About My Father
As a young girl I was fortunate to have a father who was an international celebrity. Life was very comfortable when I moved with him on my eighteenth birthday. By law he became my guardian taking over my grandparent's responsibilities. Life was easy if one does not mind being in the shadow of a giant of a father. Attention was plentiful from the media and strangers but for me nothing would or could make up for the attention I desperately wanted from only one person, my father. I was loved, obviously, but to enjoy his attention I had to wait for my turn because he was always busy, busy working, busy creating, busy travelling, busy performing. My consolation prize during his absence from home when I was a child were my grandparents Misha and Knar who raised me and took care of me gave me the same kind of upbringing, instilling in me the same kind of values that inspired my father to aim high and aspire for more. Music, passion and big hearts were always in ample supply.
It’s easy to lose one’s identity growing up in the shadow of a “bigger than life” artist who happens to be your dad. I am certain that those reading these paragraphs would love to trade places with me in a heartbeat, but ask that to a kid, to a young girl who does not care about success, celebrity nor money; the most important thing for a little girl is to be cuddled with one’s father, to hold his hand and go for a walk, to ask for an ice cream and have him buy it for you. It is easy to look at things from the perspective of an adult, but try to take away a doll from a little girl and she will start weeping regardless of how many more expensive toys you give her instead. Our values varry at different stages of our lives and as a young girl I wanted the attention of my dad, I wanted to spend as much time with him as I could, and yet I couldn’t. Besides, a young girl does not understand why so many “strangers” follow her and want to photograph her constantly in any and every position and circumstance, and who seem to care so much about her opinion about so many things in life. A young girl is never prepared for that kind of scrutiny and it can be unpleasant and it can have negative impact on a child’s life. It is no wonder that some celebrities go to great lengths to keep the lives of their children as secret and as secluded and as sheltered as possible from the invasion of the every present paparazzi who are willing to sell at any moment any compromising situation to the rest of the world with no regard to the effect that will have on the exposed individual. I have to say my father tried hard to keep me out of the media but he became so big, it was difficult to avoid.
Yes, it was challenging, more than anyone can imagine, but I am really proud of how I eventually turned out. My grandparents were invaluable in planting in me seeds that would grow over the years and support me even in their absence. My grandparents took on the responsibility of both of my parents because my mother was a singer too and she was pursuing her own career parallel to my father’s.
There was a time when I was uncomfortable revealing my last name because I wanted people to know me, respect me and love me for who I was, and not for whose daughter I was. Again, that may not make sense from the perspective of a logical thinking adult but kids don’t think like adults. As kids we have our own imagination, innocent, naïve and untainted by the social conditioning of a “civilized society”.
In order to understand the views of my childhood, I intend to someday write a book about my experiences as the daughter of Charles Aznavour. Until then, I believe that it will be helpful if I periodically write about various events, chapters and periods in my life in the blog of this website. I hope it will help fans of my father and those interested in what made him successful to better understand and appreciate the prices we pay for our desired accomplishments in life. Nothing is what it appears to be. Anything and everything is a matter of perspective, a matter of the point of view of the observer. We see things according to our own background, our own upbringing, our own values and our own individuality. Everything comes at a price. The question is, are we really ready and willing to pay the price? Regretfully, when we pursue a dream we don’t even know what the ultimate gratification will be until we are deep into it and at that time it is too late to turn back. Ultimately, the importance in life is to be happy wherever we end up and that in itself is true success.
I am now happy with where I am. Not only I don’t mind carrying the last name Aznavour anymore, now I use it at every opportunity that arises. I enjoy it when someone helps me out with a small favor out of respect for my father. I love getting extra attention because of my father. I love being spoiled as the daughter of a celebrity. Now that I am a mother of 2 adult kids, I love having a famous father. I don’t mind being in his shadow, I don’t mind being considered his daughter or his protégé. I have accepted that I will never be as successful as he has been no matter how hard I try, and I’ve grown to accept it, embrace it and I even love it. It is good to be comfortable with yourself and I am, and I adore the man he is because to me he walks with the Saints.