Born Catherine Baudet on May 29 1945 in Poissy, near Paris, Catherine Lara is the daughter of a doctor (and amateur violinist). Her mother, Mado, brought up Catherine, her sister and two brothers, in a merry household with lots of music. Catherine started the violin at 11 and entered the conservatoire at Versailles, leaving two years later with a first prize. She also studied trumpet and dance.

Musical talent led her straight to the Paris Conservatoire National, which she entered in 1958. A gifted, albeit rebellious pupil, her enthusiastic artistic temperament, full of enthusiasm, led her to find the classical repertoire somewhat narrow and austere to assuage her thirst for musical discovery. Her stage performances at school were bizarre and exuberant. This did not prevent her from obtaining the second prize in violin, in 1965, and first prize in chamber music the following year.

Everything seemed set for a classical career. She joined the Musiciens de Paris group, with which she gave many concerts for several years. In 1968, the Fondation de la Vocation awarded her the best violin solo prize.

At the same time, Catherine was gaining a place in the world of varieties with accompaniments to Nana Mouskouri, Mireille Mathieu, Juliette Gréco and Claude Nougaro. She even accompanied the latter with her own quatuor, the Quatuor Lara. During this transitional period between two worlds, Catherine was experimenting in several directions. In addition to the Quatuor, she played in symphonic orchestras, and performed in the first half of Jean Ferrat 's concert with the Musiciens de Paris in 70, and began composing her own songs.

It was the songwriter Daniel Boublil who first wrote songs for Catherine Lara. Having composed her own music, Lara asked writers to fit songs to it. Her association with Boublil was immediately fruitful and together they brought out her first album, "Ad Libidum", in 1971. This album, still fairly classical in tone, was noticed because of one track, "Morituri". This was played on some radios several times a day. A faithful following was already developing behind this young woman with a different repertoire and an energetic temperament.

These first hints of success brought her a televised interview with Denise Glaser on April 3 1972. The then very famous interviewer had, since the sixties, invited all the most famous or interesting musicians to her programme, Discorama. It was thus a high honour for Catherine Lara to be invited to talk for 45 minutes about her work on television, after a single album. The two women had, in fact, been friends since the early seventies and it was Denise Glaser who had introduced her to the big boss at CBS, Jacques Souplet.

The same year she brought out another album with Boublil, "Tu sais mieux que personne". But the big event of 72 was her meeting with Barbara, with whom she wrote two songs, "Accident" and "Clair de nuit". The two became firm friends.

Undeniably, Catherine Lara made a name for herself right from the start. But she had to wait until the eighties, nine albums later, to make a commercial success. However, Catherine was not bothered by golden disks and continued to write, record and chalk up the albums. In 1974, she brought out "Le square des Innocents", with its folk sounds, very peace and love. On this album Daniel Boublil was joined by Boris Bergman for the words. The track which stood out from the rest was "La Craie dans l'encrier", in which the voice of singer Gilbert Montagné can be heard mingling with Lara's.

In 75, it was "Nil", a sadder album. Boublil was replaced by Alain Lacaus, but reappeared again in 76 for "Jeu de société", a distinctly more cheerful, rhythmic album than the earlier ones. This album also featured the guitarist Claude Engel, often to be found subsequently in the shadow of Catherine, who became her arranger, composer and friend. Indeed, for the next album, "Vaguement", Engel was producing.

A great friend of William Sheller, whose musical career resembled hers - classical training then a swerve into variety - Lara played on a track which he dedicated to her in 1977: "Catherine".

On January 16 1978, Catherine Lara performed in her first big concert at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées, a prestigious classical music venue in Paris. Stage work, for Lara, was an exceptional aid to creation and expression which suited her temperament and fire perfectly. She was soon saluted as a superb stage performer, a reputation she has always lived up to.

