Louise Forestier

Louise Forestier (born August 10, 1943 in Shawinigan, Quebec, Canada) is a singer, songwriter and actor.

Biography

Forestier was trained in acting at the National Theatre School in Montreal, but it was as a singer that she first became known in 1966, when she received the Renée Claude Trophy from Le Patriote, a "boîte à chansons" in east-end Montreal, and was named discovery of the year on the Radio-Canada TV program "Jeunesse oblige".

In 1968 she was part of the extraordinarily successful revue "L'Osstidcho", followed the next year by "L'Osstidchomeurt" with Robert Charlebois, Yvon Deschamps and Mouffe. She and Charlebois recorded the landmark song "Lindberg'" and toured France in 1969.

In April 1970 Forestier starred in the Michel Tremblay, François Dompierre musical, "Demain matin Montréal m'attend". She continued with acting, appearing in Jacques Godbout's 1972 film "IXE-13", singing on the original film score.

Forestier topped the Quebec charts in 1973 with a version of the folk song "La Prison de Londres", performed with guitarist Claude Lafrance, and pianist Jacques Perron. With this song Forestier started to turn away from the hard rock of her early career to a repertoire largely inspired by Quebec folk music, and to a more personal style, which she continued through the 1970s.

In 1980 Forestier played Marie-Jeanne, the "robot waitress" in the Montreal production Luc Plamondon, Michel Berger rock opera Starmania. Two years later, with Plamondon as producer, she staged the hit show "Je suis au rendez-vous". This was the first of a series of shows in the 1980s, culminating in an appearance with Belgian singer Maurane as part of the Francofolies de Montréal in 1989.

In 1990 she appeared at the Place-des-Arts in Montreal as Émilie Nelligan, the mother of the poet in the romantic opera "Nelligan" by Michel Tremblay and André Gagnon.

Forestier defended Yann Martel's novel "Histoire de Pi" in the French version of "Canada Reads", broadcast on Radio-Canada in 2004.

Awards and recognition

* Winner of the "Manteau d'Arlequin" prize, 1976, awarded by the critics of France for the best presentation of a French song.
* Quebec woman of the year in the arts field, 1984

Discography

*"20 personages en quête d'une chanteuse"
*"Avec enzymes"
*"La Boulée"
*"De bouche à oreille"
*"La Douce Emma"
*"Forestier chante Louise"
*"Louise Forestier"
*"Lumières"
*"La Prison de Londres"
*"Québec love: Louise Forestier"

Filmography

Film

*"IXE-13" (1972)
*"Les ordres" (1974)
* "Ti-Cul Tougas" (1976)
* "La Postière"
* "2 secondes" (1998)

Television

* "Le 101, ouest, avenue des Pins" (1984)
* "Paparazzi" (1997)
* "Réseaux" (1998)

External links

*imdb name|id=0286190|name=Louise Forestier