Dominique Michel

Born Marie Marguerite Jeannette Aimée Sylvestre in Sorel, Quebec, Canada, on 24 September 1932, Dominique Michel, stage name of Aimée Sylvestre, also nicknamed Dodo, is a Quebec singer, humourist and actor who cut her teeth as a cabaret singer in Paris after a chance meeting with the late Canadian singer-songwriter and poet Raymond Lévesque, who wrote “Une petite canadienne et la famille,” the song that launched her career. She joined the Beu qui rit troupe in Quebec, directed by Paul Berval, and formed a duo with Denise Filiatrault who performed in several cabarets and television comedy shows, notably the sitcom Moi et l'autre, which was successful from 1966 to 1972 and turned Dominique Michel into a national treasure. She forged a music career in parallel to her acting career, scoring a number one song in Quebec with 1950s classic "Sur l'perron" and scoring three more number one singles during the 1970s and 1980s with "Un Homme" (1971, number one for one week), "La Saison de l'amour" (1978, number one for 3 weeks), as well as “Dodo pas à peu près” (1981, number one for one week). She released a number of albums during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, from her self-titled debut of 1959 to 1982's Dominique in Shape (Fitness Exercises), and was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1994 and a Chevalier of the Ordre national du Québec in 2002. In August 2018, Dominique Michel suffered a heart attack. She was then hospitalised and fitted with a pacemaker.