Wanda Ribeiro de Vasconcelos, better known to music fans as Lio, was born in Mangualde, a tiny village in northern Portugal on 17 June 1962. Wanda led a happy, carefree existence in her early childhood. The de Vasconcelos family lived in a spacious residence with Wanda's doctor grandfather and were generally quite well-off. But in 1964 war broke out in the Portuguese colony of Mozambique and Wanda's father was called up to fight. His wife decided to accompany him, taking her two young children with her and Wanda thus spent part of her childhood in Africa. Shortly afterwards, Wanda's parents got divorced, however, and when the family returned to Portugal, Wanda's mother remarried. But the family were soon on the move again, fleeing the Salazar dictatorship in their homeland and emigrated to Belgium in 1968.

Wanda's mother was unable to get her son out of the country, however, so the move to Belgium meant that Wanda was separated from her younger brother. Life in Brussels was no bed of roses for the family either. Wanda's mother, who was qualified as a philosophy lecturer, was forced to take a cleaning job to make ends meet and her step-father, a Portuguese doctor of law, was forced to re-invent himself as a waiter. Wanda was the only member of the family who really thrived in Brussels, proving herself to be a gifted and hard-working pupil at the Lycée Athénée d'Uccle.

Wanda also developed a veritable passion for music, getting into the punk movement which exploded onto the Belgian music scene in 1976. But Wanda's musical culture was not just limited to Johnny Rotten and the Sex Pistols, the young teenager was also a great fan The Rolling Stones and the Velvet Underground and she continued to keep in touch with her roots, listening to traditional Portuguese fado at home.

Wanda's big break came when she teamed up with the songwriter Eric Dierks-Hagen a.k.a Jacques Duvall, a friend of her parents, who offered to write most of her early material. The pair were then introduced to Jay Alanski, a Belgian composer. Duvall and Alanski were greatly impressed by Wanda's dynamic personality, especially as the young singer also turned out to be an amazing dancer. Recognising Wanda's potential, Dierks-Hagen/ Duvall and Alanski immediately set to work on her first songs.

Meanwhile, Wanda had decided that if she was going to launch a singing career, Wanda de Vasconcelos was hardly a catchy name. So she promptly changed her name to Lio, calling herself after the popular heroine of an erotic Belgian cartoon strip. The young singer then went straight into the studio to record a demo tape of "Banana Split", a light, sugary pop tune co-written by Dierks-Hagen and Alanski.

The trio would take the demo tape to over twenty major record companies, but "Banana Split" failed to catch on. Eventually Lio and her songwriting partners took the song to a small independent Belgian label, who released it as a single in 1979. The phenomenal success of Lio's debut single took everyone by surprise - including the singer herself. "Banana Split" went on to sell over 2 million copies and became one of the most popular hits on the French music scene in the 1980's. 17-year-old Lio was catapulted to fame overnight and her sexy Baby Doll image was soon plastered across the covers of Europe's top music magazines.

When they saw Lio's single "Banana Split" rocketing to the top of the charts, the major record labels who had recently turned down the young singer suddenly began to take an interest in her. But they had reckoned without Lio's fiery temperament. In spite of the fact that she had only just turned 17, the young singer had very clear ideas about her career and she was not about to accept orders from anyone. Before she would agree to sign any kind of recording deal, Lio insisted that she should be allowed to maintain control of her image and supervise each stage of the production process.

After the phenomenal success of her first single Lio decided to leave school, but her mother soon persuaded her daughter to resume her studies. So Lio divided her time between the schoolroom and the studio. The young singer went on to record a whole string of hit singles, rocketing to the top of the charts in 1980 with "Amoureux solitaires" (a song written by the famous French duo Elli et Jacno) then scoring another hit with "Mona Lisa" in 1982.

Meanwhile in the early 80's Lio was introduced to the French singer Alain Chamfort and the pair soon began a passionate relationship. Chamfort would offer to help Lio with her singing career, writing and producing an album for his new partner. But Lio's album "L'Amour toujours" failed to echo the success of her previous record sales.

In 1983 Lio temporarily abandoned the recording studio to launch an acting career. Lio's first film role was not too demanding - she played a singer in the "Golden Eighties", a musical made by the young Belgian director Chantal Akerman. Two years later, however, Lio would get the chance to reveal the full extent of her acting talents, starring in Didier Haudepin's film "Elsa Elsa". (Incidentally, Lio's co-star on this occasion was the French singer Tom Novembre). Although "Elsa Elsa" was not a great hit at the box-office, the film did give Lio a real taste for acting and from this point on she decided to divide her time between her singing career and her film work.

