Who is Edith Piaf

"The Little Sparrow" decades after her death, is still revered as an icon and arguably France's greatest popular singer.

 She was the epitome of the classic French chanson: supercharged, even melodramatic, and emotionally extracting every last drop of sentiment from a lyric.

The singer gained popularity as she toured France, her petite frame concealing an energy which would drive her to the pinnacle of her profession, singing in cabarets and vaudeville theatres and, from 1936, performing on radio and recordings. Her great fame came after World War II, with her song "Le Vie en Rose" becoming an international standard. 

During World War II she worked with the French Resistance by using her popularity to have herself photographed with French prisoners that she had performed for. These photos were then used to make identity papers that would be smuggled back to the prisoners during her return engagements.