Nolwenn Le Magueresse (; born 28 September 1982), known by her stage name Nolwenn Leroy (), is a French singer-songwriter and actress.
Originally classically trained (violin and opera singing), she rose to fame after winning the second season of the French television music competition Star Academy in 2002. She has since recorded eight studio albums and scored two number one singles, "Cassé" and "Nolwenn Ohwo!", on the French charts. In 2012, her album Bretonne was certified two times diamond for sales exceeding one million copies.
Leroy is fluent in English, having spent a year in the United States as an exchange student. She sings in many languages, including French, Breton, English and Irish.
Leroy has received numerous awards and nominations. In January 2015, she was ranked 17th on Le Journal du Dimanche'''s 50 Most Loved Celebrities in France, making her the top female singer on the list since December 2012. "Jean-Jacques Goldman, Omar Sy et Jean Dujardin, personnalités préférées des Français". Ozap. 4 January 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2015. "Le Top 50 des personnalités – Décembre 2012". Ifop. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2015. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the Arts and Letters by the French Ministry of Culture in 2021. In 2025, she was named a Knight of the Legion of Honour, the highest French accolade.
Biography
Early life Leroy was born in Saint-Renan (Finistère) in 1982. Leroy's parents left Saint-Renan when she was four years old. After living in Paris, Lille, and Guingamp, her mother, Muriel Leroy, and her younger sister, Kay, settled with Leroy's grandparents in Saint-Yorre. Her mother divorced from her father, professional footballer Jean-Luc Le Magueresse, in 1993.
Nolwenn studied at the "Collège des Célestins" in Vichy. When Leroy was eleven, her music teacher noticed her musical talents and encouraged her to learn the violin. At the age of thirteen she won "Les écoles du désert", a contest sponsored by the Cora supermarket chain, which allowed her to travel with a humanitarian mission from Gao to Timbuktu, Mali; she later claimed this had a profound influence on her.
In July 1998, Leroy was awarded a scholarship by the Vichy Rotary Club to travel to Hamilton, Ohio, United States, as an exchange student. While attending Hamilton High School, she took music lessons at the Performing Arts School and became fluent in English. When she returned to France, she began classical singing classes at the Vichy music conservatory. In 2001, she enrolled in the University of Clermont-Ferrand to study law for a potential alternative career to music.
Career
2002: Star Academy After watching the first season of Star Academy broadcast on TF1 in 2001, Leroy was impressed by Armande Altaï, a singing teacher and one of the show's judges. She subsequently joined Altaï's singing classes in Paris for over six months. In 2002, Nolwenn was selected for the second season of Star Academy, but she was also given the part of Scarlett O'Hara in the French stage musical Autant en emporte le vent (Gone with the Wind) by Gérard Presgurvic. Leroy ended up choosing Star Academy over the musical. As a contestant on the show, Leroy spent four months in a castle located in Dammarie-lès-Lys, and followed acting, dancing and singing classes. On 21 December 2002, she was declared the winner ahead of fellow finalist, Houcine Camara, earning her a record deal with Universal Music France.
2003–2004: Eponymous debut album Leroy's first album, Nolwenn, was released in March 2003 and was certified platinum by November for sales exceeding 300,000 copies. In 2006, the album was certified two times platinum by the Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique (SNEP) for more than 600,000 copies sold. Both the album and the first single "Cassé" topped the charts in France and Belgium. Three other songs from the album were released as singles: "Une Femme cachée", "Suivre une étoile" and "Inévitablement". Leroy went on her first solo tour in France, Belgium and Switzerland in late 2003 to promote songs from the album.
2005–2008: Histoires Naturelles Leroy's second album, Histoires Naturelles, was released on 5 December 2005. It was produced by Laurent Voulzy and Frank Eulry. The album's lead single "Nolwenn Ohwo!", co-written by Alain Souchon, Voulzy and Leroy herself, topped the French charts one week after its release."Nolwenn Ohwo! – Chart performance" The second single was the title track, "Histoire Naturelle". Music videos were made for both songs; the video for "Histoire Naturelle" expressed the main theme of the album with Leroy being portrayed as natural history museum exhibits. Of the other single releases, "Mon Ange" was distributed digitally while "J'aimais tant l'aimer" and "Reste Encore" were promotional-only. The album reached platinum status "Nolwenn Leroy – Biographie". TV5 Monde. Retrieved 2 November 2014. with sales exceeding 400,000 copies. "Joyeux Nolwenn". Le Soir. 16 December 2009. Retrieved 2 November 2014. Leroy performed songs from both Histoires Naturelles and Nolwenn on her second solo tour, which started in September 2006. Leroy's first live album, Histoires Naturelles Tour, was subsequently released in late October 2007.
2009–2010: Le Cheshire Cat et Moi Le Cheshire Cat & Moi was a project that began in 2007, co-written by Leroy and Teitur Lassen, with contributions from Jonatha Brooke, Michelle Featherstone, Mike Errico and Rupert Hine. It was arranged and produced by Lassen, and recorded in Sweden and the Faroe Islands. The album's lead single, "Faut-il, faut-il pas ?", was released in November 2009 along with a music video directed by Yoann Lemoine. "Rencontre avec Nolwenn et son Cheshire Cat". ELLE. 4 December 2009. Retrieved 7 October 2015. With the album, Leroy presented "a lighter sound than on previous releases" and she was given the opportunity to write all the lyrics. The album was released on 7 December 2009 and was later certified gold. "Nolwenn Leroy". Le Journal des Femmes. Retrieved 7 October 2015. A tour entitled "Le Cheshire Cat & Vous" to promote the record was held in 2010.
