Benjamin Biolay French Singer From Villefranche-sur-Saône

Early life

Benjamin Biolay was born on 20 January 1973 in Villefranche-sur-Saône, France. He studied at the Regional Conservatory of Lyon, and the records note the tuba as his instrument. His sister is the singer Coralie Clément, whose first three albums he wrote and produced.

Career

Biolay is a singer, songwriter, musician, record producer and actor. His debut album, Rose Kennedy, appeared in 2001 and was followed by Négatif in 2003. In 2004 he wrote or performed most of the songs on the soundtrack to Arnaud Viard's film Clara et moi, and the same year he released the album Home. Two further albums with a rock orientation came out in 2005 (À l'origine) and 2007 (Trash Yéyé). After that his record company dropped him, and he started working on an independent release, La Superbe, which came out in 2009 on the label Naïve. A soundtrack album, Pourquoi tu pleures, followed in 2011, and a compilation titled Best Of the same year. Vengeance appeared in 2012. Later albums include Palermo Hollywood (2016), Volver (2017), Grand Prix (2020) and Saint-Clair (2022), and in 2014 he released the single "Pas besoin de permis". His recordings are classed as chanson and pop rock, and they have appeared through Virgin. Altogether, the records list twelve albums and one single under his name between 2001 and 2022.

Alongside his own records, Biolay has worked as a writer, arranger and producer for others. With the singer Keren Ann, whose first two albums he co-wrote and produced, he contributed songs to Chambre avec vue, the comeback album of Henri Salvador. He has since worked for Juliette Gréco, Julien Clerc, Françoise Hardy, Vanessa Paradis and Nolwenn Leroy. His quiet vocal delivery has been compared with that of the French singer Étienne Daho.

He has also acted in films. His first listed screen credit is Why (Not) Brazil? (2004), and he later appeared in Stella (2008), The Easy Way Out (2013) and Irréprochable (2016). In 2016 he was in Personal Shopper, which is the most widely documented title in his filmography, and in 2017 he appeared in Memoir of War, Number One and The Poisoning Angel. Further credits include On a Magical Night (2019), France (2021), The Line (2022), Rosalie (2023, as Barcelin), and two 2024 films: Just a Couple of Days, in which he played Arthur, and Marcello Mio. The actress Marina Foïs appears in two of his listed titles. In total the records show 28 screen credits from 2004 to 2024.

Recognition

At the Victoires de la Musique, Biolay won the prize for revelation album of the year in 2002 for Rose Kennedy. In 2010 he was named male artist of the year and La Superbe took the prize for best chanson and variety album. He won the album of chansons and variety award again in 2017 for Palermo Hollywood. In 2021 he was named male artist of the year for a second time, and Grand Prix received the prize for album of the year. The records list eight wins in all. In 2010 he was made an officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and he is also listed as a chevalier of the same order.

Personal life

Biolay was married to the actress and singer Chiara Mastroianni, and the couple have a child. As of March 2025 his YouTube channel had about 83,000 subscribers.