Born in the 19th arrondissement of Paris on March 2nd 1966, Stéphanie Morato came from a humble working-class background. Her father was a house painter and her mother, who sold sweets in a local shop, went on to become a nurse in later life. Growing up with a young sister, Stéphanie was a strong-minded child who soon developed a penchant for day-dreaming and a love of adventure.

Stéphanie went off the rails a bit in her teens after her parents moved to Malakoff (in the Paris suburbs) and would frequently skip school in the afternoons to hang out in Paris where she spent the night out partying. Looking like a cross between a cartoon heroine and a tomboy, Stéphanie became a well-known figure on the Paris club scene, meeting everyone from Arab princes to chiefs of police. In 1985 she was spotted by a young choreographer on the look-out for extras to star in a music video. Stéphanie - who, by that time, had adopted the stage name Nina - found herself dancing in a video clip for David Christie (a fashionable French singer in the 80s). The pair soon hooked up off the set too and went on to have a baby daughter, Julia, together.

Stéphanie's relationship with David Christie soon led to her trying to get her own singing career off the ground. Recording under the name Christie, she brought out two singles - "Funky School" and "Envie d'amour" - in 1988. But neither of these singles made any impact on the French charts. Undeterred by this setback, Stéphanie went on to record another single - "L'autre partie de moi-même" - under the name Stéphanie, but this new single fared no better than the others.

Meanwhile, Balavoine's producer Léo Missir invited Stéphanie to record a medley of covers of Nino Ferrer hits on another label, Carrère. This led to a string of appearances on French TV, but once again, no commercial success! Stéphanie went on to hook up with her childhood friend, Antonin Maurel, who wrote two singles for her - "Mon P'tit Arthur" (released in 1988) and "T'en fais deux fois trop" (in 1990) - which she recorded under the name Stéphanie de Malakoff. But when both of these singles flopped Stéphanie decided to abandon her singing ambitions for a while.

Stéphanie made a comeback in 1993, however, re-emerging under her definitive stage name Nina Morato. After spending many long months working intensively in the studio, she went on to bring out her debut album, "Je suis la mieux", on the Polydor label. By this stage of her career Nina had also moved on in her personal life. Having split up with David Christie, she had started a relationship with Jérôme Pigeon (lead singer of the 80s band Pijon), who wrote three songs for Nina's debut album. The majority of the other tracks on "Je suis la mieux" were penned by Nina herself and set to music by Antonin Maurel (who also produced the album).

Having just given birth to a second daughter, Paloma, motherhood was one of the main themes on "Je suis la mieux" and "Maman" (Mother), the first single release from the album, soon went on to become a big hit. This single helped Nina make her mark as a serious newcomer on the French music scene. And in 1994 she triumphed at the "Victoires de la Musique" awards, carrying off the award for "Best Female Newcomer of the Year". Following her success at the "Victoires de la Musique", Nina was chosen to represent France at the Eurovision Song Contest. Her performance of the song "Je suis un vrai garçon" (written by her new partner, Bruno Maman) did well with Eurovision judges and Nina ended up coming 7th overall.

Nina went on to perform an extensive series of concerts throughout the rest of '94, appearing at festivals up and down the country. She also tried her talents as an actress in the autumn of that year, starring opposite Daniel Auteuil in Christian Vincent's film "La Séparation". Prolonging her love affair with the cinema, Nina also recorded a contribution to the soundtrack of the French version of the cult Tim Burton film "Mr Jack's Strange Christmas".

Nina turned her attention to her recording career once more in 1996, bringing out a second album entitled "L'Allumeuse". She penned all the lyrics for her new album herself and the majority of the music on "L'Allumeuse" was written by her new partner, Bruno Maman. Nina promoted her new album on a mini-tour later that year and also performed a series of concerts at the Café de la Danse in Paris. But neither the album or any of the single releases took off with the French public and Nina faded from the forefront of the French music scene.

Nina made another comeback three years later, however, storming back into the French music news in the autumn of '99 with her third album, "Moderato". This album was a lot more serious in tone than the frivolous "L'Allumeuse". Nina had recently experienced a personal tragedy, the baby daughter dying just a few months before she made the album. "Moderato" served as an outlet for the singer's grief as she struggled to come to terms with her loss (c.f. the haunting song "Mon ange"). A host of friends joined the singer in the studio to support her in the making of this new album, including African star Lokua Kanza, Black Jack (from Démocrate D), Arthur H and Princess Erika (who both recorded a duet with Nina) and Jam'Ba stepped in as producer.

At the end of November '99, Nina returned to the live circuit, performing three concerts at "Le Divan du Monde" in Paris. In March 2000 Nina was back on stage at "La Cigale" with 15 other female singers, giving her support to a fund-raising concert organised by her friend Princess Erika for "La Chaîne de l'Espoir" (an association providing medical treatment for children from the Third World). Then, in the summer of 2000, Nina went on to bring the house down at the "Francofolies" festival in La Rochelle. The singer appeared on stage with the friends who had guested on her album at a special "Fête à Nina Morato" evening, winning the audience over with a highly emotional performance.

Nina made a welcome comeback to the live circuit in November 2000, appearing at the Théâtre des Déchargeurs in central Paris.

November 2000