Marianne James

Marianne James (born 18 February 1962) is a French singer, writer, actress, TV host and fashion designer. She has co-presented the French coverage of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Early life Born in Montélimar, Marianne Gandolfi grew up in the family shop, Place du Marché, with her father Maurice, chocolatier pastry chef and nougatier, her mother Jacqueline, from whom she gets her Italian origins, and her sister Pascale, four years older than her.

She took guitar lessons at the age of 11 with Antoine Petrucciani, known as "Tony", a renowned jazz guitarist and father of pianist Michel Petrucciani. From the age of 15 to 23, she took advantage of her holidays to sing in the streets with her sister and a friend.

In 1980, after creating her first group "The Swingums", she graduated with a degree in musicology from Sorbonne University and won a first prize for singing at the Conservatoire de Paris.

In 1981, Marianne James joined the band "Les Démones Loulou" with whom she opened for William Sheller at the Olympia. She continued to sing in the streets of Paris.

Theater Year Title Author Director Notes 1991–2002 L'Ultima Recital, les adieux irrévocables Marianne James & Veronique Vola Jango Edwards Molière Award for Best Musical Show (1999)Nominated - Molière Award for Best Musical Show (1997) 2003–2006 Le Caprice de Marianne Marianne James & Laurence Boccolini Marianne James 2008 The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob Gérard Oury & Danièle Thompson Patrick Timsit 2009 Les Insatiables Hanokh Levin Guila Braoudé 2011 Une visite inopportune Copi Philippe Calvario 2013–2018 Miss Carpenter Sébastien Marnier & Marianne James Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt & Steve Suissa 2018–2021 Tatie Jambon Valérie Bour & Marianne James Aude Léger 2022–2025 Tout est dans la voix Marianne James & BenH Marianne James

Album 1999 : Les Mandarines 2006 : Marianne James 2015 : Les Symphonies Subaquatiques 2016 : Tous au lit ! 2018 : Tous heureux !

Television Year Title Role Notes 2004-2007 Nouvelle Star Judge M6 2009 Vive les comédies musicales ! Host TF1 2010 Un monde tout nu Host Jimmy Rendez-vous en terre inconnue Guest France 2 2011 Queens of Pop Host Arte 2014–2017 Prodiges Host France 2 2015–2017 Eurovision Song Contest Commentator France 2 & France 4 2016 Cinq à sept avec Arthur Columnist TF1 Gala de l'Union des artistes Host France 4 2016–2017 A vos pinceaux Host France 2 & France 4 2018–2024 La France a un incroyable talent Judge M6 2022 Drag Race France Guest Judge France.tv Slash / France 2 Mask Singer Contestant TF1

Filmography

Actress Year Title Role Director Notes 2013 La croisière Amanda Saint-Gil Pascal Lahmani TV series (1 episode) 2017 Scènes de ménages: ça va être leur fête The Singer Francis Duquet TV movie2018 Nina Valérie Hervé Brami TV series (1 episode) Mongeville Agnès de Barneville Bénédicte Delmas TV series (1 episode) 2024 Face à face Agnès Tancelin Jean-Christophe Delpias TV series (10 episodes)

Dubbing Year Title Role 2004 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban The Fat Lady 2006 Happy Feet Mrs. Astrakhan 2012 Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted Captain Chantel DuBois 2016 Salaire net et monde de brutes Future Advisor Interim