November 21, 1965. A small frail young girl appears on French television screens. It wasn’t even a year later that her name was known all over the entire country. Then the rest of world met her, and people started talking about her fairy tale without any exaggeration whatsoever. Born in the noble papal city of Avignon, Mireille would see 13 little brothers and sisters appear and grow up with her.
Monique, Christiane, Marie-France, Rejane, Regis and Guy (twins), Roger, Jean-Pierre, Remy, Simone, Philippe, Beatrice, and least but not least, Vincent.
Her father Roger was a stonecutter for the cemetery; he also had the dream of becoming a singer, possessing an admirable tenor’s voice. The family lived in a wooden shack that leaked when it rained and the wind blew through the door and the windows. It wasn’t the gayest of scenes!
When Mireille was 15 years old, they moved into a government subsidized apartment with five rooms, and a new luxury: a bathroom.That was the most beautiful day in my life, Mireille remembers, for the first time, I took a bath!. It was such an extraordinary sensation.
Every morning, Madame Mathieu went to the market and very carefully calculated her choices. Every franc counted, and Roger Mathieu earned only 200 francs a week from his father, the boss of a modest family business.
All in all, the Mathieu household saw no more than 1,800 francs a month and 190 francs had to be subtracted for the monthly rent. Quite often, there were moments when Marcelle Mathieu felt a migraine coming on when managing the family finances, especially when she had to buy a dress for one, underwear for another, shoes for everyone.
As Mireille was the eldest of the children, she learned very quickly how heavy her responsibilities would be. Every room was neat and orderly. At our house, you could have eaten off the floors!, says Mireille with admiration.
Roger Mathieu was an excellent worker who wasn’t afraid of sweat and tears. Vacation? Diversions? These are words that the Mathieu family hadn’t had in their vocabulary. “I was four years old when I sang in public for the very first time.” It was for Midnight Mass. After listening so often to the great singers on radio and on television, Mireille dreamed of becoming a famous singer like these men and women. She wanted to sing before an audience other than her family or her school friends. Edith Piaf was her idol, her model.
During her sewing classes at school, her friends would ask her to sing La vie en rose. By accepting Mireille as a student, Laure Colliere, a voice instructor, couldn’t help telling Mireille that the singing profession had many more people who were called than actually chosen. “You know” she would say,”to be a singer, you have to be strong, both physically and morally. You have more of a chance of ending up in a haystack than you do on the pillows of a Rolls Royce!” “I’m sure you’re right”, Mireille would respond, “but the one who doesn’t take a risk never wins!”.
(mireillemathieu.com/biography/?lang=en)