On the eve of the 100th birth anniversary of Charles Aznavour, NEWS.am STYLE has prepared a series of articles dedicated to the life and work of the famous French Armenian singer. In today's article, we will talk about the personal life of the chansonnier, his vibrant novels, and the role of women in the life of an artist.
Charles Aznavour was married three times. The musician's first marriage took place with singer Micheline Rugel, when Charles was only 22 years old. The musician remarried at the age of 31 to the French singer Evelyn Plessis. And at 43, Aznavour married for the third time—and this time his chosen one was the Swede Ulla Thorsel.
Micheline Rügel was 16 years old when she married Aznavour and devoted herself to her family. During their marriage, the couple had a daughter, Seda-Patricia, who followed in the footsteps of her parents and took up music, performing songs in French and Armenian. In the last years of his first marriage, Aznavour had a son, Charles Jr., about whom, however, nothing is known for certain.
Charles Aznavour and Evelyn Plessis met at a meeting with mutual friends, quickly fell in love with each other, and formalized their relationship. But soon, and due to his busy schedule, the chansonnier began to pay less and less attention to his family, and the marriage ended. During his marriage to Plessis, Aznavour had a son, Patrick, who died, however, at the age of 25 from addiction. Aznavour dedicated the song “L'aiguille” to the tragic loss of his son. Very little is known about Evelyn Plessy herself, other than her relationship with the artist, who died at the age of 94 in 2018.
Aznavour married Ulla Thorsel when he was 43 years old and lived with her until his death in 2018. With Ulla, Aznavour had a daughter, Katya, who subsequently inherited her father’s musical talent and often performed at his concerts as a backup singer. The family also had a son, Misha, who is engaged in music, poetry, and cinema. Aznavour had another son, Nicolas, who devoted himself to business in the music industry.
The singer himself spoke ironically about his married life: “I was married three times. The first time I was too young. The second time I was not smart enough, and the third time I married a woman from a different, stricter culture. I learned many things. For example, tolerance. No, I haven’t changed, but I’m on the right path.”
Aznavour is credited with many unconfirmed affairs with various world-famous actresses and singers. One of his most notorious is the affair with Edith Piaf, rumors about which were born after they met in a Parisian cabaret, talked for several hours, and then Edith offered Aznavour a tour in America. There is no official confirmation of this romance, but the star couple actively maintained warm relations for eight years. Rumor has it that Aznavour composed many songs for Edith, and “served” also as her impresario, secretary, and even driver. However, Aznavour denied rumors about his affair with Piaf, and noted that he did not devote his songs to women: “Edith is not my type of woman at all, so the relationship is exclusively friendly. We had what the French call ‘une amitié amoureuse;’ that is, a loving friendship. This is when you are affectionate towards each other, you like the same things, you can hug and kiss. But that's all."
Charles Aznavour is credited also with having an affair with Liza Minnelli and Brigitte Bardot. Aznavour's romance with Minnelli began shortly after the singer's second marriage ended, but the couple's romantic relationship did not last long. Aznavour had a strong and long friendship with Brigitte Bardot, which lasted until the end of his life.
There are legends around Charles Aznavour’s romantic relationships with women, which will no longer be possible to reveal, but he undoubtedly had a charm that conquered many women’s hearts.
Regina Melikyan
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