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Edith Piaf[pEAf´] Pronunciation Key, 1915–63, French cabaret singer, born as Edith Giovanna Gassion. She began to sing at 15 in cafEs and in the streets of Paris and was soon engaged to sing in a cabaret. Fame quickly followed her appearances in nightclubs all over Europe and America. Piaf appeared in several movies, starring in Le Bel IndiffErent (1940), originally a play written for her by Jean Cocteau. Her highly emotional and powerful voice was enormously expressive. Her performance of the song Milord was especially cherished by international audiences.
See her memoirs, Au bal de la chance (1958, tr. 1965); biography by her half sister Simone Berteaut (1972).
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