Google doodle on Dalida, French vocalist and actress who won Miss Egypt beauty contest in 1954

Tech giant Google is celebrating Dalida 86th birthday with a Google Doodle. Dalida originally 'Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti' was born on 17th January 1933 in Egypt. Pietro studied music in school and played the violin in taverns.

Dalida was twelve when her father Pietro died of a brain abscess and that trauma influenced her search for a male partner the rest of her life. In her teen years, Dalida developed an interest in acting due to her uncle's job as a projectionist for a local cinema and often participated in school performances. 

On 9 April 1956, Dalida participated in the singing contest Les Numéros 1 de demain, performing Etrangère au Paradis. In September, Dalida played supporting roles in two B movies; in "Rapt au deuxième bureau" and "Brigade des mœurs". Dalida toured extensively in 1959, playing sold-out concerts in France, Egypt, Italy, and Germany. As her fame spread outside France, she started to record songs in other languages to cater for other audiences. 

Dalida won the Miss Egypt beauty contest in 1954 and began a 31-year singing career in 1956, selling 140 million albums and singles worldwide.

While Dalida was professionally very successful, her private life was marred by a series of failed relationships and personal problems.

On the night of 2 May to 3, 1987, Dalida committed suicide by overdosing on barbiturates. She left behind a note which read, "La vie m'est insupportable... Pardonnez-moi." ("Life is unbearable for me... Forgive me.").