Raphaël Haroche (born 7 November 1975), professionally known under his

mononym A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. A mononym may be the person's only name, given to them at birth. This was routine in most ancient societies, and remains ...

Raphael, is a French singer–songwriter and actor.

Personal and media life

Raphael was born as Raphaël Haroche on 7 November 1975 in Paris, France, and was raised in

Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris ...

, Hauts-de-Seine. His father is of Moroccan and

Russian Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest po ...

descent and his mother is

Argentinian Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

. One of his paternal uncles is physics Nobel prize laureate Serge Haroche. During his childhood and his adolescence, Raphael played the piano and the guitar. In June 2007, Raphael placed ninth on the French ''

Elle Elle may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Elle (magazine), ''Elle'' (magazine), a fashion publication ** Elle Style Awards * Elle (India), ''Elle'' (India), the Indian edition * Elle (film), ''Elle'' (film), a 2016 French film * ''Elle: ...

'' magazine "15 Sexiest Man" list. He has been in a relationship with actress

Mélanie Thierry Mélanie Thierry (born 17 July 1981) is a French actress. Early life and career Mélanie Thierry began her career as a model in France, then moved into acting. She began with a series of roles in French productions, and at the age of 17 appeared ...

, who appeared in the music video for his single "Caravan". On 24 May 2008, Thierry gave birth to the couple's first child, Roman. Their second son, Aliocha, was born in December 2013.

Musical career

In 2000, Raphael released his first album ''Hôtel de l'univers'' (the title is a tribute to

Arthur Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he s ...

), but it was not until three years later that he enjoyed his first mainstream success with the song ''Sur la Route'', a duo with famous French singer

Jean-Louis Aubert Jean-Louis Aubert (, born 12 April 1955) is a French singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer and producer. He went on a solo career after the split of the rock band Téléphone that he co-founded. Early life Born in Nantua, Ain, France in 195 ...

, included in his second album ''La Réalité''. With this album, he chose

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

. In 2005, Raphael released his third album, ''Caravane'', to huge critical acclaim and commercial success. He received three Music's Victories in 2006. In September 2006, Raphael released the double live album ''Résistance à la nuit'' featuring songs from his first three albums as well as a nod to

Íngrid Betancourt Íngrid Betancourt Pulecio (; born 25 December 1961) is a Colombian-French politician, former senator, and anti-corruption activist. She gained international prominence after being kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) i ...

in the form of the songs ''La petite chanson'' and ''Ceci n'est pas un adieu''. At the beginning of 2007, Raphael became a member of the supergroup ''Les Aventuriers d'un autre Monde'' with

Alain Bashung Alain Bashung (born Alain Claude Baschung, ; 1 December 1947 – 14 March 2009) was a French singer, songwriter and actor. Credited with reviving the French chanson in "a time of French musical turmoil", he is often regarded as the most importan ...

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,280,522 residents estimate by National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE in 2023. The city span ...

, Daniel Darc, and Richard Kolinka. In February 2007, Raphael released his live acoustic album ''Une nuit au Châtelet'' which is partly a tribute to French singers such as Bernard Lavilliers, Gérard Manset, and

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French singer-songwriter, actor, composer, and director. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provocative rel ...

. Amongst the many musicians working on this project was ex-

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

pianist

Mike Garson Michael David Garson (born July 29, 1945) is an American pianist, who has worked with David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, St. Vincent, Duran Duran, Free Flight, The Smashing Pumpkins, Melissa Auf der Maur, CSS and The Pretty Reckless. Early caree ...

. Raphael's fourth studio album, ''Je sais que la terre est plate'' was released on 17 March 2008. This album featured the song ''Haïti'', a collaboration with the Jamaican group

Toots & the Maytals The Maytals, known from 1972 to 2020 as Toots and the Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group, one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music. ...

. On 27 September 2010, Raphael released his fifth studio album, ''Pacific 231''.

Other work

In 1999, Raphael made a brief appearance in the

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

Peut-être ''Peut-être'' (''Maybe''; ''Perhaps'') is a 1999 French science fiction comedy film. Directed by Cédric Klapisch with a budget of 75 million franc, the film runs for 109 minutes. It featured Romain Duris, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Géraldine Pailhas ...

'' (French: ''Maybe''), directed by

Cédric Klapisch Cédric Klapisch ( ; born 4 September 1961) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer. Life and career Klapisch was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine. He is from a Jewish family; his maternal grandparents were deported to ...

. He would subsequently had small roles in ''The Dancer'' (2000) and the television film ''Les grand gamins''. In 2010, Raphael portrayed the character of Louis in '' Ces amours-là'', directed by

Claude Lelouch Claude Barruck Joseph Lelouch (; born 30 October 1937) is a French film director, writer, cinematographer, actor and producer. Lelouch grew up in an Algerian Jewish family. He emerged as a prominent director in the 1960s. Lelouch gained critical ...

. The film was premiered in France on 15 September 2011.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Singles

As a featured artist

Other charting songs

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Haroche, Raphael 1975 births Male actors from Paris French composers French male composers French male film actors French people of Argentine descent French people of Russian-Jewish descent French people of Moroccan-Jewish descent French pop singers French rock singers French male songwriters French songwriters French male television actors Living people Musicians from Paris Male actors from Boulogne-Billancourt Musicians from Boulogne-Billancourt University of Paris alumni World Music Awards winners Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas University alumni 21st-century French singers 21st-century French male singers