Carla Bruni

Carla Bruni Sarkozy

Bruni during the 2008 Armistice Day ceremony in Paris.
Born Carla Gilberta Bruni Tedeschi
(1967-12-23) 23 December 1967
Turin, Italy
Nationality French,[1] Italian
Occupation Singer-songwriter, model, actress
Known for Modelling and singing careers, marriage to French president
Height 177 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Spouse(s) Nicolas Sarkozy (m. 2008)
Children 2
Relatives Valeria Bruni Tedeschi (sister)
Guillaume Sarkozy (brother-in-law)
Olivier Sarkozy (half-brother-in-law)
Jean Sarkozy (stepson)

Carla Bruni Sarkozy,[1] (née Carla Bruni) (born Carla Gilberta Bruni Tedeschi; Italian pronunciation: [ˈkarla dʒilˈbɛrta ˈbruːni teˈdeski]; 23 December 1967), is an Italian-French singer-songwriter and former model. She is married to former French president Nicolas Sarkozy.

Early life and family

Carla Gilberta Bruni Tedeschi was born in Turin, Italy, Europe. Bruni is legally the daughter of Italian concert pianist Marisa Borini and industrialist and classical composer Alberto Bruni Tedeschi. In 2008, however, Bruni told Vanity Fair that her biological father is Italian-born Brazilian grocery magnate Maurizio Remmert. When Remmert met Marisa Borini at a concert in Turin, he was a 19-year-old classical guitarist, and their affair lasted six years.[2] Her sister is actress and movie director Valeria Bruni Tedeschi. She had a brother, Virginio Bruni Tedeschi (1959–4 July 2006), who died from complications of HIV/AIDS.[3] One of her maternal great-grandfathers was Italian, while the rest of her mother's ancestry is French.[4]

Bruni is heiress to the fortune created by the Italian tire manufacturing company CEAT, founded in the 1920s by her legal grandfather, Virginio Bruni Tedeschi. The company was sold in the 1970s to Pirelli (the brand continues in its former subsidiary in India, founded in 1958).[5] The family moved to France in 1975,[2] purportedly to escape the threat of kidnapping by the Red Brigades, a Communist terrorist group active in Italy in the 1970s and 1980s. Bruni grew up in France from the age of 7, and attended the boarding school Château Mont-Choisi in Lausanne, Switzerland. She went to Paris to study art and architecture, but left school at 19 to become a model.[6]

From her biological father, she has a half-sister, Consuelo Remmert.[7]

Career

1987–1996: early career and modeling

Bruni signed with City Models at age 19.[6] Paul Marciano, president and creative director of Guess? Inc., came across her picture among composite cards of aspiring models and chose her to model with Estelle Lefébure in campaigns for Guess? jeans.[6] Bruni subsequently worked for designers and fashion houses such as Christian Dior, Givenchy, Paco Rabanne, Sonia Rykiel, Christian Lacroix, Karl Lagerfeld, John Galliano, Yves Saint-Laurent, Shiatzy Chen, Chanel and Versace.[6] By the 1990s, Bruni was among the 20 highest-paid fashion models, earning US$7.5 million in her peak year. While modeling, Bruni dated Eric Clapton, then Mick Jagger.[8] On 11 April 2008, a 1993 nude photograph of Bruni taken during her modelling career sold at auction for US$91,000 (€65,093) – more than 60 times the expected price.[9] She was a modeling subject of a 1999 trompe-l'œil wool-knit dress body painting by Joanne Gair that is included in Gair's second book, Body Painting: Masterpieces by Joanne Gair.[10]

1997–2005: music career and debut album

Bruni with actor Vincent Pérez at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival.

