Amanda Lear Biography
Amanda Lear is a French singer, lyricist, painter, television presenter, actress and former model. Lear grew up in the south of France and in Switzerland, and studied art in Paris and at Saint Martin’s School of Art in London.
She began her professional career as a fashion model in the mid-1960s and went on to model for Paco Rabanne and Ossie Clark among others. Around that time she met the Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dalí and would remain his closest friend and muse for the next 15 years.
Lear first came into the public eye as the cover model for Roxy Music’s album For Your Pleasure in 1973. From the mid-1970s to the early 1980s, she was a million-album-selling disco queen, mainly in Continental Europe and Scandinavia, signed to Ariola Records. Lear’s first four albums earned her mainstream popularity, charting in the Top 10 on European charts, including the best-selling Sweet Revenge (1978).
Her biggest hits included “Blood and Honey”, “Tomorrow”, “Queen of Chinatown”, “Follow Me”, “Enigma (Give a Bit of Mmh to Me)” and “Fashion Pack”.
In the mid-1980s Lear positioned herself as one of the leading media personalities in mainland Europe, especially in Italy and in France where she hosted many popular TV shows. She had also developed a successful painting career, regularly exhibiting her works in galleries across Europe for the next three decades, and continued to make music, earning minor hits such as “Incredibilmente donna” and “Love Your Body”. Amanda’s 1980s musical output saw her experimenting with different genres and trying to revive her career by re-recording earlier hits to various levels of success. 1980s also saw her release two books: an autobiography My Life with Dalí and a novel L’Immortelle.
Since the 1990s her time has been divided between music, television, movies and painting. Despite frequent album releases, she failed to achieve success on charts with her music. However, her television career remained successful, with Lear hosting numerous prime time TV shows, occasionally making guest appearances in French and Italian TV series.
She has also performed acting and dubbing roles in independent as well as major film productions. In the late 2000s Lear would reinvent herself as a theatrical actress, performing in long-running stage plays in France. To date, she has sold over 25 million singles and 15 million albums worldwide. Lear is also a widely recognized gay icon.
10 Quick Facts About Amanda Lear
- Name: Alain Maurice Louis René Tap
- Age: 83 Years (As of 2022)
- Birthday: 18 November
- Zodiac Sign: Scorpio
- Height: 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 meters)
- Nationality: French
- Occupation: Singer, Lyricist, Painter, Television Presenter, Actress and Former Model
- Marital Status: Not Known
- Salary: Under review
- Net worth: $1.5 Million
Amanda Lear Age
Amanda is 83 years old as of 2022, she was born on 18 November 1939, in Saigon, French Indochina (present-day Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam). She celebrates her birthday on 18 November every year and her birth sign is Scorpio.
Amanda Lear Height
Amanda stands at a height of 5 feet 10 inches. Her body measurements are 33-24-31 inches.
Amanda Lear Weight
Amanda Weighs 63 kg. She has dark brown eyes and blonde hair.
Amanda Lear Parents
Amanda was born to her father André Tapp and her mother whose name is known in Saigon. Her mother of mixed Chinese and Vietnamese descent, and her father was of known Russian and allegedly French origins.
Amanda Lear Transsexual
Lear’s alleged transgender background has been commented upon in the media and in the biographies of those who knew Lear earlier in her life, including Salvador Dalí, with Dali’s biographer Ian Gibson even devoting an entire chapter to her.
April Ashley, a famous transgender entertainer and model, has long claimed that in the 1950s and early 1960s, she and Lear, whose birth name she claimed was Alain Tap, were working together in transvestite revues in Paris at Madame Arthur and Le Carrousel.
In her book, April Ashley’s Odyssey, she recalls Lear performing drag acts under the stage name Peki d’Oslo.
Similar facts have been reported by Romy Haag, a transgender artist living in Germany, who ran a popular nightclub Chez Romy in Berlin and knew Amanda closely, and Bibiana Fernández, a Spanish transgender actress and singer.
