Biography for
Serge Gainsbourg More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

2 April 1928, Paris, France

Date of Death

2 March 1991, Paris, France (natural causes)

Birth Name

Lucien Ginsburg

Nickname

Gainsbarre

Height

5' 10½" (1.79 m)

Spouse

Bambou	(1981 - 2 March 1991) (his death) 1 child
Jane Birkin	(1968 - 1980) (divorced) 1 child
Françoise Pancrazzi	(January 7 1964 - 1968) (divorced) 2 children
Élisabeth Levitsky	(3 November 1951 - 9 October 1957) (divorced)

Trivia

Buried in the exclusive Montparnasse cemetery Paris, France.

Father, with Jane Birkin, of Charlotte Gainsbourg.

Father of Lucien Gainsbourg (b. 1986), with Caroline aka Bambou.

Had two children from Elisabeth Pancrazzi (also known as Béatrice Pancrazzi): Natacha (born on August 8, 1964) and Paul (born in Spring 1968)

Born to Joseph Ginsburg (1896-1971) and Olia Bessman (1894-1985), Russian Jews who fled to France after the 1917 Bolshevik uprising, he grew up with an older sister, Jaqueline (born in 1926) and a twin sister, Liliane. His elder brother Marcel died at an early age.

Many French celebrities including Catherine Deneuve, Johnny Hallyday, Françoise Hardy and Isabelle Adjani attended his funeral (7 March 1991).

His home on rue de Verneuil in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district in Paris is still covered in graffiti and poems.

Wrote France Gall's winning song "Poupée de cire, poupée de son" at The Eurovision Song Contest (1965) (TV).

Being a guest on Michel Drucker's Saturday night live show, he was interviewed together with Whitney Houston and exclaimed to the host "I want to f... her!".

Became infamous for his provocative and controversial appearances on French television in the 1980s, often showing up unshaved and drunk.

Discovering that Gaisbourg made his wife Rita Marley sing erotic lyrics, Bob Marley was furious.

Due to his explicit eroticism, his song "Je t'aime...moi non plus", sung by his then lover Jane Birkin, became his biggest international hit in 1969. Ironically, he recorded the original version with Brigitte Bardot, who later pleaded him not to release it, one year before.

French poet, singer-songwriter, actor and director, becoming a musical legend due to his varied style and individuality.

Personal Quotes

Quand Gainsbarre se bourre, Gainsbourg se barre.

Ugliness has more going for it than beauty. It endures.

There's a trilogy in my life, an equilateral triangle, shall we say, of Gitanes, alcoholism and girls.

Browse biographies section by name

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z