Ophélie Kleerekoper-Winter (born 20 February 1974) is a French pop and R&B singer and actress. She is the daughter of Dutch singer David Alexandre Winter and French fashion model Catherine Fefeu. She rose to prominence in much of Europe after signing with EastWest Records in 1995 and released her hit song "Dieu m'a donné la foi" which reached number one on the French singles chart as well as other hits: "le feu qui m'attise", "Shame on U", "Elle Pleure"" and "Sache"".

Ophélie Winter
Winter at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival
Background information
Birth nameOphélie Kleerekoper-Winter
Born (1974-02-20) 20 February 1974 (age 50)
Boulogne-Billancourt, France
Occupation(s)Singer, actress
LabelsWarner Music France

Early life edit

Winter was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine. Her father David Alexandre Winter was a Dutch pop singer who had some success during the 1970s, while her mother Catherine Fefeu was a French fashion model,[1] who is now her agent. Her brother Michael is a singer and TV presenter.

Her parents divorced when she was just two years old and she moved to Paris with her mother and brother, while her father left for the United States.[1] In 1984, at the age of 10, she recorded her first song in France, La Chanson des Klaxons and three years later another song, Poil de Carotte, in French.[1] At the age of 17, she was discovered by a modeling agent on the Champs-Élysées in Paris and after three years of modeling, she decided to become a singer and an actress.

Career edit

Ophélie Winter has released four studio albums starting in 1996, with her debut album, No Soucy !, which her brother collaborated on, Privacy, Explicit Lyrics and Résurrection. The singer Prince wrote her a song. It was announced at one point that Prince intended The Most Beautiful Girl In The World, to be recorded in multiple languages by local artists, but it is unknown how many of these recordings took place; one recording that was made was Le Garçon Le Plus Beau Dans L’Univers by French model and actress Ophélie Winter (intended for a single, Le Garçon Le Plus Beau Dans L’Univers), but this remains unreleased. Ophélie Winter was a featured model in a photoshoot with Prince/0)+> in 1995, holding his gold symbol guitar.

In 2014, she participated in the fifth season of Danse avec les stars, the French version of Dancing with the Stars. She was partnered with professional dancer Christophe Licata. On October 10, 2014, they were eliminated finishing 10th out of 11 contestants.

She currently resides in Paris making various TV appearances. Her look-alike puppet is in the French show "Les Guignols de l'info" (1988).

Discography edit


Year Title Peak chart positions Certifications françaises Album
France France TL Belgium Switzerland Germany
1984 La chanson des klaxons (avec Bob) Non-album single
1987 Poil de carotte Non-album single
1992 When I got the Mood Non-album single
1993 Shame on You Non-album single
1994 Dad Non-album single
Pour une lady Non-album single
1995 Dieu m'a donné la foi 1 3 Or No Soucy !
1996 Le feu qui m'attise 7 21 Argent
? Shame on U 9 Argent
1997 Keep it on the red light (feat. Coolio) 19
Rien que pour lui 39
1998 Je Marche À L'envers 23 12 Privacy
I Spy 72
Elle pleure 12 9 Argent
1999 Je cours
? Je t'abandonne 39 30
2000 Ce que je suis 75
2002 Sache 6 7 21 Argent Explicit Lyrics
2003 Tout l'monde le fait 38 28 75
? Yeah Yeah Yeah
2009 Affection Résurrection
2010 Sunshine
2010 Ne va pas croire

Selected filmography edit

Year Title Role Director Notes
1996 Hommes, femmes, mode d'emploi Pretty Blonde of Crillon Claude Lelouch
1997 Tout doit disparaître Eve Latour Philippe Muyl
Bouge! Herself Jérôme Cornuau
1998 Folle d'elle Lisa Jérôme Cornuau (2)
2000 2001: A Space Travesty Cassandra Menage Allan A. Goldstein
La cape et l'épée Cardinal Claudia's Girl TV series (1 episode)
2001 She Ayesha Timothy Bond
Pretty Things Jessica Gilles Paquet-Brenner
My Wife Is an Actress Famous girl in the train Yvan Attal
2003 Mauvais esprit Chrystèle Porel Patrick Alessandrin
2010 R.I.S, police scientifique Isabelle Ballancourt François Guérin TV series (1 episode)
2013 Doc Martin Rebecca Mikelin Jean-Pierre Sinapi TV series (1 episode)

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Biography of Ophélie Winter". Purepeople. Retrieved 23 February 2013.

External links edit