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Julien, Pauline

CTE photo
Pauline Julien. Photo courtesy of CBC Radio.

Singer/actor/songwriter born in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, in 1928, died in 1998.

She studied drama in Paris - making her début backing up an actor who could not sing, in a play by Pirandello - before returning to Quebec. Jean Gascon cast her as Jenny in a production of The Threepenny Opera and her name was then inextricably linked with the Brecht/Weill canon. She also became famous for singing the works of local lyricists and composers (ie: Gilles Vigneault, Luc Plamondon).

She performed in several plays and movies, but was also known for singing and reading for ballet and concert productions of Brecht/Weill pieces.

She was an ardent supporter of Quebec Nationalism, getting into international hot water several times for her loudly stated opinions, but she was also highly regarded as an artist and was a magnetic figure on stage with abundant charisma off it. She was romantically linked for over three decades to the beloved politician/poet Gerald Godin until his death. A square in Montreal, adjacent to one honouring Godin, was created in her honour in 2000.

Suffering from degenerative aphasia which had robbed her of speech, Pauline Julien decided to take her own life.

Profile by Gaetan Charlebois.

Last updated 2021-02-12