Josephine Baker was a dancer and singer who became wildly popular in France during the 1920s. She also devoted much of her life to fighting racism.
1906-1975
French composer Georges Bizet is best known for the realistic opera Carmen, a work that established itself as the model of opéra comique.
1838-1875
1887-1979
1904-1980
1888-1972
Considered Poland's greatest composer, Frédéric Chopin focused his efforts on piano composition and was highly influential.
1810-1849
Madame de Pompadour became the mistress of French King Louis XV in the mid-1700s. She greatly influenced French culture during this time, including decorative arts, architecture and statecraft.
1721-1764
Embracing nontraditional scales and tonal structures, Claude Debussy became one of the most highly regarded composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is seen as the founder of musical impressionism.
1862-1918
1862-1934
1933-2004
1845-1924
1822-1890
Singer Claudine Longet recorded seven albums from 1966 to 1972 and user her popularity to transition into an acting career. She murdered her boyfriend in 1976.
1942-
1908-1992
1819-1880
1972-
Édith Piaf, also known as “The Little Sparrow,” was a French singer who became an icon of France during World War II.
1915-1963
Maurice Ravel was a 19th and early 20th century French composer of classical music. His best known works are Bolero and Daphnis et Chloé.
1875-1937
Jean-Jacques Rousseau is best known as an influential 18th-century philosopher who wrote the acclaimed work A Discourse on the Arts and Sciences.
1712-1778
1835-1921
1866-1925
1875-1965
Iannis Xenakis was a Greek avant-garde composer of electronic music and musique concrete.
1922-2001