In 1997, Bruni quit the world of fashion to devote herself to music.[2] She sent her lyrics to Julien Clerc in 1999, based on which he composed six tracks on his 2000 album Si j'étais elle.[11]

In 2002, her debut album Quelqu'un m'a dit, produced by Louis Bertignac, was released in Europe with success in Francophone countries.[11] Three songs from the album appear in Hans Canosa's 2005 American film Conversations with Other Women,[12] the song Le Plus Beau du quartier was used in H&M's Christmas 2006 commercial, and the title track was featured in the 2003 movie Le Divorce[13] and in the 2009 movie (500) Days of Summer.[14] In January 2010, her song "L'amoureuse" was featured in an episode of NBC's Chuck, "Chuck vs. First Class".[15]

In 2004 Carla Bruni won an EBBA Award. Every year the European Border Breakers Awards (EBBA) recognize the success of ten emerging artists or groups who reached audiences outside their own countries with their first internationally released album in the past year.

In 2005, she wrote the lyrics for ten out of twelve songs for Louis Bertignac's new album Longtemps, and performed two duets with him on the album, Les Frôleuses and Sans toi.[16] In 2006, Bruni recorded "Those Little Things", an English-language translation of the Serge Gainsbourg song "Ces petits riens" for the tribute album Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited. She took part in the opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in a parade paying tribute to the Italian flag.

2006–2008: No Promises and Comme si de rien n'était

Her second album, No Promises containing poems by William Butler Yeats, Emily Dickinson, W. H. Auden, Dorothy Parker, Walter de la Mare, and Christina Rossetti, set to music, was released in January 2007.

She continued recording after her marriage. She released her third album Comme si de rien n'était on 11 July 2008. The songs are self-penned except for one rendition of "You Belong to Me" and another song featuring Michel Houellebecq's poem La Possibilité d'une île set to music.[17] Royalties from the album will be donated to unidentified charitable and humanitarian causes.[18]

2009–present: Little French Songs and other projects

Bruni sang for Nelson Mandela's 91st birthday on 18 July 2009 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.[19]

In September 2009, she recorded a duet with Harry Connick, Jr. for the French edition of his album Your Songs. They sang The Beatles' song "And I Love Her".[20] The album was released in France on 26 October 2009.[21]

Following months of speculation, in a television interview broadcast on 23 November 2009, Bruni revealed that she had accepted a role in a forthcoming Woody Allen film. She admitted her reasoning for embarking on the Paris production; "I'm not an actress at all. Perhaps I'll be completely hopeless but I can't miss an opportunity like this one. When I'm a grandmother I'd like to be able to say I made a film with Woody Allen."[22][23] The film, Midnight in Paris, was released in 2011; Bruni appeared as a guide at the Musée Rodin, who discusses sculptor Auguste Rodin with the leading characters.

In January 2010, she was named in Tatler’s top 10 best-dressed list.[24]

In September 2010, she contributed a cover of David Bowie's "Absolute Beginners" for the War Child charity record We Were So Turned On: A Tribute to David Bowie (Manimal Vinyl). They also released the track as a split 7" vinyl split with UK legends, Duran Duran.[25]

Italian singer/songwriter Simone Cristicchi's entry in the 2010 San Remo Italian Song Festival was the song "Meno Male", with the chorus lyrics of "Meno male che c'è Carla Bruni" ("Thank goodness for Carla Bruni"). The song appears to mock Bruni and her husband, but Cristicchi stated in an interview for Italian television weekly TV Sorrisi e Canzoni "I use sarcasm explain our Italian way of always wanting to follow any type of gossip and are uninterested in real problems."[26] Bruni was to be a guest singer at the 2010 San Remo festival but withdrew from participating.[27]

In April 2013 Bruni's fourth album Little French Songs was released.

