Raphaël

Raphaël Haroche (born 7 November 1975), professionally known under his mononym Raphael, is a French singer–songwriter and actor.

Raphael was born as Raphaël Haroche on 7 November 1975 in Paris, France, and was raised in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine. Through his father he is of Moroccan and Russian Jewish descent and his mother is Argentinian. One of his paternal uncles is physics Nobel prize laureate Serge Haroche.

During his childhood and his adolescence, Raphael played the piano and the guitar.

In June 2007, Raphael placed ninth on the French Elle magazine "15 Sexiest Man" list. He has been in a relationship with actress Mélanie Thierry, who appeared in the music video for his single "Caravan". On 24 May 2008, Thierry gave birth to the couple's first child, Roman. Their second son, Aliocha, was born in December 2013.

In 2000, Raphael released his first album Hôtel de l'univers (the title is a tribute to Arthur Rimbaud), but it was not until three years later that he enjoyed his first mainstream success with the song Sur la Route, a duo with famous French singer Jean-Louis Aubert, included in his second album La Réalité. With this album, he chose folk music.