Marie-José, whose real name was Émilie Thérèse Mauricette Lhuillier, was born on December 26, 1914 in Saint-Denis-du-Sig (Algeria). She initially set out to become a nurse, but at the same time took courses to become an actress. It was in the cinema that she made her debut, with roles that, although secondary, confirmed her goals by enabling her to be noticed: in Augusto Genina's Naples au Baiser de Feu in 1937, Léon Mathot's Rappel Immédiat and Jean Boyer's Circonstances Atténuantes in 1939, and finally Sacha Guitry's Ils Étaient Neuf Célibataires, shortly afterwards. The Odéon phonographic company took notice of her and, in the years that followed, allowed her to record a number of songs that would become mainstays of her repertoire, including "O luna rossa" (adapted from the Italian), "Lis-moi dans la main, tzigane", as well as "Bar de l'escadrille" (1942), her best-known song "Chanson gitane " (1942) and "Une nuit à Megève " (1953) for Raoul André's film of the same name. Touring extensively abroad, she found time in the early 1960s for new hits such as "Si tu m'écrivais", "Roses blanches de Corfou" and "Quand tu reviendras ". Later, the yéyé craze consigned her to a bygone era, and she deliberately chose to retire from the stage, with the exception of programs devoted to the music-hall of the past. She died in Paris on February 4, 2002 at the age of 87, but is regularly celebrated in compilations such as Plus Que Tout au Monde and Au Bar de l'Escadrille.