Personal life

Marriage to Nicolas Sarkozy

Carla Bruni with Michelle Obama, 3 April 2009

Bruni met the recently divorced French president Nicolas Sarkozy in November 2007, at a dinner party.[28] After a brief romance they married on 2 February 2008 at the Élysée Palace in Paris. The marriage is Bruni's first and Sarkozy's third. Bruni obtained French nationality not long afterwards.[1] She has since made contradictory statements as to whether she still holds Italian citizenship as well.[29] On the 28 April 2014 episode of the Ellen DeGeneres Show, she confirmed that she still holds Italian citizenship.[30]

Following her marriage to Sarkozy, in February 2008, Bruni continued accompanying him on state visits, including to the United Kingdom in March 2008, which created a sensation in the international press and for the public in both Britain and France.[31] She had an office and staff at her disposal in the East wing of the Élysée Palace.[32]

There was controversy on the eve of the state visit to the UK, with the publication by Christie's auction house of a nude photograph of Bruni taken during her career as a model.[33] The photograph sold for $91,000.[34] There was also great interest in Bruni's wardrobe, which was Christian Dior, seen as a diplomatic choice, being a French design house designed by John Galliano, a British designer.[35] Another controversy was the use of a popular photo of the French President and Bruni in the print advertising of Ryanair. The couple was awarded damages by a French court[36] which they donated to Les Restos du Cœur, an organisation that provides meals to the homeless.

In December 2008, Bruni sued the makers of a bag featuring a nude shot taken during her supermodelling youth. Clothes designer Pardon has produced 10,000 of the shopping bags emblazoned with the nude photo taken in 1993, showing Bruni staring at the camera with her crossed hands covering her crotch.[37]

On 19 October 2011, Carla Bruni gave birth to a daughter, Giulia, in the Clinique de la Muette, in Paris.[38]

Philanthropy and charity work

Bruni at the 2009 NATO summit, 4 April 2009.

Involved for years in humanitarian and charity work, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy became world ambassador for the protection of mothers and children against HIV in 2008.[39] In April 2009, she launched the Fondation Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, to promote access to culture and knowledge for all.[40][41]

In a letter of support to the association People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), she took a position against fur in fashion.[42]

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is involved in various charitable activities. She gave her royalties for her album Comme si de rien n’était to the Fondation de France,[43][44] and supports different events or causes, such as the Born HIV Free campaign,[45] animal rights,[46][47] the Nelson Mandela foundation, the French association AIDES for AIDS research, the French association La Chaîne de l'Espoir or the association Warchild UK. She also participated in a concert with Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin for the 91st birthday of Nelson Mandela,[48][49] and recorded a song for the album We Were So Turned On: A Tribute to David Bowie.[50] She is involved in the promotion of young artists, and did a duet with French singer Marc Lavoine for the Prix Constantin, an annual French music prize awarded to newer artists.[51][52] Furthermore, she supported French guitarist Jean-Pierre Danel's charity album,[53][54] and sold a self-portrait to the benefit of third-world children.[55] Bruni met the Dalai Lama in August 2008 at Lerab Ling, a Buddhist temple on a hill in Languedoc, France.[56] Bruni received Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to France in September 2008.[57] Bruni visited New York City in September 2008 with her husband, where she attended a meeting on poverty and female mortality with Queen Rania and Wendi Murdoch, met for lunch with First Lady Laura Bush at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the Symposium on Advancing Global Literacy and attended the General Assembly in the UN with her husband.[58] She also attended state dinners with the Emir of Qatar and wife and with Iraq's president in Paris in 2009. She and Sheikha Mozah (wife of Emir of Qatar) will be working together on the topic of education promotion.[59] Bruni visited Doha on invitation of Sheikha Mozah in November 2009.[59] She also took cause for a woman in Iran, Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani, fighting a death penalty by stoning.[60][61]

In April 2009, Carla was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III on the occasion of the couple's Spanish State Visit.[62]

In October 2009 she launched CarlaBruniSarkozy.org, a website largely dealing with her philanthropic work. In a report by Court des Comptes from July 2013, this web site was paid 410000eur ( about $500K ) by the tax payer.

