Ginette Reno (born Ginette Raynault; 28 April 1946) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

author, composer, singer, and actress. She has received nominations for the

Genie Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources) – are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic myt ...

and

Gemini Awards The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...

and is a multi-recipient of the

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall o ...

. She is a gold and platinum selling

musician.

Early life

Reno was born Ginette Raynault in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

, Canada, she began singing in 1960 and won the talent contest "Les Découvertes de Jean Simon" (Jean Simon's Discoveries). With this success, three clubs in Montreal (Café Caprice, le Café de l'Est and the Café Provincial) offered Reno her first professional contract. Simon suggested she adopt the stage name Reno—a phonetic spelling of her real last name (as pronounced in

Canadian French Canadian French (french: français canadien) is the French language as it is spoken in Canada. It includes multiple varieties, the most prominent of which is Québécois (Quebec French). Formerly ''Canadian French'' referred solely to Quebec ...

Career

Music

Reno is a gold and platinum selling

artist. She has recorded in both

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

. Her biggest hit in English was her 1970 song "Beautiful Second Hand Man". It reached No. 8 on the RPM singles chart. The song was from her third album '' Beautiful Second Hand Man'' released in 1971 on Parrot Records. The song was re-released on the

record label Melon-Miel on a two disc compilation ''Vocally Yours Vol. 7 & 8'' in 2004. Among her recordings is a Lynsey de Paul song "Dans la vie tout s'arrange" (

Storm in a Teacup Tempest in a teapot (American English), or storm in a teacup (British English), is an idiom meaning a small event that has been exaggerated out of proportion. There are also lesser known or earlier variants, such as ''tempest in a teacup'', ''stor ...

) with French lyrics provided by Marcel Stellman. She mostly performs in Quebec. During her four-decade career, she has recorded approximately 60 albums. In March 2019, she was one of 11 singers from Quebec, alongside

Céline Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

, Diane Dufresne, Isabelle Boulay, Luce Dufault, Louise Forestier,

Laurence Jalbert Laurence Jalbert (born Lise Jalbert, 18 August 1959 in Rivière-au-Renard, Quebec) is a pop and rock singer-songwriter from Quebec. Background She began her career with the band Volt in 1985."Quebec singer's struggle pays off". ''Edmonton Jour ...

Catherine Major Catherine Major (born February 18, 1980) is a Canadian pop singer and songwriter from Quebec. She is most noted for her 2011 album ''Le désert des solitudes'', which was a Juno Award nominee for Francophone Album of the Year at the Juno Awards ...

, Ariane Moffatt,

Marie Denise Pelletier Marie Denise Pelletier (born 3 April 1960) is a francophone Canadian singer. She served as President of Artisti, a copyright collective for music artists operated by Quebec's l'Union des artistes (UDA). Biography While studying literature and c ...

and

Marie-Élaine Thibert Marie-Élaine Thibert (born April 18, 1982) is a Canadian adult contemporary and pop singer based in Quebec. Thibert was first notable for being the runner-up in the first season of Star Académie in 2003, the Quebec singing idol reality show. Sh ...

, who participated in a supergroup recording of Renée Claude's 1971 single "Tu trouveras la paix" after Claude's diagnosis with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As ...

was announced.

Film

Reno played the mother in Jean-Claude Lauzon's 1992 film '' Léolo''. She played Laura Cadieux in Denise Filiatrault's 1998 film ''

It's Your Turn, Laura Cadieux ''It's Your Turn, Laura Cadieux'' (french: C't'à ton tour, Laura Cadieux) is a Canadian comedy film, directed by Denise Filiatrault and released in 1998. The film was based on the comedic novel by Michel Tremblay. The film centers on a group of ...

(C't'à ton tour, Laura Cadieux)''. The role earned her a

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for sc ...

nomination for Best Actress. She reprised her role for the 1999 sequel '' Laura Cadieux II (Laura Cadieux...la suite)''. She was again nominated at the 2000 Genie Awards. She played the role of Maria Barberini in the 2003 Canadian

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

'' Mambo Italiano''. She played Blanche in the 2006 film '' A Family Secret (Le secret de ma mère)'', earning her a Best Actress in a leading role

nomination. In 2022, Ginette Reno came back to the big screen after 16 years in

Martin Villeneuve Martin Villeneuve () is a Canadian screenwriter, producer, director, actor, and art director. He was nominated at the Canadian Screen Award (formerly Genie Awards, Genie Award) in 2013 for Best Adapted Screenplay, for ''Mars et Avril'', his featur ...

's ''

The 12 Tasks of Imelda ''The 12 Tasks of Imelda'' (french: Les 12 travaux d’Imelda) is a Canadian comedy-drama feature film, written, produced and directed by Martin Villeneuve and released in 2022. Based on the last twelve years of Villeneuve’s paternal grandmothe ...

