Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti (Italian: [joˈlanda kriˈstiːna dʒiʎˈʎɔtti]; 17 January 1933 – 3 May 1987), professionally known as Dalida (Egyptian Arabic: داليدا), was a French vocalist and actress, born in Egypt to Italian parents. She won the Miss Egypt beauty contest in 1954 and began a 31-year singing career in 1956, selling 140 million albums and singles worldwide. She committed suicide in 1987. On the night of 2 May to 3, 1987, Dalida committed suicide by overdosing on barbiturates. She left behind a note which read, "La vie m'est insupportable... Pardonnez-moi." ("Life is unbearable for me... Forgive me.") Dalida is buried at the Montmartre Cemetery, 18th Division, Chemin des Gardes.During her teenage years, Dalida's uncle was a projectionist for a local Italian/French language cinema, and for the first time she caught a glimpse of Hollywood. She became interested in acting, and was fascinated by Ava Gardner and Rita Hayworth. She dreamed of looking like them and her singing career developed, she copied their gestures for her musical appearances. Sometimes her costumes were inspired by those in movies, such as a dress from Gilda. In April 1975, her close friend, singer Mike Brant leapt to his death from an apartment in Paris. He was 28. Dalida had contributed to his success in France when he opened concerts for her in 1971 at l'Olympia. In July 1983, her lover from 1972 to 1981, Richard Chanfray, committed suicide by inhaling the exhaust gas of his Renault 25 car.
By the beginning of 1987, Dalida was entering into severe depression while trying to overcome it. Although no new songs had been recorded, she toured internationally from Los Angeles to the Middle East. Being part of the music spotlight in 1978, many of her songs appeared daily on TV, as well as many notable TV appearances in talk shows from 1986–1987. Her last live TV appearance was hosting the Nuit des César on 7 March 1987. Her last live performance took place in Antalya, Turkey from 27 to 29 April 1987, just before her suicide. Her performance was not recorded by the national television of Turkey which was the only TV channel in the country. - Breaking News : 3.4 earthquake near Piedmont shakes Bay Area
