiction and being a Security Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs informant with the code name Gabriella. Moreover, she had a delusional disorder, which had a bad influence on her contacts with her environment and family.
In 2011, Villas received the Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis.
Villas was born in Heusy, Liège province, the third of four children. She spent her childhood in Belgium. Her father Bolesław Cieślak (4 December 1907 – 9 May 1960) was a miner and bandmaster, and her mother Jane (26 January 1914 – 17 February 1985) was a housewife. In 1948 she came with her parents to Poland and settled in Lewin Kłodzki where she began studying music. She played the piano and violin in her youth.
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