Some sources even insinuate that it was Dalí himself who sponsored Lear’s sex reassignment operation in Casablanca in 1963, carried out by doctor Georges Burou, and also that it was he who invented her stage name based on the pun of the Catalan language “L’Amant de Dalí” (Dalí’s lover).
Rumours claiming that Lear was a non-operative transgender woman or intersex were circulating at the beginning of her singing career, which stopped after she posed nude for Playboy in the late 1970s.
Despite Lear herself contradicting transgender rumours already in the 1970s and explaining they were a part of strategy to draw public attention, they have persisted to date. When asked by Carmen Thomas in a 1976 interview whether it was true that she was assigned male at birth, Lear replied that it was “a crazy idea from some journalist”.
She would later claim in Interview magazine that it was David Bowie who started the rumour. She would also address these rumours in her songs “Fabulous (Lover, Love Me)” and “I’m a Mistery” (deliberately misspelled as to reference the word “mister”).
Despite some sources claiming her transgender background is an open secret, she would always flatly deny it, even when confronted by the Dalí biographer Ian Gibson during a TV show.
However, an excerpt from an article from an Italian newspaper surfaced online in November 2011, including a reproduction of a copy of Lear’s birth certificate, which states that she was born Alain Maurice Louis René Tap on 18 June 1939 in Saigon, and a picture of Lear before her transition.
It is believed she spent her early childhood in Switzerland. Raised speaking French and English, she learned German, Spanish and Italian in her teens, languages she later was able to use in her professional life.
She relocated to Paris at the end of elementary school to study at Académie des Beaux-Arts, then went to Saint Martin’s School of Art in London in 1964.
On 11 December 1965, she married Paul Morgan Lear, a Scottish architecture student, and took his name. The name of the bride was registered at the Chelsea registry office as “Amanda Tap daughter of André Tap, retired Captain of the French army”.
Amanda Lear Net Worth
Amanda has an estimated net worth of $1.5 million dollars as of 2022. This includes her assets, money and income. Her primary source of income is her career as a Singer, Lyricist, Painter, Television Presenter, Actress and Former Model. Through her various sources of income, Lear has been able to accumulate a good fortune but prefers to lead a modest lifestyle.
Amanda Lear Measurements and Facts
Here are some interesting facts and body measurements you should know about Amanda Lear.
Amanda Lear Wiki
- Full Names: Alain Maurice Louis René Tap
- Popular As: Amanda Lear
- Gender: Female
- Occupation / Profession: Singer, Lyricist, Painter, Television Presenter, Actress and Former Model
- Nationality: French
- Race / Ethnicity: Multiracial
- Religion: Not Known
- Sexual Orientation: Transsexual
Amanda Lear Birthday
- Age / How Old?: 83 years (2022)
- Zodiac Sign: Scorpio
- Date of Birth: 18 November 1939
- Place of Birth: Saigon, French Indochina (present-day Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)
- Birthday: 18 November
Amanda Lear Body Measurements
- Body Measurements: 33-24-31 inches
- Height / How Tall?: 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m)
- Weight: 139 lbs (63 kg)
- Eye Color: Dark Brown
- Hair Color: Blonde
- Shoe Size: 13 (US)
- Dress Size: Not Available
- Breast Size: 33 inches
- Waist Size: 24 inches
- Hip Size: 31 inches
Amanda Lear Family and Relationship
- Father (Dad): André Tapp
- Mother: Not Known
- Siblings (Brothers and Sisters): Not Known
- Marital Status: Single
- Wife/Spouse or Husband/Spouse: Not Available
- Dating / Girlfriend or Dating / Boyfriend: Single
- Children: Sons (Not Known) Daughter(s) (Not Known)
Amanda Lear Net Worth and Salary
- Net Worth: $1.5 Million
- Salary: Under Review
- Source of Income: Singer, Lyricist, Painter, Television Presenter, Actress and Former Model
Amanda Lear enigma
Artist: Amanda Lear
Album: Sweet Revenge
Released: 1978
Genre: Pop
Amanda Lear songs
Lear contributed vocals for a cover of Giorgio Moroder’s 1970s hit “From Here to Eternity”, recorded in 2000 with Eric D. Clark. The song was a minor club success in the USA. In December 2000 Lear’s husband, Alain-Philippe, died in an explosive accidental fire at their house in the South of France, which was left in ruins.
