Lys Assia

Lys Assia (born Rosa Mina Schärer; 3 March 1924 – 24 March 2018[1][2]) was a Swiss singer who won the first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956. Assia was born in Rupperswil, Aargau, and began her stage career as a dancer, but changed to singing in 1940 after successfully standing in for a female singer.

Lys Assia
Assia in 1957
Assia in 1957
Background information
Birth nameRosa Mina Schärer
Born(1924-03-03)3 March 1924
Rupperswil, Aargau, Switzerland
Died24 March 2018(2018-03-24) (aged 94)
Zollikerberg, Zürich, Switzerland
Occupation(s)Singer
Instrument(s)Vocals
Years active1942–2018

Eurovision Song Contest

In 1956, she was the winner of the first Eurovision Song Contest, in which she sang for Switzerland with the song "Refrain".[3] She returned to the contest again for Switzerland in 1957 and 1958.[3] Her Eurovision success was followed by success in Germany with "O mein Papa".[4]

In 2005, Assia performed at the Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest event.[5]

In 2009, together with the previous year's winner Dima Bilan, Assia presented the Eurovision trophy to that year's winner Alexander Rybak.

Lys Assia in October 2012

In September 2011, Assia entered her song "C'était ma vie", written by Ralph Siegel and Jean Paul Cara, into the Swiss national selection Die grosse Entscheidungs Show for the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan.[6][7] The song came eighth in a closely fought national selection. She attended the event in Baku as a guest of honour.[8]

In 2012, Assia again submitted a song to the Swiss national selection to represent Switzerland in Malmö, Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "All in Your Head" featuring the hip-hop rap group New Jack.[9] This entry, however, was not chosen to compete at the national selection. There were rumours of Assia representing San Marino, but it was announced on 30 January 2013 that Valentina Monetta would do so.[10][11] She later made a guest appearance during the contest's second semi-final.[12] In 2015, at age 91, Assia attended the Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits special concert celebrating the contest's 60th anniversary. This was her last public appearance.

Personal life

Assia married Johann Heinrich Kunz on 11 January 1957 in Zürich. Kunz died just nine months later after battling a serious illness.[13] In 1963, she married Danish businessman Oscar Pedersen, who died in 1995.[14] She died on 24 March 2018 in Zürich.[15][16]

References
  1. "Lys Assia, First Lady of the Eurovision Song Contest, dies aged 94 – Eurovision Song Contest Lisbon 2018". Eurovision Song Contest. Archived from the original on 24 March 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  2. "Eurovision's 'first lady' dies aged 94". BBC. 25 March 2018. Archived from the original on 28 March 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  3. "Eurovision 1958 Switzerland: Lys Assia – "Giorgio"". eurovisionworld.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  4. Lennon, Troy (22 May 2015). "Eurovision's one hit wonders singing their way to fleeting fame". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney, Australia. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  5. "Eurovision's 'first lady' dies aged 94". BBC News. 25 March 2018. Archived from the original on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  6. "First Eurovision winner Lys Assia submitted a song in the Swiss selection". Archived from the original on 1 January 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  7. "Lys Assia". Les archives de la Radio télévision suisse (in French). Radio télévision suisse. Le projet de numérisation des archives de la RTS. 6 November 2011. Archived from the original on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2013. Document
  8. Teuber, Verena (1 July 2012). "Eurovision weekend held in Berlin from 3 August-5 August". OGAE Germany. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  9. "Switzerland: Lys Assia's 2013 entry previewed". escXtra. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
  10. Roxburgh, Gordon (30 January 2013). "It's Valentina Monetta again for San Marino". EBU. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  11. "Eurovision's first winner Lys Assia dies aged 94". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 24 March 2018. Archived from the original on 25 March 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  12. "Remembering Lys Assia: Twelve memorable moments". Eurovision.tv. 26 March 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  13. "Lys Assia: Biografie der Schweizer ESC-Teilnehmerin". eurovision.de. Archived from the original on 25 March 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  14. "Lys Assia". IMDb. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  15. "Lys Assia ist tot". Neue Zürcher Zeitung. 24 March 2018. Archived from the original on 25 March 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  16. Nerssessian, Joe (24 March 2018). "The first ever winner of Eurovision, Lys Assia, has died aged 94". The Independent. London, England: Independent Print Ltd. Archived from the original on 24 March 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2018.

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