Patricia Kaas (French: ; born 5 December 1966 in Forbach) is a French singer and actress. Her music is a mix of pop, cabaret, jazz, and chanson.
Since the appearance of her 1988 debut album, Mademoiselle chante..., Kaas has sold over 17 million records worldwide. She had her greatest success in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, Russia, Finland, Ukraine, and Korea with her third album Je te dis vous. In 2002, Kaas made her film debut in And now... Ladies and Gentlemen with Jeremy Irons. She represented France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow, and finished in eighth place.
Patricia Kaas was born as the youngest of her family on 5 December 1966 in Forbach, Lorraine, France, near the German border. Her father, Joseph Kaas (a miner), was a French Germanophone and her mother, Irmgard, was a German citizen from Saar. Kaas grew up in Stiring-Wendel, between Forbach and Saarbrücken on the French side of the border. Until the age of six she spoke only Lorraine Franconian. Her mother encouraged Kaas to become a singer at a very young age. At the age of eight Kaas was already singing songs by Sylvie Vartan, Dalida, Claude François and Mireille Mathieu, but also English-language songs such as New York, New York, at various small events; among others the marriage of her brother. Her first great success came when she received first place at a pop song contest.