Early years

Foly was born the 16 December 1962 in the 7th arrondissement of Lyon. Her parents, a merchant family in French Algeria, returned to France in 1962 with the Pied-Noir community and moved to Lyon, near to the Perrache quarter where they owned La droguerie du sourire.  As a child of five she practised dancing. At 12, she sang with her parents' orchestra, Black and White with her brother Philippe on the drums and her sister Corinne at the piano. Later she continued to sing in local night clubs and bars, developing affinity for blues and jazz. She studied languages for her Baccalauréat and is perfectly bilingual with English.

Career

In 1984, Foly was discovered by Philippe Viennet and André Manoukian, who offered to write for her and record a demo. After much work she arrived in Paris in 1987 and obtained a meeting with Fabrice Nataf, artistic director and patron of Virgin France. He launched Liane Foly's career. She only became Liane Foly in 1986, Foly in homage to Dalí who at the time said in an advert that he was mad for chocolate. In 1988, she published her first album, The Man I Love, promoted by the Ca va, ça vient single. It was a commercial success, landing in the top 50. The same year she performed on stage in Paris (La Cigale). The album was composed by André Manoukian, with lyrics written by Foly and Philippe Viennet. Her 1997 album, Caméléon, was Foly's first without André Manoukian. Produced by Philippe Viennet, it was largely ignored by the French public. Foly took a greater part in the composition of her 2000 album, Entre nous.

Private life

Between 1984 to 1992, Liane Foly was associated with André Manoukian, her artistic collaborator, and between 1996 to 2002 with her manager, Laurent B. Souffir. In August 2003, Foly married Augustin Decré, a businessman. They divorced in 2007. Foly lived in London from 1997 to 2007 when she returned to live in Paris.