20-year-old cat breeder Didier Dieufis was also killed in the fire, and a number of Dalí’s works were lost. In 2001 Lear threw herself back into work and put on an art exhibition in 2001 entitled Not a. Lear, followed by a new album Heart, dedicated to the late husband.
The album offered club-friendly tracks like “I Just Wanna Dance Again” and a cover of “Love Boat”, the title song from a cult 1970s TV series of the same name, both issued as singles and featuring remixes by some prominent names in the world of French dance music such as Laurent Wolf and Junior Vasquez.
Containing new dance-oriented tracks as well as ballads and a number of cover versions, Heart was greeted as a long overdue return to form.
In 2002 Lear starred in Le Défi (Dance Challenge), a musical movie written and directed by choreographer Blanca Li about an eighteen-year-old dropout who dreams of becoming a star in breakdancing and the ensuing conflicts with his conservative mother. Lear played the mother’s understanding and encouraging best friend and a fashion victim, what gave her an opportunity to demonstrate her comedic talent.
She also cut a title song for an Italian TV show Cocktail d’amore which she hosted at that time and released a single “Beats of Love” with a Belgian boy band Get Ready!, which became a minor chart success. Both tracks were included on a re-release of Heart, newly titled Tendance, in 2003. Next year Lear worked on a dubbing for French and Italian versions of a Disney/Pixar’s blockbuster The Incredibles, while her 1978 song “Enigma” enjoyed a massive success in Central and Eastern Europe after being featured in a Kinder Bueno TV advert.
In 2005 the singer became a judge on Ballando con le stelle, the Italian version of Dancing with the Stars, and released two new dance singles, “Paris by Night” and a remake of Barry Manilow’s “Copacabana”, as well as two compilations, Forever Glam! and Sings Evergreens. In 2006 Lear opened another art exhibition in New York, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s Amanda Lear, and in July was decorated with the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres in recognition of her contributions to French arts and sciences.
A new compilation was released, the 3 CD The Sphinx – Das Beste aus den Jahren 1976–1983, fully covering the singer’s Ariola output. In October, the album With Love was released in France, and consisted of covered evergreens and jazz standards by Amanda’s favourite divas, such as Eartha Kitt, Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan and Nina Simone.
With Love won critical acclaim in France and was released in the rest of Europe in early 2007. Lear made several appearances in movies, including acting in Oliviero Rising and dubbing for the French version of Dragon Hunters, and hosted television shows such as La Folle Histoire du Disco in France and Battaglia fra Sexy Star in Italy.
In 2009, Amanda reinvented herself as a stage actress, accepting the part of Cécile in a comedy Panique au ministère, which debuted in Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin in Paris. The show was so successful that it was taken on tour and has been broadcast live on French TV.
Her next album, Brief Encounters, was released in autumn 2009, preceded by the single “Someone Else’s Eyes”, a duet with Italian singer-producer Deadstar. The album consisted of two discs, with down-tempo songs and ballads on the first one, and a set of dance tracks and remixes on the other.
Next month, Lear released an autobiography Je ne suis pas celle que vous croyez… and an EP Brand New Love Affair, this time featuring purely dance-oriented material. The title song was released as the lead single, with an animated music video.
The Brief Encounters album was partly re-recorded and remixed, and subsequently released in Acoustique and Reloaded versions. Boy George remixed “Someone Else’s Eyes” in 2010, which was followed by a single “I’m Coming Up”.
In April 2011 a new single, “Chinese Walk”, was released, and the singer joined the judging panel of the Italian TV show Ciak… si canta! on Rai Uno. In September Lear returned to theatre for the lead role in Lady Oscar, an adaptation of Claude Magnier’s 1958 play Oscar, at the Théâtre de la Renaissance in Paris. The play turned out another success and would run for over a year.
