Sister André
Born Lucile Rando, Sister André no longer hid a certain weariness at having lost part of her abilities. She wished, as she put it with subtlety, "to withdraw from this matter". The doyenne of humanity, the French nun died on January 17, 2023, just a few days before blowing out her 119 candles. "They say that work kills, for me it's work that made me live, I worked until I was 108 years old," said the supercentenarian in April 2022, when she was made the oldest woman in humanity, after the death at the age of 119 of the Japanese Kane Tanaka. There is no official body that assigns the title of dean, but scholars agree that Sister André was the oldest living person whose marital status had been verified. The Guinness Book of World Records also recorded this state of affairs on 25 April.
Sister André, on the eve of her 117th birthday in the garden of the Toulon nursing home where she had been living since 2009. © Nicolas Tucat, AFP
Paco Rabanne
Known for his daring creations, especially in metal, the great couturier and perfumer Paco Rabanne died on February 3, 2023 at the age of 88. Originally from Spain, where his father - a general - had been shot by Franco's soldiers in 1936, he had taken refuge in France with his family. He began his career here by creating accessories, jewelry, ties and buttons that he offered to Dior, Saint-Laurent or Cardin. Before launching into fashion to bring it to life in line with new materials and techniques. Throughout his career, Paco Rabanne, who assiduously practiced esotericism, was also noted for his eccentric statements and risky predictions about the afterlife and the apocalypse. Statements that were not well received or mocked by his fans, which led him to withdraw from public life. Despite everything, he will remain the radical and rebellious spirit that he instilled in French fashion and which make him a source of inspiration for young designers.
In this photo taken on January 20, 1999, Spanish designer Paco Rabanne checks on a dress before his Spring/Summer 1999 haute couture collection in Paris. © Frederick Florin, AFP
Tina Turner
She has electrified crowds around the world with her powerful voice and explosive stage acting. The actress, who said she was not afraid of aging, told the Guardian in April that she hoped she would be remembered as the "queen of rock 'n' roll". The bet paid off. Tina Turner has left its mark on generations of fans with her blonde mane, her devastating smile and her long career, marked by a fabulous comeback after escaping an abusive husband. Her unparalleled stage acting has inspired other queens of the stage, such as Beyoncé. A shower of tributes was paid to her after her death, on May 24, 2023 at the age of 83, following a long illness: from the White House, which hailed an "icon", to Mick Jagger or Gloria Gaynor, for whom she "paved the way for so many black and white women in rock music". During his career that began in the 1950s in the United States, the singer of "The Best" has accumulated awards, including eight Grammys, the ultimate awards in American music. In 2021, Tina Turner was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Tina Turner at a press event in Hamburg on October 23, 2018. © Christian Charisius, AFP
Astrud Gilberto
With a few verses sung in English in a sweet and melancholic voice, the Brazilian Astrud Gilberto had become "The Girl from Ipanema", the first "queen of bossa nova". The singer passed away on June 5, 2023, at the age of 83, at her home in Philadelphia, United States. It was in New York that Astrud Gilberto recorded her signature track with singer and guitarist Joao Gilberto, then her husband. In 1972, "Fly Me to the Moon" was another major hit for the singer with 19 albums. "His contribution to the dissemination of Brazilian music in the world is immeasurable. His incomparable swing will be with me forever," American singer Mark Lambert said after his death.
Brazilian singer Astrud Gilberto in New York City, August 20, 1981. © AP, Dave Pickoff
Silvio Berlusconi
The Italian billionaire died on June 12, 2023, at the age of 86, after dominating his country's public life for more than two decades. A controversial figure, Silvio Berlusconi began his professional life going door-to-door selling vacuum cleaners, before starting law school and then making his fortune in real estate. A financial success that allowed him to build Italy's largest media empire, Mediaset, which he then used to make a sensational entry into politics. Four times President of the Council, he transformed and monopolized the Italian political scene at the beginning of the twenty-first century, playing the "anti-system" card long before Donald Trump. "Il Cavaliere" (the knight), one of his many nicknames, also collected escapades and scandals, including that of his "bunga bunga" debauchery parties. Despite the taunts, Silvio Berlusconi's unique political style and tumultuous career became a model for ambitious politicians around the world, eventually earning him the unenviable reputation of being the forerunner of contemporary populism.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi during a two-day official visit to Romania in 2011. © Daniel Mihailescu, AFP
Milan Kundera
One of the greatest voices in world literature passed away on July 11, 2023 in Paris. The Czech-French writer Milan Kundera, a sarcastic painter of the human condition, has died at the age of 94. The author of "La Plaisanterie" (1965) and "L'Unbearable Légèreté de l'être" (1984) was one of the few authors to have entered the prestigious editions of La Pléiade during his lifetime. Born in the Czech Republic, stripped of this nationality before regaining it late in life, but French since 1981, he was one of the most influential novelists in the world in the language of Molière. Refraining from speaking to the media, wanting people to talk about his work and nothing else, Milan Kundera lived discreetly in the center of Paris, with his wife Vera.