In 1986 Lio turned her attention to her singing career once more, going back into the studio to record a new album entitled "Pop Model". Lio's cheeky, fun-loving style proved a big hit with both the critics and the record-buying public and "Pop Model" soon went rocketing to the top of the charts. The album would go on to produce a whole new string of hits for the Portuguese-born pop diva, including "Fallait pas commencer", "Je casse tout ce que je touche" and the hilarious "Les brunes comptent pas pour des prunes". (These hits were written by Lio's loyal songwriting team, namely Jacques Duvall, Alain Chamfort and Jay Alanski).

Renowned for her remarkable energy, Lio embarked upon an extensive tour the following year despite the fact that she was several months pregnant. Shortly after her highly successful concert L'Olympia in the summer of 87, the singer went into hospital and give birth to her first child, a daughter called Nubia.

In 1988 Lio resumed her acting career, starring in Claude Lelouch's film "Itinéraire d'un enfant gâté". As soon as shooting on the film was finished Lio would return to the recording studio to begin work on a new album entitled "Can Can". However, when Lio's new album was released later that year, it proved to be a major disappointment. The first single release, "Seules les filles pleurent", did relatively well in the charts, but the other singles from "Can Can" would soon fade into total obscurity.

Undeterred by this minor setback, Lio decided it was time to add another string to her bow - and the multi-talented young woman promptly threw herself into designing her first fashion collection ! Lio's fresh, modern designs soon proved a big hit, and from 1988-1990 the singer was commissioned to design a special line for the European department store Prisunic. (Lio's summer and winter collections proved to be an enormous commercial success).

In 1990 Lio abandoned her budding fashion career and returned to the film world, landing a lead role in Jacky Cukier's "Chambre à part" - a film in which she co-starred with Michel Blanc and the legendary French actor/singer Jacques Dutronc. The following year Lio would work on two new films, both directed by women, starring in Jeanne Labrune's film "Sans un cri" and Diane Kurys's "Après l'amour".

Towards the end of 91 Lio would go back into the recording studio, starting work on a new album entitled "Des fleurs pour un caméléon". Unfortunately, "Des fleurs pour un caméléon" would do little better in the charts than Lio's previous album "Can Can". The first single release "L'autre joue" did receive a fair amount of airplay, however, as did Lio's cover of the Brazilian classic "The girl from Ipanema", which she recorded as a duet with her old friend Etienne Daho. (Teaming up with Jérôme Soligny and Jacques Duvall, the French pop star Daho would also write several of the tracks on Lio's new album).

Disappointed by the failure of "Des fleurs pour un caméléon", Lio decided it was time to turn away from her Lolita pop image and work on a more serious album, which would show more of her real personality. Lio, who was fast approaching her 30th birthday, thus put her Baby Doll days behind her and began working on her new project with the renowned French songwriter Boris Bergman. (Bergman had already worked with the singer several years before, penning the 1984 hit "Teteou", which Lio had recorded as a duet with the famous TV presenter Jacky).

Lio went into the studio in the summer of 92 to record the new material she had created with Bergman. But Lio's label, Polydor, was not keen on their ex-Lolita's sudden change of style and began complaining that Lio's new songs were too far removed from her media image. When Lio insisted she would not make any changes to the album, Polydor's marketing director refused to release it. Lio's prompt response was to terminate her contract with Polydor. But the quest for a new label was to prove far from easy - in spite of the fact that Lio had already established herself on the European music scene and had several hit singles to her name ! But Lio was not a woman known for giving up easily and was prepared to battle long and hard to get her new album into record stores.

While she waited to sign a new recording deal, Lio decided to get her film career up and running again. In 1993 she landed a lead role in "La Madre muerta", a film made by the Spanish director Juanna Bajo Ulloa. The following year Lio was back on the cinema screen again, starring in Marion Vernoux's "Personne ne m'aime ". After finishing the shoot on the French film, Lio renewed her links with French cinema, working on Jesus R. Delgado's 1995 movie "Niña de tus sueños". While Lio appeared unable to shake off her Lolita image in the pop world, her film career at least allowed her to explore another side of her personality, playing characters in arthouse movies and small, independent films.

