Éliane Branchard was born on March 28, 1923 in Argelès-Gazost in the Hautes-Pyrénées. She began singing at an early age, and enrolled in a dance school in Tarbes, without yet considering a career in the arts. After marrying Maurice Jean Bangratz at an early age, on October 6, 1939, she moved to Paris at the end of the war, where she came to the attention of several music professionals. Aided by singing lessons with Paulette Vétheuil, she composed several songs, including "Au chant des mandolines", "Congo" and "Valse perdue", then performed on the radio and in cabarets in France and abroad. Renamed Éliane Embrun, she made her first recordings in 1947 with the help of musicians Raymond Legrand and Albert Lasry. After winning prizes at the 1949 Concours de la Chanson in Deauville, in the 1950s she was encouraged to perform in Lebanon and Brazil, and appeared in the Tour de France publicity caravan, the Music Hall Parade and in the film Une fille à croquer (1951) with Serge Reggiani. As her career took off and Éliane Embrun's popularity grew, the singer decided to interrupt her artistic career in 1963 to devote herself to her family. Returning to her native region, she kept a low profile until the 1990s, appearing on the TV show La chance aux chansons and releasing a new album in 1993, Douce France. As she gradually disappeared from the media spotlight, Éliane Embrun died on February 10, 2009 in Saint-Mandé.