A portrait of the French-Czech writer in the Milan Kundera Library in Brno, Czech Republic, April 6, 2023. © AFP
Jane Birkin
"Tears won't be able to change anything" was the headline in Libération, the day after the death of this English icon of French song. Jane Birkin passed away on July 16, 2023, leaving behind, at the age of 76, an incredible repertoire of songs hummed by all French people. The wife and muse of Serge Gainsbourg, the mother of Charlotte Gainsbourg and Lou Doillon, was not only a fashion icon, but also a woman with a big heart and a committed personality, from the fight for abortion to the defense of undocumented immigrants and refugees. France's favourite Englishwoman was appreciated for her sensitivity, underlined by the delicate British accent she retained throughout her life. In the cinema, she also played in Antonioni's "Blow Up", Palme d'Or in 1967, "La Piscine" with Romy Schneider and Alain Delon in 1969, or with directors such as Jean-Luc Godard, Jacques Doillon, Jacques Rivette or Agnès Varda. Jane Birkin had reported serious health problems in recent years that had forced her to cancel concerts.
British actress and singer Jane Birkin at the closing ceremony of the 68th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southeastern France, May 24, 2015. © Loïc Venance, AFP
Sinead O'Connor
Ireland has lost "one of [its] greatest and most talented composers, songwriters and performers in recent decades", Irish President Michael Higgins reacted to the news of the death of Sinead O'Connor, who died on 26 July 2023 at the age of 56. Known worldwide for the track "Nothing Compares 2 U", the singer with the powerful voice made her debut in the streets and pubs of Dublin, before recording her first album, "The Lion and the Cobra", a punk classic, in 1987, in London, and gaining notoriety a few years later. O'Connor, who says she was abused as a child, has been a source of controversy throughout her career, frequently speaking out against the Catholic Church, which she accused of failing to protect child victims of sexual abuse. The artist gradually disappeared from the spotlight at the end of the 90s, but tried her hand at reggae in 2005 after moving to Jamaica for a while and exploring Rastafarian beliefs. She later converted to Islam, changing her name to Shuhada' Sadaqat in 2018.
Irish singer Sinead O'Connor during an Italian TV show, in Milan, October 5, 2014. © Antonio Calanni, AP
Fernando Botero
He was considered one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century. The Colombian painter and sculptor Fernando Botero, famous for his voluptuous figures, died on September 15. He was 91. His sculptures, marked by gigantism, have occupied a very important place in his career. The extraordinary dimensions of his art were his trademark. For the artist, the adjective "fat" did not suit his characters. A lover of the Italian Renaissance, he called himself a "defender of volume" in modern art. His works, which can be found in the world's greatest museums, can also be seen outdoors in many cities, with Fernando Botero believing that exhibitions in outdoor spaces are a "revolutionary rapprochement" of art with the public. The artist has also been a major patron of the arts, with donations estimated at more than $200 million. He has donated many of his works to the museums of Medellín and Bogotá, as well as dozens of paintings from his private collection, including Picasso, Monet, Renoir, Miro...
Colombian artist Fernando Botero in his apartment in New York City, October 2013. © Mark Lennihan, AP
Hubert Reeves
He opened the heavens to all, putting his erudition at the service of knowledge of the history of the Universe. The famous French-Canadian astrophysicist was a formidable storyteller, known for his work popularizing the cosmos and for his commitment to the future of the Earth. He passed away on October 13, 2023, at the age of 91. After working for NASA in the 1960s, Hubert Reeves pursued a teaching career in Belgium before moving to France where he became director of research at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) and advisor to the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). In 1981, after the surprise success of his book "Patience dans l'azur", he began a second career as a popularizer of science. "Some books have a destiny power: reading 'Patience dans l'Azur' at the age of 17 changed the course of my life," says Étienne Klein, astrophysicist and philosopher of science. Like him, a whole generation of professional astronomers and human beings were inspired by the work of Hubert Reeves.
French-Canadian astrophysicist Hubert Reeves on February 5, 2019 in Nantes. © Loïc Venance, AFP
Matthew Perry
Laughing eyes, good-natured smiles. Matthew Perry is missed by his millions of fans around the world who learned of his brutal death on October 28 at the age of 54. The star actor of the hit series "Friends" in which he played Chandler Bing was found unconscious by his assistant in a jacuzzi at his home in Los Angeles. The death was caused by "the acute effects" of taking ketamine, the county's office of forensic pathology announced two months later. The comedian had been struggling with his addiction to drugs and alcohol for years. In his memoirs published last year, he said he had gone through 65 withdrawal sessions, spending more than $1994 million. With the death of Matthew Perry, a page is turned. A true cultural phenomenon, the series "Friends", broadcast between 2004 and <>, marked an entire generation of viewers.
Matthew Perry in Los Angeles on April 14, 2009. © Phil McCarten, Reuters
Henry Kissinger
Adored as much as hated, the former US Secretary of State (1973-1977) and influential geopolitical adviser Henry Kissinger left his mark on the twentieth century. He died on November 29, 2023 at the age of 100. On the other hand, Kissinger is the Nobel Peace Prize winner. A major architect of the historic rapprochement between the United States and Communist China in the early 1970s, initiator of the policy of détente with the USSR, his name is also associated with the Paris Accords that paved the way for the American withdrawal from Vietnam and earned him the famous Nobel Prize in 1973. On the other hand, murderous bombings in Cambodia, a hidden role in the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende in Chile in 1973, a blank cheque for the brutal Indonesian invasion of East Timor, support for Operation Condor, a vast campaign of assassinations of opponents in six Latin American military dictatorships in 1975... The American diplomat has regularly been labelled a "war criminal" by his most virulent critics. At the turn of the 2000s, his legend caught up with him, summoned as a witness by a French judge as part of an investigation for "crimes against humanity" opened against Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet after the complaint of several families of Franco-Chileans who disappeared in the 70s. Henry Kissinger will never answer the call of the French justice system.
U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on March 25, 1974 in Tel Aviv. © AFP
With AFP and Reuters
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