Violetta Villas was a Polish singer, actress, and composer who was born as Czesława Maria Cieślak in Heusy, Belgium, in 1938. She achieved early professional recognition in 1960 after debuting on Polskie Radio at the invitation of Władysław Szpilman and is famous for being the first star of the Casino de Paris in Las Vegas, where she performed between 1966 and 1971. Villas was noted for a coloratura soprano voice that spanned four octaves and for her elaborate stage wardrobe. Her discography includes the studio recordings Rendez-vous with Violetta Villas (1962), Violetta Villas (1966), and O miłości... (1968). She gained international recognition after winning the Grand Prix International d'Interpretation in Rennes (1965) for the track “Ave Maria no morro”. During her career, she performed with artists including Frank Sinatra and Barbra Streisand and acted in films such as How to Commit Marriage (1969) and The Woodpecker (1970). For her contributions to culture, she received the Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis in 2011. Villas died in Lewin Kłodzki, Poland, in 2011.