2010–2012: Bretonne Leroy released a fourth studio album, Bretonne, on 6 December 2010. Cover versions of traditional Celtic songs such as "Mná na h-Éireann", "Tri Martolod", "La Jument de Michao", and contemporary songs such as Christophe Miossec's "Brest" were included on the album. Most of the songs related to Brittany, the singer's birthplace. Four of them were sung in Breton ("Tri Martolod", "Suite Sudarmoricaine", "Bro Gozh ma Zadoù", "Karantez Vro"), one in Irish ("Mná na h-Éireann"), and the rest in French and English. Leroy collaborated with Jon Kelly for the musical arrangements. The album topped the French album charts for seven weeks and the Belgian album charts for five weeks. It was certified double diamond "Nolwenn Leroy : juin, le mois de tous les succès !". Chérie FM. Retrieved 21 July 2017. by the SNEP for sales exceeding one million copies.
The album was re-released in November 2011 as a Deluxe Edition with seven additional tracks in English, including "Amazing Grace", "Scarborough Fair" and two Mike Oldfield tracks, "Moonlight Shadow" and "To France". The American version of the album, retitled Nolwenn, was released on 8 January 2013 with a different track listing. The album peaked at number 10 on the Billboard's World Album chart. Leroy made her New York City debut at Drom."Nolwenn Leroy NYC Debut". Drom. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
As part of the Bretonne Tour, Leroy played over 100 dates "Un live de Nolwenn Leroy tourné vendredi à Saint-Brieuc !". Ouest-France. 28 January 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2015. in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Germany. In June 2012, she performed as a special guest with The Chieftains in Paris. "Concerts – The Chieftains". Télérama.
2012–2016: Ô Filles de l'Eau Leroy's fifth album, , was released on 26 November 2012, preceded by the lead single "Juste pour me souvenir". The album was produced by Jon Kelly and recorded in London. The title reads 'O Daughters of the Water' but is phonetically similar to 'au fil de l'eau' ('with the current/flow'). Like Bretonne, it contains Celtic inspired music but with more ocean themed lyrics. It includes two tracks in English ("Homeland" and "Limitless"). "Homeland" contains the James Horner composed theme of the film Braveheart. "Ahès" is the only Breton-language song of the album. Leroy wrote and co-composed 9 songs, including the singles "Juste pour me souvenir", "Sixième continent", "J'ai volé le lit de la mer" and "Ophélia". "Nolwenn Leroy. Chanson par chanson, elle commente son nouvel album". Le Télégramme. 12 November 2012. Retrieved 14 October 2014. The album cover was created by Australian artist Vee Speers, inspired by her portrait series, Immortal. "Nolwenn Leroy se jette à l'eau sur son nouvel album". Culturebox. 22 November 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2015. Reviews of the album were strong, with some praising Leroy's vocal ability and Celtic music and lyrics, noting that her singing in English and Breton was brave and proved her to be an evolving artist, with strong sales to match. Two months after its release, the album was certified triple platinum by the SNEP. "NRJ Music Awards 2013 – Triple disque de platine" . Nolwenn Leroy's official website. Retrieved 12 May 2016. "Nolwenn Leroy avec son chignon haut façon bun à Paris" . Plurielles. 19 March 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2014. Furthermore, it was named RTL's Album of the Year 2013. "Ô filles de l'eau de Nolwenn Leroy sacré Album de l'Année RTL 2013" . RTL. 19 November 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
In 2013, Leroy toured France, Belgium and Switzerland in support of the album. Additionally, she was a special guest soloist on Vladimir Cosma's symphonic tour in France. "L'homme aux 200 musiques de films". Le Parisien. 23 March 2013. Retrieved 29 February 2016. In early 2014, she was nominated at the World Music Awards for the first time, in four categories: World's Best Album (Bretonne), World's Best Entertainer, World's Best Female Artist, and World's Best Live Act.
In 2014, she provided several songs in English and French for the Academy Awards-nominated animated film Song of the Sea, and voiced the character of Bronagh in the film's French version. "Le Chant de la Mer : Nolwenn Leroy sur la B.O. du film". evous.fr. "Nolwenn Leroy dévoile "La chanson de la mer". Ecoutez son nouveau titre !". Charts in France. 10 November 2014. On 3 May 2014, Leroy performed the Breton anthem "Bro Gozh ma Zadoù" at the Stade de France before 80,000 spectators, for the 2014 Coupe de France Final (aired on France 2) opposing two Breton clubs, the Stade Rennais to EA Guingamp. "Coupe de France. Nolwenn Leroy chante le Bro gozh ma zadou". Ouest-France. 3 May 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
Leroy's second live CD/DVD, Ô Tour de L'Eau, recorded in Saint-Brieuc, was released on 1 December 2014. "Nolwenn Leroy dévoile un nouvel extrait de son best-of live". RTL. 28 November 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2014. In March 2015, she embarked on an acoustic tour in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, New Caledonia and French Polynesia.
On 11 June 2015, she was invited to talk about her career at Oxford University."Nolwenn Leroy à Oxford". The European School Culham. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2015. In November 2015, Leroy announced that she would perform at Celtic Connections in Glasgow's City Halls on 30 January 2016, along with Karen Matheson."Karen Matheson and Nolwenn Leroy". Celtic Connections. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
2017–2018: Gemme