Her next studio album, I Don’t Like Disco, was released in January 2012, accompanied by another single, “La Bete et la Belle”, and promoted by several TV appearances in France. A deluxe version of the album was released the same year, with bonus tracks and the new single, “Love at First Sight”.
In September 2012, Lear appeared as a catwalk model on Jean Paul Gaultier’s fashion show in Paris and 2013 saw her playing the leading part in a play Divina in Paris. In November 2013, a compilation of her recent recordings was released.
That same year she was cast in the documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune. Her 17th album, My Happiness was released in 2014, a tribute album to Elvis Presley. She releases a new album, Let Me Entertain You on 13 May 2016.
On 16 October 2016, interviewed in the Italian program “Domenica In”, Amanda Lear announces her official retirement from acting saying: “It comes a moment when you say: 40 years are enough, I want to enjoy my life a little bit. I tell my fans that maybe this is one of the last times they see me.”
- 1977: I Am a Photograph
- 1978: Sweet Revenge
- 1979: Never Trust a Pretty Face
- 1980: Diamonds for Breakfast
- 1981: Incognito
- 1983: Tam-Tam
- 1985: A L
- 1987: Secret Passion
- 1989: Uomini più uomini
- 1990: Tant qu’il y aura des hommes
- 1993: Cadavrexquis
- 1995: Alter Ego
- 1998: Back in Your Arms
- 2001: Heart
- 2003: Tendance
- 2006: With Love
- 2009: Brief Encounters
- 2009: Brand New Love Affair
- 2012: I Don’t Like Disco
- 2014: My Happiness
- 2016: Let Me Entertain You
Amanda Lear follow me
Artist: Amanda Lear
Album: Sweet Revenge
Released: 1978
Genre: Pop
Producer(s): Anthony Monn
Songwriter(s): Anthony Monn, Amanda Lear
Amanda Lear tomorrow
Artist: Amanda Lear
Album: I Am a Photograph
Released: 1977
Genre: Pop
Amanda Lear queen of china town
Artist: Amanda Lear
Album: I Am a Photograph
Released: 1977
Producer(s): Anthony Monn
Genre: Pop
Amanda Lear diamonds for breakfast
Diamonds for Breakfast is the fourth studio album by French singer Amanda Lear, released in 1980 by the West German label Ariola Records. The album turned out a commercial success and spawned two European hit singles, “Fabulous” and “Diamonds”.
Songs
- Rockin’ Rollin’
- I Need a Man
- It’s a Better Life
- Oh Boy
- Insomnia
- Diamonds
- Japan
- Fabulous Lover, Love Me
- Ho fatto l’amore con me
- When
Amanda Lear awards
- 1986: Amanda Lear – Artco France, Paris
- 2001: Not a. Lear – Gracie Mansion, New York; Allston Skirt Gallery, Boston
- 2006: Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s Amanda Lear – Envoy, New York
- 2008: Sogni Miti Colori – Galleria TempioArte, Pietrasanta
- 2009: Amanda Lear – Museum-Gallery Xpo, Bruges
Frequently Asked Questions About Amanda Lear
Amanda Lear is a French singer, lyricist, painter, television presenter, actress and former model. Lear grew up in the south of France and in Switzerland, and studied art in Paris and at Saint Martin’s School of Art in London.
Lear is a French national born on 18th November 1939, in Saigon, French Indochina.
Lear stands at a height of 1.78m.
Details about Lear’s love life are still under review. We will let you know when she gets in a relationship or when we discover helpful information about her love life.
Lear has an approximate net worth of $1.5 million. This amount has been accrued from her leading roles in the entertainment industry.
Details about Lear’s salary are not yet disclosed. However, information about how much she makes will be updated as soon as it is available.
Because of security reasons, Lear has not shared her precise location of residence. We will update this information if we get the location and images of her house.
Lear is alive and in good health. There have been no reports of her being sick or having any health-related issues.
Amanda Lear Contacts
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