In January 2010, Carla visited Benin, her second visit as ambassador for The Global Fund.[63] She also received Haitian orphans who survived the Haiti 2010 earthquake and were adopted by French families.[64]

She was critical of Pope Benedict XVI on the controversial topic of religion and AIDS.[65] According to Le Canard Enchainé, Bruni was asked by Vatican officials not to join her husband in an official visit for fear that the Italian newspapers would reprint racy pictures dating from her modelling career.[66]

In late August 2010, Iran's state-run daily paper Kayhan called Bruni-Sarkozy a 'prostitute' after she had condemned the stoning sentence against Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani for adultery in an open letter, along with several French celebrities.[67] The paper later also called for Bruni to be put to death for supporting Sakineh Ashtiani, and for what the paper described as Bruni's moral corruption and having had extra-marital affairs herself. Even though Kayhan is a state-sponsored paper and it continued its tirade against Bruni along with other state-run Iranian media, Iranian officials tried to distance themselves from that violent stance and openly condemned it, while a spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry criticized the comments as being 'unacceptable'.[68] President Ahmedinejad also condemned the remark made by the paper.[69]

Other relationships

It has been claimed that Bruni has been involved with Louis Bertignac, Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, Léos Carax, Charles Berling, Arno Klarsfeld, Vincent Pérez,[70] American businessman Donald Trump[71] and former French Prime Minister Laurent Fabius.[72][73]

The Enthovens

While living with Jean-Paul Enthoven, Bruni started an affair with his son, philosophy professor Raphaël Enthoven (the song "Raphaël" from Bruni's album Quelqu'un m'a dit is named after him), who was at the time married to novelist Justine Lévy, daughter of philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy.[74] Bruni later denied ever having an affair with Raphaël's father in an interview published in Vanity Fair, "I never slept with him, not even a minute."[2]

The affair and the end of her marriage inspired Justine's 2004 book Rien de Grave (published in English in 2005 as Nothing Serious).[75]

Bruni and Raphaël had a son, Aurélien, in 2001. Bruni told Vanity Fair that the couple broke up in May 2007 because Raphaël thought their relationship did not have a commitment.[2]

Discography

Filmography

Year Film Role Notes
1994 Prêt-à-Porter Herself Uncredited
1998 Paparazzi Herself
2009 Somebody Told Me About. . . Carla Bruni Herself 80-minute documentary film[76]
2011 Midnight in Paris Museum guide Directed by Woody Allen[77]
Nominated—Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award for Best Ensemble Cast
Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Ensemble Acting
Nominated—San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Performance by an Ensemble
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