After having tried a bit of everything in the seventies, Lara made a highly publicised move towards rock. Thus, in 1979, the album "Coup d'feel" took on rock overtones and set the scene for the eighties. Recorded in the superb Morin Heights studios in Quebec, the record is considered as one of the singer's most perfect works. It was put together by Claude Engel and is brimming with energy. The lyrics are by Boublil and the Quebec Luc Plamondon (who achieved fame the previous year with the lyrics of the musical "Starmania"), and Jean-Pierre Ferland.

That year, Lara also performed a few first halves for Georges Moustaki.

Now Lara seemed more sure of herself. With the album "Geronimo" in 1980, she concentrated on minorities. It was an excellent opportunity to reveal her attachment to feminism, which she has always defended. Lara is one of the rare artists not to hide her homosexuality: to assert her femininity, she posed topless with fist raised in the inside pages of the album. This brought the songwriter Etienne Roda-Gil, Julien Clerc's author, into Lara's orbit.

1981 was a year of changes for Catherine Lara. She left CBS for Tréma and the first album she cut with them was a huge hit, the first of her career. It was the song "Johan" which audiences loved. This tender ballad on the theme of childhood was co-signed by Pierre Grosz, the songwriter, and a new member of the Lara team..

Sandwiched between two glittering years, 1982 was a dark passage in the singer's career. With her friends Bob Decout and the actress Annie Girardot, Catherine Lara wrote a musical called "Revue et Corrigée", put on with great ceremony at the Casino de Paris. This legendary theatre, which had been closed for years, was specially opened for the occasion. The show, with singing by Annie Girardot, Jacquie Quartz and Catherine, was a flop. The production made huge losses and the critics slated the whole cast. For Catherine, this experience was followed by a long period of depression and fatigue, coupled with a lung disease. She remained apart from the musical scene for several months.

But in 1983 she bounced back into the charts with two albums in the year. First, there was "Une femme libre", to lyrics by Grosz and Boublil. Above all, it was "La rockeuse de diamants" which shot Catherine straight into the hit parades with the title track. For the first time, Lara entrusted a woman with the lyrics of her songs. Similar to "Coup d'feel", the music is rock inspired with an electrical violin. The public flocked to the two concerts at the Olympia on February 21 and 22 1983. A live album, her first, echoed the great parties that were Lara's concerts at that time. She had similar success at the Festival du Printemps de Bourges in the April.

In 1984 the album "Flamenrock", written in two weeks, was in a similar energetic rock vein. Often dressed in leathers, Lara played on the image of the strong woman, the spy film type. "Dom Juane", a track signed by Anaïs, underscored her bent for seduction - her way. But her work is always extremely discreet and very sensitive. There may be openness, but never provocation. Catherine Lara takes responsibility for herself, but does not force herself on others.

In March, Catherine returned to the stage of the Olympia for a week and went on tour to 80 venues during the summer. This was no doubt the most triumphant period of her career. So much so that in February 85, it was at the Zenith, with an audience of some 4,000, that she put on a show with dancers and a 9- strong orchestra. However, some of her fans did not enjoy her flamboyant stage work at this time.

However, they all flocked to hear her new album, "Nuit magique" the title song of which (signed by Plamondon) was the biggest hit of her career. On this record, she worked for the first time with a young Chilean musician, Sebastian Santa Maria, who was to accompany her on her subsequent albums.

After 15 years of singing, Catherine Lara was awarded the Victoire de la Musique prize for the best female singer of the year 1986. This professional recognition was underscored by public support which never wavered during the eighties. From September 26 to October 6th, the Olympia was again occupied by Catherine Lara and her team.

Two fairly minor albums came out in 1987, "A travers les autres, and in 1988 "Rocktambule". In the latter one song of note: "IEO", dedicated to the singer Daniel Balavoine who had accidentally died two years previously. Two weeks at the Olympia in 1988 were a success despite a somewhat chilly staging.

Then Catherine Lara abandoned big theatres for a tour of 100 dates in all the small theatres in France. Accompanied by three musicians, a guitar, keyboards and a singer, she called her tour "Rock en chambre".

