Renaud (Line)

French singer and actress. Vice-Chairwoman of Sidaction since 1994

Winner of the record industry’s Grand Prix in 1950 (Ma Cabane au Canada), Mademoiselle d’Armentières was for 50 years essentially known as an actress and singer traveling the world’s stages as the headline act or in a duo with Dean Martin (Relaxez-vous). She successfully ran her career with husband Loulou Gasté. In 1985, Line Renaud (née Jacqueline Ente) became involved in the fight against AIDS. Just like Liz Taylor in United States, she brought  a multitude of artists behind the cause. “When HIV arrived in France, artists such as Dalida and Raymond Devos encouraged me to take action, assuring me of their support. But the scale of the task held me back. Then I was contacted by the Pasteur Institute… I couldn’t resist. The researchers were overwhelmed. They didn’t have a dime to fight the virus. So I organized the first gala. That is how the Association of Artists against AIDS (AACS) was born. A television program followed on the France 3 channel, with the help of Pierre Bellemare. In total we collected over €1.5 million euros. Half was given to the Pasteur Institute, the other half to not-for-profit organizations. It was the Sidaction spirit before its time!” explains Line Renaud on the Sidaction web site. She co-chairs the organization with Pierre Bergé. She is an Officier de la Légion d’honneur, and became Grand Officier de l’Ordre National du Mérite in 2008.