(Les 12 travaux d'Imelda)'', co-starring playwright

Robert Lepage Robert Lepage (born December 12, 1957) is a Canadian playwright, actor, film director, and stage director. Early life Lepage was raised in Quebec City. At age five, he was diagnosed with a rare form of alopecia, which caused complete hair l ...

, in which she plays Martin and

Denis Villeneuve Denis Villeneuve (; born October 3, 1967) is a Canadian filmmaker. He is a four-time recipient of the Canadian Screen Award (formerly Genie Award) for Best Direction, winning for '' Maelström'' in 2001, '' Polytechnique'' in 2009, ''Incendies ...

's maternal grandmother Simone, Imelda's lifelong adversary.

Television

Reno was twice nominated for a Gemini at the 1999 Gemini Awards and 2000 Gemini Awards.

The Charlebois wedding: the Hell's Angels controversy

On 5 August 2000, Reno performed at the wedding of the Hell's Angel René Charlebois, serenading the Angels with such hits like ''Mon May'', for which she was paid $1 million, and at the same wedding posed for photographs with Maurice "Mom" Boucher, the leader of the Angels in Quebec at the time.Cherry, Paul ''The Biker Trials Bringing Down the Hell's Angels'', Toronto: ECW Press, 2005 page 96. As Reno has a very matronly and respectable image in Quebec, her willingness to pose smiling next to Boucher, a man convicted of rape amongst other things, caused some controversy.

Montreal Canadiens

During the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs, Reno was a surprise selection to perform

O Canada "O Canada" (french: Ô Canada, italic=no) is the national anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony; Calixa Lavallée composed the ...

during the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

' playoff run. She had just returned from heart surgery, and her rendition of the anthem was very well received. She has since returned to sing for the

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

and

2017 Stanley Cup playoffs The 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 12, 2017, after the 2016–17 regular season and concluded on June 11, 2017, with the Pittsburgh Penguins defeating the Nashville Predators four games to two in the ...

. She previously did the anthems for the

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (french: Nordiques de Québec, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Quebec City Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the W ...

as well in the 1980s and 1990s.

Honours

Reno won the Top Female Vocalist at the Gold Leaf Awards of 1970. She was awarded a 1972 Juno and a 1973 Juno in the category Outstanding Performance of the Year – Female. Reno was nominated for a Juno in 1998 in the category Best Selling Francophone Album for her album ''Versions Reno''. She was again nominated at the

Juno Awards of 1999 The Juno Awards of 1999 honouring Canadian music industry achievements were held in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The primary ceremonies at Copps Coliseum on 7 March 1999 were broadcast by CBC Television and hosted by Mike Bullard. Nominations we ...

for Best Female Vocalist. In 2001 she won a

Juno Award for Francophone Album of the Year The Juno Award for Francophone Album of the Year is an annual award presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) for the best French-language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It d ...

for her album ''Un Grand Noël d'amour''. In 2010 Reno was nominated for a

Juno Fan Choice Award The Juno Fan Choice Award is an annual Juno Award presented since 2003 by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) to the favourite artist or group of the year as voted by Canadian music fans. This is the only award that the winn ...

. In June 1982, she was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

. In 1999, Reno was awarded the

Governor General's Performing Arts Award A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

for Lifetime Artistic Achievement, Canada's highest honour in the performing arts. In 2000, she was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. In 2004, she was made a Knight of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as ''l'Ordre national du Québec'', and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is an order of merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Govern ...

. The

Canada Gazette The ''Canada Gazette'' (french: Gazette du Canada) is the official government gazette of the Government of Canada. It was first published on October 2, 1841. While it originally published all acts of the Parliament of Canada, it later also publ ...

announced on 30 April 2011 that Mme Reno was appointed as a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters by the President of the French Republic. The

announced on 24 April 2021, that Reno was appointed as a

Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

, in which she was invested in on 28 April 2022. In 2002 and 2012, Mme Reno received the

Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du jubilé d'or de la Reine Elizabeth II) or the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2002 to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...

and Diamond Jubilee Medal, in particular due to her induction as an Officer in the Order of Canada.

Filmography

Film

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Reno, Ginette 1946 births Living people Actresses from Montreal Apex Records artists Canadian film actresses French-language singers of Canada French Quebecers Governor General's Performing Arts Award winners Juno Award for Francophone Album of the Year winners Knights of the National Order of Quebec Montreal Canadiens Officers of the Order of Canada Parrot Records artists Singers from Montreal Juno Award for Artist of the Year winners Canadian pop singers 20th-century Canadian women singers 21st-century Canadian women singers

Early life

Career

Music

Film

Television

The Charlebois wedding: the Hell's Angels controversy

Montreal Canadiens

Honours

Filmography

Film

See also

References

External links