Philippe Blanchard (French pronunciation: [filip blɑ̃ʃaʁ]; born 8 December 1968), known professionally as Philippe Katerine, is a French singer-songwriter, actor, artist, director and writer who began his career in 1991. Some of his popular singles include "Mon cœur balance", "Je vous emmerde", and "Louxor j'adore".
At the beginning of his career, his musical style was often described as easy-listening, with bossa nova accents and texts that were often morbid or anguished and tinged with humor, all sometimes interspersed with audio collages. He also incorporated elements of rock and electronic music while remaining rooted in a quirky chanson style. In 2010, he attracted attention as an actor by playing Boris Vian in the biopic Gainsbourg, A Heroic Life, by Joann Sfar. The following year, he got top billing in the offbeat comedy, I am a No Man's Land. In 2015, he played head of state in Gaz de France.
Besides these films, he was often seen in quirky supporting parts in comedies such as : La Tour 2 contrôle infernale (2016), by Éric Judor, Hibou (2016), by Ramzy Bedia, We Are Family (2016), by Gabriel Julien-Laferrière, Le Petit Spirou (2017), by Nicolas Bary, Sink or Swim (2018), by Gilles Lellouche, and The World is Yours (2018), by Romain Gavras.
At the 44th César Awards, he received the César Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Sink or Swim.
In 2022, he founded the artistic movement Le Mignonisme, which was represented by the mascot named Monsieur Rose. Monsieur Rose is an inflatable sculpture that has been featured in temporary exhibitions across various cities around the world.[1][2][3]
In 2024, he performed his song Nu semi-naked and painted in blue at the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympic Games.[4]
In November 1991, Katerine began his career. In 1992, he released his debut album Les Mariages Chinois (later re-released with an additional track under the title Les Mariages Chinois et la Relecture). Anxious and self-doubting, Katerine in those days mostly composed and record in a home studio.
In 1994, he released the album L’Education Anglaise on which his sister (under the pseudonym Bruno) and his girlfriend Anne did the singing.
In 1995, he worked on his third album and went through a major artistic shift over a year. He began to use other musicians and do his own singing. The album Mes Mauvaises Fréquentations, released in 1996, and offering lusher orchestrations and several vocalists, was well received critically and commercially. He also worked for the first time as musical director on someone else's album, Mercedes Audras' self-titlred debut, released in 1996.
In 1997, he composed an album for two Anglo-Japanese singers, the Winchester Sisters and also participated in a disc where he met the jazz musicians of the group The Recyclers, with whom he collaborated further. He created and recorded two albums at the same time: L’homme à Trois Mains and Les Créatures. The former he recorded at home alone as previously, while the latter was recorded in a more conventional manner in a studio with The Recyclers. The two albums were released together and marked a turning point in his musical career.
He promoted the records extensively in the media and the song “Je Vous Emmerde” got plenty of airplay. The Recyclers with their entirely different musical background fascinated him by their way of working and their relationship to improvisation, which he integrated into his techniques.
In 1999, he composed “Une Histoire d’Amour” for Anna Karina, his favourite actress, with whom he subsequently toured.
He has a daughter, Edie (born in 1993). He was married to Helena Noguerra from 1999 to 2008 and has had relationships with Jeanne Balibar, then Julie Depardieu with whom he has two sons, Billy (born 16 June 2011) and Alfred (born 8 August 2012).[citation needed]
