Virginie Boutaud Biography

Virginie Adle Lydie Boutaud-Manent (ne Boutaud; born February 27, 1963), also known mononymously as Virginie, is a French Brazilian singer, songwriter, classical guitarist, and former model and actress, famous for being the vocalist of the new wave bands Metr and Virginie & Fruto Proibido.

Biography

Boutaud was born in So Paulo on February 27, 1963, to French emigrants. As a teenager she studied at the Lyce Pasteur, an school for French Brazilians, where she met Alec Haiat, Yann Laouenan, Daniel "Dany" Roland, Marcel Zimberg and Xavier Leblanc; with them she founded, in 1978, the experimental/progressive rock band A Gota Suspensa. After releasing a self-titled album in 1983, they decided to shift their musical direction towards a more accessible new wave sound inspired by Blondie, Laurie Anderson and Rita Lee, among others, and in the following year, they changed their name to Metr. Their first release as Metr was the single "Beat Acelerado", via Epic Records.

One year after the release of Metr's 1985 debut album Olhar, which catapulted them into fame, numerous creative divergences between Virginie (who was fatigued due to the band's extensive touring schedule) and her bandmates made her be fired from the band. She then went to live in Paris for a while, where she took singing and dancing lessons, before returning to Brazil. Prior to her departure to France she collaborated with Kid Vinil e os Heris do Brasil on their only, self-titled album, by providing additional vocals on the track "Assassinato Annimo".

In 1988, the same year Metr first disbanded, Virginie served as a guest musician on comedy rock band Joo Penca e Seus Miquinhos Amestrados' third album, Alm da Alienao, on the track "Sem Iluses". She also formed the short-lived solo project Virginie & Fruto Proibido alongside Don Beto (guitar), Nilton Leonardi (bass) and Albino Infantozzi (drums); their only release was the album Crime Perfeito. It was a commercial failure, and not as well-received as Virginie's previous works with Metr; nevertheless, the track "Ms Companhias" would be featured in the soundtrack of the telenovela Fera Radical, and Fruto Proibido would also share stage with Itamar Assumpo (who had already collaborated with them by writing a track of their album, "Que Tal o Impossvel?") and Arrigo Barnab. The band came to an end in 1995 - she then abandoned the musical career and found a job at the French consulate in Brazil, where she met her future husband, diplomat Jean-Michel Manent. She had with him two daughters: Marie-Hlne and Mlanie. Around this time Virginie also began to appear in commercials for BASF Magnetics and Nestl, among others.

In 1989 Virginie made a guest appearance on gacho singer Joe Euthanazia's only album, simply titled Joe, providing additional vocals for the tracks "Ligao Direta" and "Uma Rajada de Balas"; Euthanazia had previously collaborated with Metr by co-writing their 1985 hits "Johnny Love" and "Tudo Pode Mudar". In the same year she also guest-appeared on Supla's self-titled debut solo album, providing additional vocals for the track "Borboleta Rosa".

In 1999 she married Jean-Michel Manent and went on to live with him and their daughters in places such as Uruguay, Namibia and Madagascar before settling in Saint-Orens-de-Gameville, France, where she resides since 2013. Their marriage lasted until Manent's death due to cancer on June 7, 2015.

In 2002 Virginie reformed Metr alongside Roland, Leblanc and Laouenan (Haiat decided not to return for personal reasons and involvement with other projects, while Leblanc only served as a session musician in a single recording), and released a new album, Dj-Vu; it was Metr's first album of new material since A Mo de Mao, from 1987. After a series of tours around Brazil, France, Mozambique and Portugal, Metr came to an end once more in 2004.

The band's original line-up reunited for one night only, on November 8, 2014, for a show celebrating the 50th anniversary of the high school in which they met, the Lyce Pasteur, as well as Metr's 30th anniversary.

Metr's original line-up announced a new reunion in May 2015; according to Dany Roland, a new studio album is on the works, and on August 5, 2016 a 30-year anniversary re-issue of their debut Olhar came out through Warner Music Group.

Prior to focusing on her musical career, Virginie was a model (she has posed for magazines such as Vogue and Claudia) and originally planned to be an actress; she has appeared in the 1981 telenovela Os Imigrantes as Irma, and as herself in Lael Rodrigues' Rock Estrela and Francisco de Paula's Areias Escaldantes, both from 1985. She also made a brief cameo in Carla Camurati's 1995 film Carlota Joaquina, Princess of Brazil.

Discography

With Metr

Year	Album
1983	A Gota Suspensa Label: Underground Discos e Artes Format: Vinyl Released as A Gota Suspensa
1985	Olhar Label: Epic Records Format: Vinyl, CD
2002	Dj-Vu Label: Trama Format: CD

With Virginie & Fruto Proibido

Year	Album
1988	Crime Perfeito Label: Epic Records Format: Vinyl

As a session member

Kid Vinil e os Heris do Brasil

• 1986: Kid Vinil e os Heris do Brasil (additional vocals in "Assassinato Annimo")

Joo Penca e Seus Miquinhos Amestrados

• 1988: Alm da Alienao (additional vocals in "Sem Iluses")

Joe Euthanazia

• 1989: Joe (additional vocals in "Ligao Direta" and "Uma Rajada de Balas")

Supla

• 1989: Supla (additional vocals in "Borboleta Rosa")