Honours

Foreign honours

Further reading

References

  1. 1 2 3 Carla Bruni a obtenu sa naturalisation – Le Figaro, 9 July 2008
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Orth, Maureen (September 2008). "Paris Match". Vanity Fair: 2.
  3. ↑ Carla Bruni became Aids ambassador because brother died from disease – The Daily Telegraph, 1 December 2008
  4. ↑ Carla Bruni-Sarkozy et ses ancêtres français
  5. ↑ (French) "Bruni-Tedeschi, de la saga à la telenovela". Libération (in French). 4 February 2008.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Carla Bruni". Fashion Insider. 7 June 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2008.
  7. ↑ (Italian) Il padre naturale di Carla Bruni « Vi racconto il legame con mia figlia » – La Repubblica, 9 January 2008
  8. ↑ Bernhard, Brendan (2 February 2007). "The Supermodel School of Poetry". New York Sun.
  9. ↑ "Nude photo of French first lady sells in New York for $91,000". International Herald Tribune. Bloomberg L.P. 11 April 2008. Retrieved 11 April 2008.
  10. ↑ Gair, Plates section
  11. 1 2 Biography – Carla Bruni – RFI, July 2008
  12. ↑ Conversations with Other Women (2005) – Soundtracks – IMDb
  13. ↑ Le divorce (2003) – Soundtracks – IMDb
  14. ↑ (500) Days of Summer (2009) – Soundtracks – IMDb
  15. ↑ "Chuck": Chuck Versus First Class (2010) – Soundtracks – IMDb
  16. ↑ Louis Bertignac – Longtemps – Discogs
  17. ↑ Bremner, Charles (21 May 2008). "Carla Bruni's new pot song". The Times (UK).
  18. ↑ Brandle, Lars (21 May 2008). "Bruni's 'Promises' To Arrive This Summer". Billboard.
  19. ↑ Bruni sings at NY Mandela concert – BBC News, 19 July 2009
  20. ↑ Le duo de Carla et Harry Connick Jr (French), parismatch.com, 26 September 2009
  21. ↑ Harry Connick Jr – Nouvel album « Your Songs » – Sortie le 26 octobre (French), Sony Columbia France on MySpace
  22. ↑ Carla Bruni accepts Woody Allen film proposal The Guardian. 24 November 2009
  23. ↑ Johnny Hallyday following Carla Bruni into films The Telegraph. 25 November 2009
  24. ↑ Daily Mail 30 January 2010 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1247415/Whos-new-Tatler-girl-Unknowns-make-mark-style-bibles-best-dressed-Top-10--including-girl-loves-Harrods-doughnuts.html
  25. ↑ Boys keep swinging – Duran Duran / Absolute beginners – Carla Bruni – Music on Vinyl, 16 February 2011
  26. ↑ Simone Cristicchi – Secondo me son tutti matti TV Sorrisi e Canzoni. 10 February 2010
  27. ↑ Carla Bruni withdraws from festival 'over Sarkozy song' The Telegraph. 2 February 2010
  28. ↑ France begins to grow weary with the Sarkozy soap opera – The Guardian, 13 January 2008
  29. ↑ Carla Bruni Sarkozy: son pays, elle l'aime... mais elle le quitte! – Marianne 17 January 2009 (French)
  30. ↑ Carla Bruni Meets Ellen, 28 April 2014
  31. ↑ BBC News In Pictures – Carla Bruni-Sarkozy – BBC News, 27 March 2008
  32. ↑ (French) Confidentiel : Carla prend ses quartiers à l'Élysée – Le Figaro, 3 April 2008
  33. ↑ Think THIS image of Carla is racy? You should see the ones I didn't publish, says photographer – Daily Mail, 27 March 2008
  34. ↑ Nude Bruni photo sells for $91,000 in auction – Reuters, 11 April 2008
  35. ↑ Carla Bruni styled by Englishman John Galliano – Daily Telegraph, 27 March 2008
  36. ↑ Carla Bruni awarded damages from Ryanair – Telegraph, 7 February 2008
  37. ↑ French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy sues bag makers Pardon over nude image – The Daily Telegraph, 12 December 2008
  38. ↑ Carla Bruni-Sarkozy et sa fille Giulia sont sorties de la clinique de la Muette, Le Point, 23 October 2011
  39. ↑ Charles Jaigu, « Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, porte-voix des victimes du sida », Le Figaro, 2 December 2008
  40. ↑ Charles Jaigu, « Carla Sarkozy en mission pour sa fondation », Le Figaro, 23 September 2009
  41. ↑ « Interview exclusive de Carla Bruni-Sarkozy : « une fondation, ça n'a rien à voir avec la politique », La Tribune, 24 April 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2009
  42. ↑ Stephanie Green et Elizabeth Glover, "Green & Glover : The Great Fur Challenge", The Washington Times, 11 June 2009