In 1991 she was at the head of a serious undertaking, a musical comedy on the theme of George Sand, the French nineteenth century woman novelist famous for her spirit of independence and her lovers (Alfred de Musset and Frederic Chopin). With lyrics by Luc Plamondon, the show was then recorded by Maurane, Véronique Sanson, Daniel Lavoie and Richard Cocciante. But in November 92, it was on the stage of the Théâtre du Châtelet that the romantic magic of the Argentine director Alfredo Arias was fully displayed. after the success of the single, "Entre elle et moi", a duo between Sanson and Lara, the show was again put on in a new production at the Gymnase theatre in Paris, in spring 93. It ran for six months, with moderate success.

Also that year she recorded "Maldonne", an album of a different style with lyrics by a new writer, Jean-Jacques Thibaud. A tour followed. But in 93, Catherine also took part in the exceptional concert given in aid of the Sol en Si association (Solidarité Enfants Sida). She was surrounded on this occasion by an exceptional group of artists: Michel Jonasz, Alain Souchon, Maurane, Maxime Le Forestier and Francis Cabrel. She was to repeat this performance in 95 and 97 for the same cause. She was also seen singing alongside the artists involved in the Restaurants du Coeur movement founded by Coluche, the comedian, in 85, which combated hunger.

Concerts filled the year 94. She sang five concerts at the Casino de Paris in early May, then the Festival de Montauban celebrated its twenty years of song, as did the Francofolies at La Rochelle. She also performed in many countries, such as Quebec, where she is always warmly received.

After a pause in 95, "Mélomanie" appeared in 96, ten very melodious songs with Jean-Jacques Thibaud on the lyrics and Sylvain Luc, a young musician who had already been an instrumentalist in her most recent albums, for the arrangements. This album was followed by a full evening at the Printemps de Bourges in April, and three concerts at the Olympia from June 12 to 14 1996.

Lara also wrote the music to the TV series "Terre Indigo" in 1996. She had already done film music with "On s'est trompé d'histoire d'amour" in 73, "Docteur Françoise Gailland" in 75, "Les hommes préfèrent les grosses" in 81 and "La Triche" in 84.

The same year, she supported the fight against Aids, a cause she felt strongly about, by participating in Sidaction, a huge night-long French television show to collect funds. But this particular fight takes Lara far from the limelight into private action she does not mention.

In 1997, Catherine Lara returned to classical music writing a new version of "L'Arlésienne" by Georges Bizet (the famous composer of "Carmen"). The opera, staged in Paris at the Folies Bergères, featured lyrics adapted by Roger Louret and the leading roles were played by Bernadette Lafont and Jean Marais.

Over the next few years Catherine Lara disappeared from the forefront of the French music scene. But she remained firmly in the public eye, devoting her time and energy to a series of new projects. In the spring of '99 Catherine re-invented herself as a television host presenting a popular variété show. The singer had already had several years' experience presenting a regular radio show so she was perfectly at ease with her new role. What's more, Ms. Lara's enviable address book meant she was able to call up a host of old friends to appear on the show!

Catherine Lara returned to the music news at the start of 2000 with a new album entitled "Aral". This album found Ms. Lara branching out in a new direction, for "Aral" was an entirely instrumental opus (apart from a few bursts of backing choir every now and then). This highly enigmatic, almost mystical, album did not go down well with the French public however. Despite a major promotional campaign on French TV and support from French pop diva Zazie (who penned a short introduction on the record sleeve), "Aral" proved to be a bit of a commercial flop.

In 2002, she co-wrote the French football team’s official song for the World Cop. It was entitled "Tous ensemble" and performed by Johnny Hallyday. Then from January 25th to 27th 2003 Catherine Lara played the violin for the Bercy show of the Cavaliers du Cadre Noir (a French band of horse-riders who are based in Saumur).

April 2003