Biography
Much like her half sister Charlotte Gainsbourg, Lou Doillon possesses multiple artistic talents that encompass both singing and songwriting. Her rich alto, which draws comparisons to Nina Simone, Marianne Faithfull and Chan Marshall, delivers equal impact across the haunting blend of folk, pop, and jazz found on her award-winning 2012 debut Places and the edgier fusion of rock and electronics on 2019’s Soliloquy.
Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, to actress and singer Jane Birkin and director Jacques Doillon, Lou Doillon was raised alongside six siblings: Kate Barry and Charlotte Gainsbourg from her mother’s side, along with Lola Doillon, Lili Doillon, Lina Doillon, and Lazare Doillon from her father’s side. She started acting young, making her screen debut at age six in Kung-Fu Master before maintaining a steady presence in European films after starring in her father’s 1998 feature Trop (Peu) d’Amour. Time spent with her father following her parents’ divorce exposed her to artists ranging from Chet Baker and Billie Holiday to Siouxsie and the Banshees, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, and Nirvana. During her teens and twenties she emerged as a French fashion icon, serving as the face and muse for Givenchy, yet by the mid-2000s her drive to sing and compose drew her into collaboration with American pianist Christopher Brenner; together they penned “The Girl Is Gone,” which appeared on a picture disc packaged with the 2007 edition of Visionaire Magazine.
Doillon’s recording path crystallized during the 2010s after Etienne Daho encouraged her to issue an album of her own material. The ICU EP surfaced in 2012. For her full-length debut Places she teamed with Daho and Cassius’ Philippe Zdar at Paris’ Studio La Seine, shaping tracks that merged folk, pop, and jazz organically; upon its September 2012 release the album climbed to number three on the French Album Charts and later earned double-platinum status in France. The following year Places secured Doillon the Les Victoires de la musique prize for Best Female Artist, marking the first time in decades the honor went to a debut project.
In January 2015 she began work on her sophomore album, co-producing with Timber Timbre’s Taylor Kirk at Montreal’s Hotel2Tango while also tracking in London and Paris studios. Issued in Europe in October 2015 and in the U.S. in February 2016, Lay Low offered further smoky, intimate material and earned a nomination for Best Rock Album at Les Victoires de la musique. After completing the Lay Low tour, Doillon pursued additional creative outlets, including a week-long run of Samuel Beckett’s L’image at the National Theatre of Rennes in 2017. That September she published a collection of ink and pencil drawings, celebrated with an exhibition of her artwork at Paris’ La Maison Molière. She returned to music with Soliloquy, an eclectic collection that wove rock, reggae, post-punk, and electronic textures into her established style; the album, featuring contributions from Taylor Kirk, Cat Power, the Shoes’ Benjamin Lebeau, and the Dø’s Dan Levy, arrived in February 2019.
Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, to actress and singer Jane Birkin and director Jacques Doillon, Lou Doillon was raised alongside six siblings: Kate Barry and Charlotte Gainsbourg from her mother’s side, along with Lola Doillon, Lili Doillon, Lina Doillon, and Lazare Doillon from her father’s side. She started acting young, making her screen debut at age six in Kung-Fu Master before maintaining a steady presence in European films after starring in her father’s 1998 feature Trop (Peu) d’Amour. Time spent with her father following her parents’ divorce exposed her to artists ranging from Chet Baker and Billie Holiday to Siouxsie and the Banshees, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, and Nirvana. During her teens and twenties she emerged as a French fashion icon, serving as the face and muse for Givenchy, yet by the mid-2000s her drive to sing and compose drew her into collaboration with American pianist Christopher Brenner; together they penned “The Girl Is Gone,” which appeared on a picture disc packaged with the 2007 edition of Visionaire Magazine.
Doillon’s recording path crystallized during the 2010s after Etienne Daho encouraged her to issue an album of her own material. The ICU EP surfaced in 2012. For her full-length debut Places she teamed with Daho and Cassius’ Philippe Zdar at Paris’ Studio La Seine, shaping tracks that merged folk, pop, and jazz organically; upon its September 2012 release the album climbed to number three on the French Album Charts and later earned double-platinum status in France. The following year Places secured Doillon the Les Victoires de la musique prize for Best Female Artist, marking the first time in decades the honor went to a debut project.
In January 2015 she began work on her sophomore album, co-producing with Timber Timbre’s Taylor Kirk at Montreal’s Hotel2Tango while also tracking in London and Paris studios. Issued in Europe in October 2015 and in the U.S. in February 2016, Lay Low offered further smoky, intimate material and earned a nomination for Best Rock Album at Les Victoires de la musique. After completing the Lay Low tour, Doillon pursued additional creative outlets, including a week-long run of Samuel Beckett’s L’image at the National Theatre of Rennes in 2017. That September she published a collection of ink and pencil drawings, celebrated with an exhibition of her artwork at Paris’ La Maison Molière. She returned to music with Soliloquy, an eclectic collection that wove rock, reggae, post-punk, and electronic textures into her established style; the album, featuring contributions from Taylor Kirk, Cat Power, the Shoes’ Benjamin Lebeau, and the Dø’s Dan Levy, arrived in February 2019.
Albums
Singles
