Christine and The Queens
Héloïse Letissier is from Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire and attended Clemenceau high school before heading off to preparatory classes in Paris. She exiled herself to London before dedicating herself to Christine and The Queens upon her return to Paris, before achieving the success we all know. Still, when it comes to family Sundays, she spends them on the banks of the Loire!
Pony Pony Run Run
At the origin of the band, created in 2005, were four young people from Angers and Nantes, later joined by Antonin on keyboards, who hails from the Paris region. They then recorded an album from which came the single with meteoric success "Hey You". A new album, "Voyage, voyage", came out in 2016 and although there are now only three of them, it's still just as wild.
Dominique A
Dominique A wasn't born in Nantes, but he moved there with his parents when his father was transferred, the year he turned 15. He formed a band called John Merrick as a tribute to David Lynch's "Elephant Man", of which he's a fan. It was in Nantes that he got his start. Since then, he won a Victoire de la Musique in 2013 and released nearly a dozen albums.
Philippe Katerine
French music's resident eccentric is originally from Vendée! He actually kicked off his career with collaborations with Dominique A, before finding fame with "Louxor, j'adore". And as he'll tell you himself, the Louxor is a nightclub in Clisson where he used to hang out as a young man. While the place has a bit of a sketchy reputation these days, it still exists. But Philippe, that's spelled "Louksor"...
Check out the video below—it's as wild as the man himself!
Madeon
He's the young kid rising star of the Nantes-made celebrity gang. Madeon, Hugo Leclerq by his real name, was born in Nantes in... 1994! In 2011, he recorded a remix for Yelle then released this mashup of 39 tracks, "Pop Culture", during the summer, which went viral across the web. His reputation was made. Success was his.
C2C
And consequently Hocus Pocus and Beat Torrent. Since the equation Hocus Pocus + Beat Torrent = C2C. So, C2C is a group made up of 4 DJs from Nantes with bizarre names: 20Syl, Greem, Atom and Pfel. They formed in 1998, each launched into duet careers before reuniting and releasing "Down the Road", which was an out-of-this-world hit! And that, that makes us happy.
Anna Mouglalis
The beautiful actress was born in Fréjus, but it's in Nantes where she spent her entire childhood. In fact, it was in Nantes that her great-grandfather emigrated with his three brothers after World War I. She studied at Guist'hau high school in Nantes before attending Fémis and beginning her career in theater, before moving on to film. And she's never looked back.
Joachim Garraud
Born on September 27, 1968 in Nantes, DJ and electro house and dance producer Joachim Garraud spent his entire youth there, and even got his start on Radio Nantes before heading to Paris at the end of 1989, where he became a DJ at Boy2 alongside none other than Laurent Garnier (need we say more). He has produced or collaborated with renowned artists such as David Bowie, Moby, Jean-Michel Jarre, David Guetta, and others. He is notably at the origin of creating the Fuck Me I'm Famous Records label with David Guetta.
Jeanne Cherhal
Born in Nantes, Jeanne Cherhal grew up near Châteaubriant with her two sisters, Liz (also a singer) and Emilie. She studied philosophy in Nantes while singing in musette halls. Then, in 2002, she released an album on Tôt ou Tard before touring with Vincent Delerm, which catapulted her into the spotlight. And there we have it...
Ahmed Sylla
Born on March 10, 1990 in Nantes, comedian and actor Ahmed Sylla spent his childhood in the Dervallières neighborhood. After beginning to perform at the Casino de Paris and the Bobino theatre in 2010, it was in 2011 that he burst onto the public stage thanks to his over 40 appearances on the show On n'demande qu'à en rire on France 2. Since then, he has already produced 3 shows and taken on several film and television roles.
Jacques Demy
He was born in Pontchâteau but settled in Nantes, where his father ran a garage. He spent his summers in Saint-Julien-de-Concelles, along the banks of the Loire. Passionate about puppet theater, he made his first film with a camera he found at some Nantes flea market. A leading filmmaker of the French New Wave, he especially brought cinema to Nantes by filming the cult classics "Lola" and "A Room in Town" there. The city of Nantes even dedicated a media library to him.
© Cinémathèque
Jules Verne
The ultimate star of Nantes, it's him! The entire cultural heritage of Nantes was built around this illustrious writer, who managed to open the imaginations of so many children and adults. We couldn't do this list without mentioning him!
