In the Gainsbourg family, we know the parents, the children, the stepchildren… almost all the branches of the family tree. France sang, vibrated to the rhythm of the careers of all the members of this extraordinary clan, which is part of our tricolor heritage. However, there are two very discreet people in the tribe, who evolve far from film sets and recording studios: they are the brother and sister of Charlotte and Lucien “Lulu“Gainsbourg: Natacha and Paul.
Serge Gainsbourg’s two eldest were born in 1964 and 1967. At the time, the interpreter of Javanese had flirtatiously with Françoise-Antoinette Pancrazzi, known as Béatrice, his second wife. The lovers were married in 1964 in the 8th arrondissement of Paris but their relationship changed following the ceremony, in particular because of a certain excessive jealousy. “Before the wedding, we had lived in glue and everything was swimming, explained the singer. Afterwards, things started to turn sour: she did not accept this job of dating, even innocent kids like France Gall. Coming back from the town hall, I receive a phone call from a little fanatic. I had done nothing wrong! She get mad and I felt like I was in handcuffs…”
Their mother demanded that Serge pay them a fortune
Béatrice had notably taken the plane to slap Dalida, in 1963, while the latter was filming in Hong Kong man with Serge Gainsbourg. Yet delighted at the birth of his first two children, the singer ended up moving away from them, even if it meant not really raising them. With Jane Birkin, he had Charlotte in 1971 and, with Bambou, Lucien in 1986. However, he was not comfortable with the idea of ”mix its different families“. “He said: ‘They will come later’. I tried to get them to come, but it went wrong, remembered Jane with Paris Match. Their mother demanded that Serge pay them a fortune to see them. The divorce imposed its presence. It seemed like such a strange situation to me.”
Today, Natacha and Paul Gainsbourg remain completely anonymous. Absent from social networks, they seem to have no connection with other family members. We just know that the youngest, 54, is a big fan of vintage cars and that he owns one that his father bequeathed to him…
Find the documentary “Gainsbourg a whole life” on March 31 on France 3.