Sophie Fouron didn’t warn me to bring my tissues. But I should have been wary…
I should have known that the host of Hold salon, a remarkable show that brings a tear to my eye every time, is in life as well as on screen. With skin-deep sensitivity, she has this unique way of touching people’s hearts and breathing a breath of humanity into the Quebec television landscape.
More present than ever in the media, Sophie Fouron, who can be seen notably at the helm of Life is a carnival at TV5, no longer really needs any introduction. But since it was the first time we met, I still wanted to ask her the question she always asks guests at Life is a carnival : how would you describe yourself to people who don’t know you?
Her eyes quickly grew misty as she spoke of the loving and inspiring family that made her who she is. “I think that I am truly the daughter of my parents and the sister of my sisters… When I talk about my family, it moves me. It’s like a strength, a chance, a privilege to come from this family who gave me so much love. It’s incredible, what it allowed me to do… I often say that I have roots and wings – to paraphrase the title of a TV5 show. »
Sophie Fouron’s roots are both in an orchard in Rougemont where her mother grew up and in Les Cayes, Haiti, where her father was born. His mother, Pierrette Bienvenue, was a nurse. His father, Dr Jean-Claude Fouron, who died on October 19, 2022, is the founder of the fetal cardiology unit at CHU Sainte-Justine – the first of its kind in Canada.
A qualified doctor from Haiti ready to begin his final year of residency in pediatrics, young Dr Fouron sets down his suitcase in Montreal one day in 1960, during the brain drain caused by the Duvalier dictatorship. The word “residence” is not just an image here. “He arrived from the airport directly to Sainte-Justine! That’s where he slept. There were beds for residents at the time. »
It was in this same hospital that Sophie Fouron’s parents met and never left each other again. The beginning of a great love story, between this brilliant man with a big heart and this first-in-class and adventurous nurse.
“They were in love until the last minute. I think that was their greatest strength in adversity. It was a crushing love. »
There was undoubtedly some adversity for this couple who lived in the United States in the 1960s, when mixed unions were still illegal in certain states. But the parents never said a word about it to their three daughters.
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
Sophie Fouron
Rightly or wrongly, we never talked about racism at home. My sisters and I have these conversations now. Did my father want to protect us or did he not want to talk about it himself?
Sophie Fouron
Of her father, she especially remembers a great humanist who, by caring for little hearts, cared for the worried hearts of their parents too. “My father said that everyone had the same value. I keep this very carefully. I find that you have to remember this all the time. Don’t prioritize based on what you do or where you come from… Always see the human behind. »
She no longer counts the number of times mothers have asked her, with infinite gratitude in their eyes, if she was the daughter of the Dr Fouron. “Every time, it’s hello the handkerchief!” My father saw these women in a moment of great vulnerability, when they were pregnant with a baby who had heart problems. He worked his magic and his great humanism. »
For a long time, Sophie Fouron lived with little concern for the Haitian half of her identity. “It’s not that I denied my Haitian identity. But I had never celebrated it. »
She grew up in the Snowdon neighborhood of Montreal, in a privileged white environment with white friends. She never felt like a minority. With her light mixed-race complexion, she found it quite convenient to have the luxury of not really feeling concerned by issues related to racism.
Over time, it caught up with her. There was a first little spark caused by a troubling question, one day when she was on her balcony with her 2-year-old daughter. “Are you the nanny?” », asked a friend of a neighbor.
The question hurt her. Why did this stranger assume that a woman who takes care of a child with a lighter complexion than hers must be the nanny? And if she felt hurt by such a comment, how did people with darker skin tones than hers who experience racism on a daily basis feel?
The big breakthrough really happened in 2018 when Sophie Fouron went to Haiti for the show Everyone has their own island. A trip back to her roots that shocked her. “I cried all week!” It was as if my buried half had come to the surface… I could no longer ignore it. »
Reconnecting with her roots was accompanied by a more assertive form of commitment for her. A desire to be more united and to no longer remain silent in the face of injustice. “Complicit silence is no longer possible. »
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
Sophie Fouron, with Rima Elkouri
For several years, whether with Hold salonwhich invites us to open the door of a hair salon with her to discover the inspiring journeys of Quebecers from different origins, or with the festive society magazine Life is a carnival, she wants to use her platform to meet the Other. Giving a voice to people who don’t have one. Let immigrants who have made so many sacrifices tell their stories. It is also a way for her to pay tribute to her father, to her compatriots and to all those who, like him, have come from far away.
My small and humble contribution is really that we try to understand ourselves better and discover common traits in others who are not like us. For me, it’s not complicated at all. Because we have so much more in common than differences.
Sophie Fouron
Competing again this year for the Dynastie gala, which celebrates the exceptional achievements of people from Quebec’s black communities, she tells me that she was uncomfortable the first time she was named a finalist, even though she was just filming in Haiti. “I said to myself: this is not my place! I’m taking someone else’s place! I didn’t feel like I had the legitimacy to be there. I also had the impression that it was a bit of a way of ghettoizing people… I talk to you about it and I get chills. Because I feel guilty for reacting like that. »
I am in no position to make her feel any more guilty because I reacted in exactly the same way several years ago when I found myself in the running for awards given to Arab or minority media personalities. But over time, my thinking on the subject, like that of Sophie Fouron, has evolved. We ended up understanding the symbolic importance of these awards, particularly for young people from minorities lacking role models.
As Michelle Obama says, which Sophie Fouron likes to quote, it is difficult to aspire to something that is not visible. It’s difficult to plan ahead and spread your wings when no one tells us it’s possible.
Pampered by the lottery of life, the host feels lucky to have had such extraordinary models at home. “Having such a solid foundation allows you to spread your wings, to dream. It always touches me when I see people who didn’t start from the same place, who accomplish things, who succeed, who help others… These are life lessons. I have no merit. I have been carried by a wave of love again and again. »
look Hold salon on the TV5Unis website
look Life is a carnival on the TV5Unis website
Questionnaire without filter:
Coffee and me : Coffee is one of the great joys of my life. When I travel, I always ask myself this question: will there be good coffee? I carry around my little coffee maker when needed. Life is too short to drink bad coffee! I like good coffee, in good company, ideally on a terrace. I take one or two every day. Never after 2 p.m.!
People I would like to bring to my table, dead or alive : a table of courageous black women. Tracy Chapman, an artist who has always fascinated me and whom I admire for her integrity, her freedom, her courage to be completely herself. Harriet Tubman, an African-American badass who was a slave and dedicated her life to freeing other slaves; Christiane Taubira, an exceptional woman, so incredible in the way she stands. She looks like fun too!
A book that marked me : Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. It’s really a good novel. I like this book especially because there are scenes that take place in a hair salon. It’s the life of a Nigerian woman who discovers racism in the United States. I would also invite him to my table. I think she would get the party going!
A book I can’t wait to read : Us, the others, by Toula Drimonis (Somme tout). It touches on issues at the heart of my thinking. The invisible immigrant, if we chase him away or close the door to him, society no longer functions.
Words that inspire me : My father often said: “It is more important to get along well than to want to be right.” » That sums it up… So, let’s talk!
Who is Sophie Fouron?
- Born in Montreal in 1969
- Bachelor in political science and holder of a master’s degree in communication from the University of Montreal
- Journalist and former globetrotter, she hosted Home ports And Everyone has their own island (TV5)
- Designer and facilitator of Hold salon (TV5)
- Host of Life is a carnival (TV5)
- Co-host with Benoit McGinnis of Back to culture (ARTV)