Léona Gabriel-Soïme (8 June 1891 - 11 August 1971) was a biguine singer from

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in ...

active in Paris during the

interwar years In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relative ...

. She married the military doctor Norbert Soïme in 1933. She was born at

Rivière-Pilote Rivière-Pilote (; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Lavièpilot or ) is a town and commune in the French overseas department of Martinique. The village is situated on the southern end of Martinique, between the village of Sainte-Luce and the to ...

. Daughter of a white creole she grew up in Martinique, going to secretarial school in Cayenne, Guyana at age 14, going on to work as a secretary for the Lesseps company during the building of the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...

. After returning for a period to Martinique she moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in 1920. In France she began singing and recording with the orchestra of clarinettist Alexandre Stellio under the stage name of ''Mademoiselle Estrella''. Her career as a singer continued until the 1960s. She was the aunt of

Henri Salvador Henri Salvador (18 July 1917 – 13 February 2008) was a French Caribbean comedian, singer and cabaret artist. Biography Salvador was born in Cayenne, French Guiana. His father, Clovis, and his mother, Antonine Paterne, daughter of a native C ...

and supplied him with his best known tune " Maladie d'amour".Nottingham French Studies 2001 - Volumes 40-42 - Page 84 This moment is figured in the final pages of Zonzon Tête Carrée, when Zonzon is alone in the bus station in Fort-de-France and hears a piece of music — 'la voix créole et acidulée de Léona Gabriel' (ZTC, p.225) — from a radio in a nearby house. Gabriel returned to Martinique in the 1940s, becoming a radio presenter, a career which lasted over 30 years. She continued recording until the 1960s. She died in Fort-de-France, aged 80.

References

1891 births 1971 deaths 20th-century French women singers People from Rivière-Pilote Martiniquais singers French radio presenters French women radio presenters {{France-singer-stub