Christine and The Queens
Héloïse Letissier is originally from Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire and attended high school at Clémenceau, before studying in Paris. She then moved to London and later focused on Christine and The Queens upon returning to Paris, before achieving the success we all know. Nevertheless, she still spends her Sundays with family on the banks of the Loire river!
Pony Pony Run Run
At the origin of the band, created in 2005, four young people from Angers and Nantes, joined by Antonin on the keyboard, originally from the Paris region. They then recorded an album from which the hugely successful single "Hey You" was extracted. A new album, "Voyage, voyage", was released in 2016 and although they are now only three, it's still just as crazy.
Dominique A
Dominique A wasn't born in Nantes, but he moved there with his parents when his father was transferred, at the age of 15. He formed a group called John Merrick as a tribute to David Lynch's "Elephant Man", of which he is a fan. It's in Nantes that he made his first steps in music. Since then, he won a Victoire de la musique in 2013 and released over ten albums.
Philippe Katerine
The quirky French singer is originally from Vendée! He actually started his career with collaborations with Dominique A before gaining fame with "Louxor, j'adore". And as he himself says, Louxor is a club in Clisson where he used to hang out when he was young. While the place may be a bit infamous today, it still exists. But Philippe, it's spelled "Louksor"...
Here's the crazy music video, just as wild as the man himself!
Madeon
He's the young prodigy from the stars of Nantes. Madeon, whose real name is Hugo Leclerq, was born in Nantes in... 1994! In 2011, he recorded a remix for Yelle and then released a mashup of 39 songs, "Pop Culture", during the summer which went viral. His reputation was made. The succ.It's dazzling. Respect little one!
C2C
And therefore Hocus Pocus and Beat Torrent. Since the equation Hocus Pocus + Beat Torrent = C2C. So, C2C is a group made up of 4 Nantes DJs with weird names: 20Syl, Greem, Atom and Pfel. They formed in 1998, each embarked on duo careers before coming together and releasing "Down the Road", a stellar success! And that, that makes us happy.
Anna Mouglalis
The beautiful actress was born in Fréjus, but it was in Nantes that she spent her entire childhood. It is also in Nantes that her great-grandfather immigrated with his three brothers after the First World War. She studied at the Guist'hau High School in Nantes before attending La Fémis and starting her career in theater, before transitioning to cinema. And she never looked back.
Joachim Garraud
Born on September 27, 1968 in Nantes, the electro house and dance DJ and producer Joachim Garraud spent his youth there, even starting out on Radio Nantes before moving to Paris in late 1989 where he became a DJ at Boy2 alongside none other than Laurent Garnier (impressive, right?). He has produced or collaborated with renowned artists such as David Bowie, Moby, Jean-Michel Jarre, David Guetta, ... He was notably involved in creating the label F*** Me I'm Famous Records 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 ballrooms. Then, in 2002, she released an album with Tôt ou Tard before going on tour with Vincent Delerm, which launched her into the spotlight. And away she goes...
Ahmed Sylla
Born on March 10, 1990 in Nantes, comedian and actor Ahmed Sylla spent his childhood in Les Dervallières. Starting his career performing at the Casino de Paris and the Bobino theatre in 2010, he rose to fame in 2011 with over 40 appearances on the show On n'demande qu'à en rire on France 2. Since then, he has already done 3 shows and has had several roles in movies and TV series.
Jacques Demy
He was born in Pontchâteau but settled in Nantes, where his father owned a garage. He spent his summers in Saint-Julien-de-Concelles, on the banks of the Loire. Passionate about puppet theater, he made his first film with a camera he found in a Nantes flea market. A leading filmmaker of the Nouvelle Vague, he brought cinema to Nantes by filming the iconic "Lola" and "A Room in Town". The city of Nantes even dedicated a media library to him.
© Cinémathèque
Jules Verne
The star of Nantes, that's him! All of Nantes' culture has been built around this illustrious writer, who has opened the imaginations of so many children and adults. We couldn't make this list without mentioning him!
