Vanessa Chantal Paradis (born December 22, 1972 in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, France) is a French singer and actress. She was discovered on the TV show L'École des fans in 1980. She recorded her first single La Magie des surprises-parties in 1985. Although it was not a hit, it paved the way for the song with which she would become internationally famous - "Joe le taxi" in 1987, while she was still only 14 years old. It was #1 in France for 11 weeks and, unusually for a song sung in French, was released in the United Kingdom the following year, where it reached #3.