Jacques Joseph Victor Higelin, a renowned French pop singer, rose to fame in the early 1970s.
Born on October 18, 1940, Higelin was the son of Paul, a railway worker and musician of Alsatian descent, and Renée, of Belgian descent, who raised him and his brother.
Higelin's entertainment career began at the age of 14, when he left school to work as a stunt double in films. He was taught to play the guitar by Henri Crolla, a French-Italian jazz guitarist and film composer.
By the early 1960s, Higelin was attending the René Simon drama school, where he won the François Perier award. For two years, starting in 1961, he served in the French military in various countries.
Upon returning to France, Higelin resumed his film career but shifted his focus towards music. By the end of the decade, he had become an integral part of the artistic underground in Paris and began to channel his music towards radical activism.
Higelin gained popularity through his live concerts, typically held in smaller venues, and released his first solo album in 1971. By the mid-1970s, he had become one of France's most successful pop musicians, and his influence remains to this day.
In the 1970s, Higelin was in a relationship with Kuelan Nguyen, a French-Vietnamese woman, who accompanied him during the recording of an album at Château d'Hérouville Studio. Iggy Pop, who was also recording his debut solo album "The Idiot" at the studio, became infatuated with Nguyen, but she rejected him. This incident inspired Iggy Pop to write the song China Girl, which later became a hit when re-recorded by David Bowie.
Higelin had three children, all of whom became artists: Arthur H, a singer born to Nicole Courtois in 1966; Kên Higelin, an actor born to Kuelan Nguyen in 1972; and Izïa, a singer born to dancer Aziza Zakine in 1990. Higelin married Zakine in 2011.
Tragically, Higelin passed away on April 6, 2018, in Paris.
