Mylène Farmer was born in Montréal, Québec, Canada as Mylène Jeanne Gautier. She moved to France in her twenties, where she studied theater at the Le Cours Florent school in Paris to pursue a career as a film actress but became a singer instead. Her breakout song was "Libertine" (1986) which became a hit due in large part to the accompanying music video which was shot as a short film set in 18th century France. She has been one of the bestselling musical artists in France since the 1980's. She is known for her work on Giorgino 1994), Arthur and the Invisibles (2006), Incident in a Ghostland (2018), numerous music videos, and spectacular live performances.Farmer has had a longstanding love of cinema, and her songs and live shows often draw inspiration from feature films such as "Elephant Man" and "Blade Runner". She chose her stage name as a tribute to an American actress, Frances Farmer. Her music videos tend to be very cinematic, and she is very involved in their screenplay. Through most of her career, her songs and videos were collaborative efforts with director-composer Laurent Boutonatt. She has also worked with other notable directors such as Luc Besson, Abel Ferrara, Agustí Villaronga, and Pascal Laugier. Her concert films have been directed by François Hanss and are shown at major cinemas throughout France and other countries where she has a large fan base. In 2021, she served as a member of the jury for 74th Cannes Film Festival presided over by Spike Lee.
