Biography - Nolwenn's childhood, French Fame academy, her career
Childhood
Nolwenn Leroy was born in St Renan, Brittany, France on September 28,
1982. She has now become one of the most famous female singers in France.
When she was 4 years old, Nolwenn moved from Saint Renan to live first
in Paris, then in Lille and finally back to Guingamp, Brittany in 1990.
In 1992, her father, Jean-Luc Le Magueresse, a professional soccer player
and her mother, Murielle were divorced. 
Muriel moved into her mother's house in St Yorre with Nolwenn and her younger sister Kay in 1993.
Nolwenn attended the Celestins secondary school in
Vichy, and in year 8 her music teacher noted that she had superior skills
in music. Following her advice, Nolwenn started to study the violin.
Studies
in the US
In July 1998, she was awared an academic scholarship by The Rotary Club
of Vichy. This scholarship allowed her to study as an exchange student
in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA (Hamilton High School) where she graduated from High School
in 99. She studied for a full year in the USA during which
time she also attended a 2-day workshop in a Performing Arts School,
exposing her more to music and entertainment as a career. Upon her return
to France, she was completely fluent in English. At this time she began
classical singing lessons in Vichy. She obtained an extremely
strong base in lyrical singing. 
In 2001, she entered Law School at the University of Clermont Ferrand. Nolwenn desired to have a career in music but wanted to also be prepared to pursue a career in International Law because of the difficulties of making a career in the music business.
2001
Une rencontre décisive
Watching
the first edition of Star Academy, a French television reality show
similar to the USA American Idol, Nolwenn was impressed by Armande Altaï a singing teacher. She enrolled in her class and studied classical voice, travelling to Paris from Clermont
Ferrand. Nolwenn worked every weekend as a cashier in a supermarket
in order to pay for her tuition and travel to Paris.
Star
academy
There soon was a national call for the casting of Star Academy. Talented
individuals were invited to send a video tape to judges. Nolwenn hesitated
to send her tape but her mother convinced her to do so. She made two
tapes and sent one to the Star Academy and the other to the casting
judges of a French Musical "Gone with the Wind". She was accepted
for both of these productions and chose the Star Academy. She became
very popular in France and the French public chose her as the winner
on December 21, 2002.
Nolwenn's
first album
On March 2003, her first album entitled Nolwenn was released and was
a best seller (more than 700 000 copies sold France). Her first single
'Cassé'
was very successful. Three other tracks from this album were released
as singles; Suivre
une étoile written by the famous French song-writer
and artist Laurent Voulzy, 'Une
femme cachée' by Daniel Lavoie, and 'Inévitablement'
whose lyrics are written by Lara Fabian.
International
While in studio to record her second album her
first album has been released in Quebec, Canada with a bonus track 'Le
dernier mot' written by Dany Bédar.
She also made a cover of "Say it ain't so Joe"
which came out on a compilation available in Quebec in May 2005. See Nolwenn's
featurings
Concerts
and Tour
On december 6th 2003, Nolwenn Leroy started her concert tour through out France, Belgium and Switzerland.
Her
music has also received the attention of the scientific community. Dr.
Frederick Carrick, Professor of Neurology (USA) noted changes
in behaviour in an Autistic child who listened to some of Nolwenn's
music by chance. These observations initiated several controlled
clinical studies of Nolwenn's voice in various neurological applications. Professor Carrick presented his findings at a medical conference
in November 2005
Her second studio album co-produced by Laurent Voulzy was released on December, 5 2005
First single : Nolwenn ohwo! Lyrics are
co-written by Nolwenn and Alain Souchon.
Second single : Histoire Naturelle (date of release
: 29/05/06)
Third single : Mon Ange (digital release only)
On 30 September 2006, Leroy began her second tour, during which she would perform songs from both albums. Her first live album, entitled Histoires Naturelles Tour, was released in late October 2007.
Her Third studio album The Cheshire Cat & Moi is due for release on December 7th 2009.
She has been working with Teitur and Jonatha Brooke as well as producer extraordinaire Rupert Hine.
First single : Faut-il, Faut-il pas ? ! Lyrics are
written by Nolwenn.
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