Michel Jean-Pierre Barda (born 7 March 1965) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

and Israeli singer, actor, make up artist and hair dresser of French/Algerian

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

descent. He is one of the founding members of the pop group

Army of Lovers Army of Lovers is a Swedish dance- pop group which formed in 1987 and had a number of hits in Europe throughout the 1990s. Some of their biggest successes include the song "Crucified", which was a big hit in Europe, charting 31 weeks in the Eu ...

Biography

Jean-Pierre Barda was born in Paris, France. His father was of Algerian Jewish origin. When he was seven, he moved to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

with his family, settling in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. Barda

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

in 2015. He currently lives in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. He is openly gay since he

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

at age 16. His parents kicked him out for his sexuality, and he did not have contact with them for 15 years after.

Music and acting career

Barda started out working with

Alexander Bard Alexander Bengt Magnus Bard (born 17 March 1961) is a Swedish musician, author, lecturer, artist, songwriter, music producer, TV personality, religious and political activist, and one of the founders of the Syntheist religious movement alongside ...

as a part of the music group Barbie. He initially called himself Farouk, but reverted to his real name when Barbie later evolved into the group Army of Lovers. Barda has been with the group throughout all of its incarnations. In 2004, Barda considered joining a new band called

Bodies Without Organs BWO was a Swedish electropop group, formed in 2003. Prior to early 2006 they used the name Bodies Without Organs. In Sweden they have enjoyed considerable commercial success throughout their career, so far notching up 15 Top 40 singles, includi ...

. This did not come to fruition, and Barda's explicit involvement extended only as far as co-writing BWO's first single "Living in a Fantasy". Barda is also known as a hair-dresser and make-up artist. He has starred in movies, television and photo shoots.

Theater

"Min Mamma Herr Albin" (Swedish version of La Cage Aux Folles) (1995) – the butler

Film

* "Army of Lovers in the Holy Land" (2018) — himself * "Livet är en schlager" (2000) – himself * "Once in a Lifetime" (2000) (International: English title) – himself * "House of Angels: The Second Summer" (1994) – himself

TV

* "Rik Och Berömd" (Swedish version of Lifestyles of the Rich And Famous) – host * "Miss Sweden 2002 Competition" – host * "Sally" (1999) – himself * "Silikon" (1999–2001) – make-over artist/host

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barda, Jean-Pierre 1965 births Swedish Jews Gay Jews Living people Musicians from Stockholm French emigrants to Sweden Swedish emigrants to Israel Swedish dance musicians French dance musicians Swedish male film actors Swedish male television actors French people of Algerian-Jewish descent Swedish LGBT singers French LGBT singers Israeli LGBT singers French gay actors French gay musicians Swedish gay actors Swedish gay musicians Israeli gay actors Israeli gay musicians English-language singers from Sweden Gay singers 20th-century French LGBT people 21st-century French LGBT people 20th-century Swedish LGBT people 21st-century Swedish LGBT people 20th-century Israeli LGBT people 21st-century Israeli LGBT people Melodifestivalen contestants of 2013