Dalida: Five things to know about the illustrious French singer and her dramatic life

Dalida is being remembered by a Google Doodle on Thursday

Dalida (pictured in an undated photo) was an Egyptian-born singer, of Italian origin, whose career in France spanned three decades. ((Photo credit should read -/AFP/Getty Images))

Dalida is being remembered by Google Doodle this Thursday, on what would have been her 86th birthday.

The French singer sold millions of records over the course of her three-decade career, gaining fans across the world with her sentimental ballads and lighter yé-yé tunes.

Born in Cairo to Italian parents on 17 January, 1933, Dalida – full name Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti – remains one of the best known French singers.

Here are five things you should know about her life and legacy:

1. She started out as a beauty queen

Dalida's career began when she became Miss Egypt in 1954. That same year, she moved to Paris to pursue an acting career.

She eventually turned to singing, and her rise to fame was partly helped by the French radio station Europe 1, which took to broadcasting her 1956 song "Bambino" several times a day.

Dalida was in part discovered by Lucien Morrise, the station's programming director, whom she married in 1961.

2. She recorded in seven languages

Several of Dalida's biggest hits are, of course, in French.

Among them are "Itsi Bitsi Petit Bikini", "Il venait d'avoir 18 ans", "Laissez-moi danser" et "Mourir sur scène". She also recorded a French version of Wham!'s "Last Christmas", titled "Reviens-Moi".

Dalida also sang in Italian, as she did for her cover of Cher's "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)".

She sometimes recorded the same song in two different versions, as she did in 1977 when she delivered a French version as well as an Arabic version of the Egyptian song "Salma Ya Salama".

3. She was a multi-faceted artist

Early on in her career, Dalida recorded light pop tunes attached to the yé-yé movement, France's answer to the rise of bands such as The Beatles in the early Sixties.

Among those songs is her 1960 hit "Itsi Bitsi Petit Bikini", her version of Brian Hyland's "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini".

She was also influenced by disco and experienced what is now remembered as her diva phase in the Eighties, during which she delivered her well-known, tragic pop song "Mourir sur scène".

4. Her personal life inspired one of her most famous songs

"Il venait d'avoir dix-huit ans", which translates to "he had just turned 18", was released by Dalida in 1973.

The song was inspired by her relationship with a younger student, which led to an unplanned pregnancy.

According to Dalida's brother, producer Orlando, who has publicly discussed the matter, Dalida was 34 years old at the time of the relationship and the student was 22.

The singer terminated the pregnancy, at a time when abortion was illegal both in France and in Italy. The procedure left her unable to conceive.

5. She is buried in her former home of Montmartre

Dalida died by suicide on 3 May, 1987.

French sculptor Aslan unveils the statue made to honour Dalida during a public tribute on 31 October, 1987, following her death on 3 May, 1987. (PIERRE GUILLAUD/AFP/Getty Images) ((PIERRE GUILLAUD/AFP/Getty Images))

She is buried in the Montmartre neighbourhood of Paris, where she moved in 1962.

French sculptor Aslan produced a life-sized statue of the singer to be placed on her tombstone, making it easily recognisable in the Montmartre Cemetery.