Caterina valente biography

Italian-French singer and dancer (1931–2024)

For the American writer, see Catherynne M. Valente.

Musical artist

Caterina Valente (14 January 1931 – 9 September 2024) was an Italian-French-German multilingual singer, guitarist, and dancer.

She spoke six languages and sang in 13. While she was best known as a performer in Europe, Valente spent part of her career in the United States, where she performed alongside Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Perry Como, and Ella Fitzgerald, among others.

Caterina valente

Life and career

Caterina Valente was born in Paris on 14 April 1931^[1][2] to Italian parents Giuseppe and Maria Valente.^[3] Her parents were musicians from a family that had been in show business for seven generations.

Her mother was a varieté [de] artist and a mime.^[4] The girl's first love was jazz; she heard at home Duke Ellington, Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith. When she listened to Billie Holiday firs