Here's a few things Wikipedia has to say about MF.
Birth name Mylène Jeanne Gautier
Born 12 September 1961 (age 55
She has sold more than 30 million records in France[2] and is among the most successful recording artists of all-time there.[3] She holds the record for the most number one hits in the French charts, with fifteen to date – eight of which were consecutive.[4] Twelve of her albums have also reached number one in France.
Mylène Farmer was born in Pierrefonds, Quebec, Canada. Her parents moved from France in the late 1950s as Farmer's father, Max, pursued an engineering contract on a dam. Her family moved back to France when she was eight, settling in the Parisian suburb of Ville-d'Avray. When she first arrived in France, she took speech classes after her school declared her Québécois accent to be "improper" – this is why she now speaks with the accent of metropolitan France
In her teenage years, Farmer was passionate about horse-riding, qualifying as a riding instructor at the equestrian centre in Saumur. At the age of 17, however, Farmer discovered acting and she left the stables to undertake a three-year course at the Cours Florent, a drama school in Paris. Changing her name to Mylène Farmer as a tribute to her idol, 1930's Hollywood actress Frances Farmer, she began to earn a living as a model acting in several TV adverts such as those for Fiskars, Caisse d'Epargne etc.
In 1984, Farmer met Laurent Boutonnat, a young film student, after answering a newspaper advert for an actress for a small film he was working on. Farmer and Boutonnat became friends and forged a creative partnership, writing and producing the music. Boutonnat, whose ambition was to become a film director, became the creative force behind Farmer's videos.
Farmer gained fame with songs featuring controversial yet poetic lyrics and explicit music videos:
The videos for "Beyond My Control" and "Je te rends ton amour" were banned because of their sexual and violent content. Later released as a video single, the latter became the biggest selling video single in France.
Alizée (2000–2004)[edit]
Main article: Alizée
In 2000, Farmer and Boutonnat had assembled songs and video ideas they felt appropriate for a younger, new star. They began the search for a female singer to break into the French charts – they found Alizée, a contestant on the French television show Graines de stars. They wrote and produced Alizée's albums Gourmandises and Mes courants électriques. Alizée's biggest hit, "Moi... Lolita" reached the top of the charts and she became the most successful French singer that year. In 2001, Le Figaro announced Farmer as top earning French entertainer of the year thanks, in part, to her writing, recording, and producing credits of Alizée's music, which earned 10.4 million €.[18][19]
Alizée's image was crafted by Farmer and Boutonnat; she was allowed a few interviews of no more than 20 minutes and a limited number of promotional appearances. In 2005, after two successful albums and a concert tour, Alizée amicably parted ways with the duo to meet different songwriters and producers.[20]
In 2014, Alizée revealed plans to include a song named for the singer on her Blonde album. The song, written by Lionel Florence, tells the story of an obsessed fan. Alizée revealed in an interview that the song is meant to pay tribute and respect to Farmer. Although the two no longer work together, she mentioned that she is still a big fan.[21]
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