Edith Piaf museum planned for French town of Grasse

A museum dedicated to Edith Piaf is being planned in the town of Grasse, where the famous singer died of liver cancer aged 47 in 1963.

Piaf is known for her long-standing connection with Paris; her resting place in the capital’s Père Lachaise Cemetery remains one of the most visited graves in the city. 

However, she actually died at her villa in Grasse – a fact her loved ones tried to conceal. Instead, they covertly took her body to Paris, the city where she was born, made a living as a street performer and, later, where she performed her most famous concerts.

Her husband, Théo Sarapo, is said to have borrowed an ambulance from a convent in Grasse, and drove through the night with Edith’s body on a stretcher in the back. 

As moving a dead body is illegal in France, a false drip was rigged up to make it look as if she was receiving treatment in case they were stopped by gendarmes.

Honouring Piaf in Grasse

“It was only much later that the full story came out and eventually her place of death was officially recorded as Grasse,” Ludovic Imbert, who is spearheading the museum project, told The Connexion. 

“I am a musician and I live in Grasse, but it was only when I saw the film La Vie en Rose [La Môme (2007)] in 2017 that I realised that she actually died in Grasse.

“I immediately went to the mairie and asked why they were not doing anything to honour this great legend who died in the commune.”

Connecting Paris and Grasse

Mr Imbert founded the association Grasse à Edith in 2018, which organised a concert of her music.

He also got to know Bernard Marchois, then-president of the Paris-based Les Amis d’Edith Piaf, who opened a museum in Piaf’s former apartment in the 11th arrondissement.

When Mr Marchois, who is now 85, stepped down as president, members elected Mr Imbert to take over.

Mr Marchois has one of the largest collections of Piaf memorabilia, including portraits, posters from her shows, some of the famous black dresses she wore on stage, and the love letters between her and Marcel Cerdan, the former middleweight boxing world champion with whom she had a relationship between 1947 and 1949.

The affair caused a scandal – Cerdan was married with three children. It ended with his death in a plane crash on his way to meet Piaf in New York.

“The Marchois collection will be the core of the exhibitions [in Grasse], but we hope to set up a system of patronage for the museum where people can contribute so the collection can be expanded,” said Mr Imbert.

An influential force

Mr Imbert, a street pianist and digital content creator, said that Piaf’s music was “all around” when he was growing up.

“It ignited my love of music and when I decided to go to music school aged 40 it was because of the music of Piaf.”

He said that Piaf’s grip on the French imagination came not only from her performances, but the way she lived her life.

“At the time she was at her peak, in the 1940s and 50s, there were very few strong women in public who seemed in control of their lives,” he said.

“And here you had this tiny woman, only 1.42metres tall, who was always surrounded by men and who was obviously the leader of the pack.

“Her performances were also remarkable. The audience saw someone who was singing her heart out. Some of her songs recalled the very tough times she had on the streets of Paris before she became famous.”

Another factor in her legend was the way she tried to control her image, at a time when ‘people’ columns and celebrity magazines were starting to grow in France.

“One of the most well-known was a newspaper called France Dimanche, which came out on a Sunday. Edith Piaf would, when she needed, give them salacious scoops to direct press attention the way she wanted.”

Museum legacy

Mr Marchois opens the Paris apartment to visitors by appointment only, giving fans a chance to see his collection. However, there is no large-scale public Piaf museum in Paris. 

In Grasse, a building for the museum has been identified in the historic heart of the city, near the perfume shops and workshops which made it famous.

“If all goes well, I am confident we will be able to open the museum in 2027,” said Mr Imbert.

“In the meantime we will be busy preparing the exhibits and documentation which goes with them.”

He hopes that the patronage campaign, which might include a crowdfunding element, will launch in September 2026. Find out more.