Catherine Ringer

Born in Suresnes in 1957, Catherine Ringer has forged a distinctive path across chanson, rock, and new wave on the French scene. Trained in theater, dance, and singing, she founded the duo Les Rita Mitsouko with guitarist Fred Chichin in the early 1980s, blending pop, rock, funk, and Latin American or Middle Eastern influences within a highly visual aesthetic. The band drew attention with the albums “Rita Mitsouko” (1984) and “The No Comprendo” (1986), and continued through the 1990s and 2000s up to “Variety” in 2007. After Fred Chichin’s passing, Catherine Ringer took to the road under her own name, first with the live set “Catherine Ringer chante les Rita Mitsouko and more à la Cigale” in 2008, then with her studio albums “Ring n’ Roll” (2011) and “Chroniques et fantaisies” (2017), where francophone chanson, melodic rock, and electronic touches intersect. In parallel, she pursued numerous collaborations—notably with Gotan Project and Rachid Taha—and appeared in both film and theater, building a body of work in which vocal performance, the interplay of languages, and stage energy take center stage.