Biography

Patrick Bruel (born Maurice Benguigui, on May 14, 1959 in Tlemcen, Algeria) is a French singer, actor, and professional poker player of Algerian descent. Although Bruel aspired to be a football (soccer) star as a youth, he decided to pursue singing after seeing Michel Sardou in 1975. His first success came as an actor, however, in 1979's Le Coup de sirocco. As of 2004 Bruel has acted in more than 40 different television and film productions and made five studio albums and several live albums. His last album to date is Entre Deux (2002), a double CD of classic chanson that features duets with Charles Aznavour, Jean-Louis Aubert, Jean-Jacques Goldman, Alain Souchon and Renaud, among others. It sold two million copies and made Bruel France's best paid singer of the year. (Qui a le droit, J'te l'dis quand même, Alors regarde, Place des grands hommes, Casser la voix)