Régine Zylberberg

Régine Zylberberg (born Régina Zylberberg; 26 December 1929 – 1 May 2022), often known mononymously as Régine , was a Belgian-born French singer, actress, nightclub impresario, and businesswoman.

Rising to prominence in the 1950s and 1960s, she built an international nightlife empire with her chain of Régine’s clubs, which became synonymous with celebrity culture, luxury, and the emerging jet set. Often called the "Queen of the Night," Regine is credited with pioneering the modern discotheque while maintaining a parallel career as a recording artist and entertainer. Belgium, to Polish Jewish parents, Joseph Zylberberg and Tauba Rodstein. She spent much of her early life in hiding from the Nazis in occupied wartime France. Abandoned in infancy by her unwed mother who moved to Argentina, she was 12 when her father was arrested by the Nazis. She hid in a convent, where she was reportedly beaten. After the war, she sold bras in the streets of Paris. Her father, Joseph, managed to survive the war. He opened a cafe in Paris's Belleville neighborhood.

Zylberberg had one son, Lionel, from her first husband Leon Rothcage, whom she married when she was 17. by virtue of creating a new dynamic atmosphere at Paris' Whisky à Gogo, with the ubiquitous jukebox replaced by disc jockeys utilizing linked turntables.

After performing at Paris's famed Olympia in the 1960s, Régine went on to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York.

In 1975, Zylberberg was accompanied by her husband, Roger Choukroun, to New York. They split their time living between Paris and a penthouse suite at the Delmonico Hotel on Park Avenue and 59th Street in New York. In 1976, she opened Regine's nightclub on the ground floor of the hotel. The nightclub served food under the direction of French chef Michel Guérard. The following year, she opened a bistro alongside the nightclub called Cafe Reginette.

In 1978, Zylberberg opened a Regine's in the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Montreal.

On 22 April 1996, Zylberberg and her son were arrested for refusing to comply with crew requests and smoking on an American Airlines flight. It was alleged that, though she was traveling economy, Régine had demanded a first-class upgrade, which the airline declined.

Zylberberg died at the age of 92 in Paris on 1 May 2022. Her funeral took place on 9 May at the Père-Lachaise Cemetery crematorium. In attendance were celebrities such as Jane Birkin, Carla Bruni, Marc Lavoine, Carole Bouquet, and Anne Hidalgo.

Discography

Albums

1967: Régine (Pathé) 1968: 1969 (Pathé) 1970: La Fille Que Je Suis (Pathé) 1971: Régine (Pathé) 1973: Regine (CBS) 1978: Jackpot (CBS) 1984: Regine (Trema) 1993: Mémo Mélo (Trema) 2003: Made In Paname (Warner Jazz France) 2009: Régine's Duets (AZ)

Filmography

1962:The Dance (La gamberge) 1968: Marry Me! Marry Me! (Mazel Tov ou le Mariage ) 1970: Emergency Exit (Sortie de secours) 1973: The Train (Le Train) 1976: Sherlock Holmes attacks the Orient Express 1978: Robert et Robert 1984: My New Partner (Les Ripoux) 1994: Dead Tired (Grosse Fatigue)