Catherine Ringer
The fearless frontwoman of French pop duo Les Rita Mitsouko, whose explosive voice and theatrical performances fused punk energy with sophisticated chanson.
Born 1957 (age 69)·Musical artist·Birthday: October 18·Baby Boomers
Biography
Catherine Ringer is a force of untamed, artistic nature. The daughter of a painter and a Holocaust survivor, she channeled a raw, expressive energy into every medium she touched—dance, acting, and, most famously, music. In 1979, she met guitarist Fred Chichin, and together they formed Les Rita Mitsouko, a duo that would detonate the conventions of French pop. Ringer was the cyclone at its center: a singer who could shift from a whisper to a shriek, a dancer whose limbs seemed to articulate the music's nervous system. Hits like 'Marcia Baïla' (a tribute to a dancer) and 'C'est comme ça' were genre-defying collisions of rock, funk, and global rhythms, all held together by Ringer's utterly unique vocal presence. After Chichin's death in 2007, she grieved publicly through her art, eventually reviving the songs with new collaborators. Her career, which has also included film roles and a notable period in adult film, defies categorization, embodying a lifelong commitment to radical self-expression and the transformative power of performance.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Catherine was born in 1957, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Catherine Was Born
The biggest hits of 1957
#1 Movie
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Best Picture
The Bridge on the River Kwai
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Catherine's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1957Born
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1962Started school
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1970Became a teenager
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1973Could drive
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1975Could vote
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1978Turned 21
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1987Turned 30
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1997Turned 40
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 50
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 60
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 69 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Co-founded the influential French pop duo Les Rita Mitsouko, whose 1984 debut 'Rita Mitsouko' became a cult classic.
- The song 'Marcia Baïla,' a tribute to Argentine dancer Marcia Moretto, became an enduring anthem in French pop culture.
- Won a Victoire de la Musique award (France's Grammy equivalent) for Best Music Video for 'Les Amants' in 1987.
- Successfully embarked on a solo career after her partner's death, releasing the acclaimed album 'Ring n' Roll' in 2017.
Did You Know?
She performed as a dancer in the early 1980s with the avant-garde choreographer and comedian Pierre Clémenti.
She provided the French singing voice for Jessica Rabbit in the dubbed version of 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit.'
Her father, Sam Ringer, was a painter and a survivor of Auschwitz.
She and Fred Chichin never married but had two children together and remained artistic partners until his death.
“I am not a singer, I am a performer. The voice is just one of the instruments.”
