Izïa Anna Rosine Higelin (; born 24 September 1990), more commonly known by her stage name Izïa, is a French rock singer, guitarist and actress. Her most recent album, La Vitesse, was released in 2022. In May 2026, she released a single titled Mieux que nous.
Early life
Izïa was born in Paris on 24 September 1990 to Jacques Higelin, a famous French singer of Belgian and Alsatian descent, and Aziza Zakine, a dancer and chorist of Tunisian descent. She comes from a family of artists; beside her father and mother, her two older half brothers are Arthur H and Kên Higelin, both active in performing arts.
She was influenced by music from an early age, when her father introduced her to jazz and British pop music. At the age of seven, she formed a duo with her father; she provided the vocals while he played piano.
Career Music When she was 13, Izïa started to take an interest in rock bands such as Nirvana and Led Zeppelin. At this time, she wrote her first song, titled "Hey Bitch", which later featured on her debut album.
A year later she met Caravan Palace bassist Antoine Toustou through her parents and the pair played their first live show in 2004. Six months later, her backing group was expanded to three people when Izïa and Toustou were joined by Sébastien Hoog and Vincent Polycarpe. She left school at the age of 15 in order to concentrate on a career in music.
In 2006, Izïa released her first extended play and the following year she opened for Iggy & the Stooges at the Printemps de Bourges music festival. She consequently embarked on a tour of France, which consisted of over thirty dates. On 8 June 2009, her eponymous debut studio album, Izia, was released in France.About her eponymous studio album, Izia, Artistik Rezo, Annabelle Verjus. 15 July 2009. (French) In some reviews, the album garnered comparisons to Janis Joplin. The album performed reasonably well in the French albums chart, achieving a peak position of #31 and staying in the top 100 for 17 consecutive weeks.
Izïa has since released three more albums that reached the charts in France: So Much Trouble (2011), La Vague (2015), and Citadelle (2019). In 2021, Izïa contributed a cover of the Metallica song "My Friend of Misery" to the charity tribute album The Metallica Blacklist.
Film Izïa made her film debut in 2012, appearing in the film Bad Girl under her full name, Izia Higelin. She was nominated for several awards for her performance, including the César Award for Most Promising Actress. Since then, she has continued to act sporadically, appearing in the 2015 film Summertime and playing Camille Claudel in the 2017 film Rodin.
Discography
Studio albums YearAlbumPeak positionsCertification FR BEL(Wa) SWI2009 Izia24——2011 So Much Trouble 1096—2015 La Vague1352—2019 Citadelle13—602022 La vitesse267099
Singles YearAlbumPeak positionsSingles FR2009 "So Much Trouble"84So Much Trouble2009 "La Vague"80La Vague2026 - -Mieux que nous
Filmography Year Title Role Director Notes 2012 Bad Girl Louise Patrick Mille César Award for Most Promising ActressNominated—Lumière Award for Most Promising ActressNominated—Globes de Cristal Award for Best Actress 2014 Samba Manu Olivier NakacheEric Toledano Nominated—César Award for Best Supporting Actress Fils de Hervé P. Gustave Mune: Guardian of the Moon Glim Alexandre HeboyanBenoît Philippon 2015 Summertime Delphine Catherine Corsini Nominated—Lumière Award for Best Actress 2016 Saint-Amour Benoît DelépineGustave de Kervern 2017 Rodin Camille Claudel Jacques Doillon 2021 La Vengeance au Triple Galop Debby Harper Alex Lutz & Arthur Sanigou TV film 2022 The Takedown (Loin du périph) Alice Gautier Louis Leterrier Netflix Tower of Strength Louis Leterrier Filming2024Juliette au printempsJuliette TarlidchBlandine Lenoir
References
External links
Izia official Website