David HALLYDAY

David Hallyday was seemingly predestined for a career in music; his parents were French rock legend Johnny Hallyday and pop chanteuse Sylvie Vartan, France's "it" couple during the swinging '60s. Hallyday was born David Smet (his father's real name) on August 14, 1966, in Boulogne-Billancourt. From the age of four, he split his time between France and the United States, growing up bilingual and eventually enrolling in school in California. As a teenager, he played in an amateur rock & roll band, and in 1979 played drums behind his father for the first time in public. His stepfather, Tony Scotti, owned the Scotti Bros. label, and Hallyday went to work for him after finishing school. He also dabbled in acting, and won the lead role in the music-themed comedy He's My Girl in 1987, which allowed him the...