What is Mireille Mathieu's Net Worth?
Mireille Mathieu is a French singer who has a net worth of $100 million. Mireille Mathieu has recorded over 1,200 songs in 11 different languages since her debut in the 1960s. Following her breakthrough concert at the Paris Olympia in 1965, she became one of the most popular singers in France and all of Europe with her Édith Piaf-style chanson tunes and pop standards. Although her popularity waned over the ensuing decades, Mathieu has continued recording albums and performing live well into the 21st century.
Early Life and Education
Mireille Mathieu was born on July 22, 1946 in Avignon, France to Marcelle-Sophie and Roger. She is one of her parents' 14 children. The family lived in poverty for a long time until they moved into a subsidized house in 1954. They moved again in 1961, to a large tenement in the Croix des Oiseaux. Growing up, Mathieu did poorly in school due to her dyslexia and the abuse of her teachers. As a result, she didn't pursue higher education. Instead, Mathieu worked at a local factory in Montfavet. After the factory shut down, she became a youth counselor at a summer camp alongside two of her sisters.
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Talent Shows
In the first half of the 1960s, Mathieu regularly entered an annual singing contest in Avignon. After losing in both 1962 and 1963, she won the contest in 1964 by singing the classic Édith Piaf tune "La Vie en rose." For her win, Mathieu was awarded a free trip to Paris and a pre-audition for the televised amateur talent show "Jeu de la Chance." Not long after that, during a 1965 summer gala, she met her future manager Johnny Stark. With the guidance of Stark, Mathieu ended up winning "Jeu de la Chance" by defeating five-time winner Georgette Lemaire.
Rise to Stardom
During her time on "Jeu de la Chance" in 1965, Mathieu performed a concert at the Paris Olympia that launched her to stardom. Due to her renditions of songs by Édith Piaf, she was nicknamed 'Piaf d'Avignon' in the press. However, wanting to establish herself as more than just a Piaf imitator, Mathieu decided to go in a different musical direction. She went on to join forces with orchestra leader Paul Mauriat and songwriter André Pascal, who wrote new material for her and helped develop her into a successful modern act. In 1966, Mathieu released her debut album, "En Direct de L'Olympia," which cemented her stardom in France while also gaining her fame across Europe and in North America. She subsequently spent her time touring extensively, with stops in England, Canada, and the United States, where she appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show." In Las Vegas, Mathieu sang with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.
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Further Career
Mathieu has continued touring and recording albums since her breakout in the 1960s. She also created her own publishing companies, Abilene Music and Abilene Disc. In 1986, Mathieu held sold-out concerts in Paris and became one of only a few Western performers at that time to hold a concert in China. A couple of years later, she published her autobiography, "Oui je crois," with co-author Jacqueline Cartier. With her popularity having waned significantly by the early 1990s, Mathieu attempted a comeback in 1993 with a pair of albums paying homage to Édith Piaf. She continued releasing albums regularly in the 21st century, and in late 2005 she held a 40th-anniversary celebration of her career at the Paris Olympia. Mathieu later held a 50th-anniversary tour in 2015.
Personal Life
For a while, Mathieu lived at the Roquefort-la-Bédoule villa of her manager Johnny Stark. After Stark got divorced from his second wife in the 1980s, the property was sold. In 1989, Stark passed away from a heart attack, and Mathieu subsequently took over his office. Her sister Monique then became her new business manager.
Overall, Mathieu is known for being a relatively private person. She does not have a publicist and rarely talks in detail about her personal life.
