70 million albums sold, more than 600 songs and already more than 60 years of career… Sheila can thank her mother, without her, she was destined for another, much more austere profession!
In 2025, Sheila released a new album titled In the futurethe 28th studio album of his long career. The singer, whose real name is Anny Chancel, has spanned the ages and generations with numerous hits: School is over, The Three Wise Men, You friends, I will never forget you, Spacer…And she can say a big thank you to her late mother, Micheline.
What other job should Sheila do?
Before starting her career in music in the 1960s, Sheila studied accounting with her sights set on a secure and comfortable career as a potential accountant. “I was enrolled after my school certificate“, the star told the newspaper The World. But that was without counting on his mother, who was also passionate about singing and who gave a few concerts.on Sundays during the holidays as she had such a beautiful voice” but had not been able to make it his career.
“I see her again, straight as an “i”, in front of the director of the accounting school: ‘I’m coming to take Anny out of your classes because she wants to sing.’ The director looked offended: ‘Ms. Chancel, you are losing all common sense. You are going to throw your daughter into prostitution!’ Artists at the time did not have a good reputation. But mom held firm: ‘My daughter wants to sing, and I’ll give her a chance.‘”, Sheila said.
Spotted by producer Claude Carrère, with whom she ended up angry, Sheila released her first eponymous record in 1962. It was the start of a career that would take her to the top of the charts. charts.
Sheila and her early life before music
In addition to accounting, Sheila was also asked by her parents to work alongside her in the markets, who ran a sweets stand. “I wanted to work. And I loved market life. Waking up at dawn in the family two-room apartment in the 13th arrondissement where I slept on the sofa, racing to Créteil to load the truck, preparing the stall at −5°C or −12°C in winter, when you have to break the ice and stuff your clogs with newspaper“, said the mother of the late Ludovic Chancel.
And the singer, who continues her tour in 2026 entitled Sheila The 8.0 Tourto add: “I only have good memories. First of all, the market is a family, everyone helps each other. And then it develops the joke. They could hear me screaming from one end of the square to the other (…) That’s when I made my voice.”