  43. ↑ "Les droits du cd de Carla Bruni pour la Fondation de France". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  44. ↑ "Carla Bruni offre 238,000 euros à la Fondation de France". nouvelobs.com. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  45. ↑ Actions Traitements. "Born HIV free avec le soutien de Carla Bruni-Sarkozy". Actions-traitements.org. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  46. ↑ "Carla Bruni soutient les défenseurs de l'ours des Pyrénées". Melty.fr. 18 August 2008. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  47. ↑ e-TF1. "Carla Bruni-Sarkozy défend l'ours dans les Pyrénées". Lci.tf1.fr. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  48. ↑ "Un Mandela Day pour les 91 ans de Nelson Mandela". Culture.france2.fr. 19 July 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  49. ↑ « Stars come out to celebrate Mandela Day 2009 » (en anglais.
  50. ↑ « Carla Bruni chante David Bowie ».
  51. ↑ "Culture : Carla Bruni invitée surprise du Prix Constantin". nouvelobs.com. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  52. ↑ "Carla Bruni invitée surprise du Prix Constantin" (in French). Voici.fr. 20 November 2010. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  53. ↑ "Carla Bruni-Sarkozy et Jean-Pierre Danel pour la lutte contre le Sida". Zikeo.com. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  54. ↑ Louis Bertignac. "Carla Bruni partage un bon coup de blues avec Jean-Pierre Danel". Purepeople.com. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  55. ↑ « Un autoportrait de Carla Bruni vendu 6500 euros aux enchères » Archived 5 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine.
  56. ↑ Carla saves the day for Sarkozy by solving Dalai Lama dilemma – The Times, 23 August 2008
  57. ↑ Pope begins first visit to France – BBC News, 12 September 2008
  58. ↑ Charlotte (26 September 2008). "''Carla in New York''". Carlabruniblog.blogspot.com. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  59. 1 2 Doha, first official visit to Qatar – Carla Bruni-Sarkozy official Website
  60. ↑ "Carla Bruni soutient Sakineh". Le Monde (in French). 24 August 2010. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  61. ↑ "Carla Bruni écrit à Sakineh". Lejdd.fr. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  62. ↑ Madrid:State Visit (27 and 28 April 2009) – Carla Bruni-Sarkozy official Website
  63. ↑ On the red carpet with Carla Bruni-Sarkozy in Benin – The Guardian, 27 January 2010
  64. ↑ Carla Bruni shows maternal side as she welcomes Haitian orphans to France – Daily Mail, 23 January 2010
  65. ↑ Samuel, Henry (18 May 2009). "Carla Bruni criticises Pope Benedict XVI". The Daily Telegraph (UK). Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  66. ↑ Samuel, Henry (14 October 2010). "Pope Benedict XVI 'says Carla Bruni-Sarkozy not welcome at the Vatican'". The Daily Telegraph (UK). Retrieved 2 December 2010.
  67. ↑ Ian Black, Middle East editor (31 August 2010). "Iranian media warned after paper calls Carla Bruni-Sarkozy a 'prostitute'". The Guardian (UK). Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  68. ↑ "Iranian newspaper says French first lady deserves to die". CNN. 2 September 2010.
  69. ↑ Ahmadinejad says Bruni insult a 'crime' – The Sydney Morning Herald, 19 September 2010
  70. ↑ (French) ON NE PARLE QUE DE ÇA | CARLA BRUNIGala.
  71. ↑ Donald Trump Dating History.Zimbio.
  72. ↑ Time Magazine, vol. 170, n. 26/27, 31 December 2007 – 7 January 2008. See also: Faces to follow in 2008: Presidential Arm Candy – Carla Bruni
  73. ↑ "Profile: Carla Bruni". BBC News. 15 January 2008.
  74. ↑ (French) When Carla Bruni broke hearts – Gala, Eliane Georges , 17 August 2005
  75. ↑ John Follain, Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni: Coup de foudre, Times Online, 23 December 2007
  76. ↑ The Carla Bruni and Nicolas Sarkozy show The Times. 28 December 2008
  77. ↑ Allen reveals details of upcoming pic Variety. 22 April 2010
  78. ↑ Carla Bruni, chevalier des Arts et des Lettres
  79. ↑ "Noblesse et Royautés" website, Article & Photo
  80. ↑ Carla Bruni Sarkozy reçoit la Grand Croix au Bénin

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