In 1996 Lio managed to get her new album, "Wandatta", distributed on a major label, after signing a deal with WEA. (The deal would allow WEA to release a Lio Greatest Hits compilation and re-release the singer's previous albums, but would make no proviso for any of Lio's future albums). "Wandatta" would finally appear in record stores on 5 April 1996, boasting a colourful cover designed by Guy Pellaert (an artist who is famous for the album covers he has painted for David Bowie, The Rolling Stones and French pop star Etienne Daho).

"Wandatta" was a far more ambitious project than Lio's previous pop albums, fusing influences from Mexico and Japan with touches of traditional Celtic music. "Wandatta" also paid tribute to Lio's homeland, developing the melancholy rhythms of Portuguese fado on tracks such as "Tristeza". Lio's new album certainly revealed a whole new side of the 35-year-old singer's personality - but, unfortunately, the record-buying public were not too curious about discovering another facet of the ex-Lolita.

Following the release of "Wandatta", Lio decided to leave the glare of the city lights and retire to the French countryside, moving to Angoulême with her three children, Nubia, Igor and Esmeralda, and her new partner, the theatre director Alexis Tukovoi. Living at a distance from the French capital could have proved a serious risk for the future of Lio's recording career, but the singer has maintained her links with the media, giving numerous interviews to the European press. Lio's exuberant personality and her mischievous sense of humour have also made her a firm favourite on TV chat shows.

In 1997 Lio flew out to Cuba to begin work on a new album. The singer was seriously tempted by the idea of staying on in Cuba and buying a house, but she eventually decided to return to Europe instead and begin another long quest to get her album released on a new label. (Unfortunately for Lio fans this album would never see the light of day).

In 1998 Lio signed a new recording contract but, before she got round to working on material for her next album, her new label asked her to record a compilation of her greatest hits. Following the release of this greatest hits album ("Le meilleur de Lio") in January '99, the singer got involved in a highly intensive publicity campaign, appearing on an endless round of TV chat shows - despite being several months pregnant with twins at the time! Around the same period, the indefatigable singer was also busy in the studio working on a new album (entirely given over to poems by Jacques Prévert).

In the spring of '99 Lio gave birth to her twins. By late summer the singer was already back on stage, however, rehearsing for the French musical "Sept filles et sept garçons" (an adaptation of the famous 50s American film "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers"), in which Lio played the lead female role. The musical, directed by Saverio Marconi, premièred on September 23 at the Folies Bergères in Paris. The musical failed to score a box-office hit with the public, but Lio earned a series of good reviews for her performance. Meanwhile, after undergoing a fairly traumatic period in her personal life, Lio split from her husband, the singer Zad.

Jacques Prévert

Lio returned to the forefront of the French music scene in spring 2000 at the top of her form. The singer's new album, "Je suis comme ça", paid tribute to the legendary French poet/songwriter Jacques Prévert and featured Lio's version of some of Prévert's most famous work including "les Feuilles mortes". Lio's new album also included a duet with Guy Marchand. In April and May 2001 the singer took to the stage at Le Sentier des Halles, a small, intimate venue in Paris, and performed a selection of her recent works and greatest hits accompanied by Mathieu Gonet (on piano) and Alexandre Leitao (on accordion). The new concert shows were directed by Caroline Loeb. While Lio never quite returned to the height of her 80s fame, this series of concerts proved a big hit with the public and the singer returned to perform at Le Sentier des Halles on June 11th.

Following her triumph at Le Sentier des Halles, Lio took her new show out on the road in 2001 and 2002, playing gigs up and down the country. She also appeared at several major music festivals in the summer of 2002 including the famous "Francofolies", hosted in the Belgian town of Spa in July. Later that year Lio also returned to her acting career, appearing in "Carnages", a feature film made by a young French director by the name of Delphine Gleize.

Lio also made an appearance in Bernard Uzan’s film "C'est la vie, camarade!" and played a starring role in Nadine Trintignant’s TV drama about the life of the late French writer Colette. Meanwhile, a new Lio live album "Cœur de rubis", featuring the singer’s versions of Prévert classics, appeared in stores.

The following year, Lio bared her soul, publishing her no-holds barred autobiography "Pop model" (written in collaboration with Gilles Verlant). The book contained intimate details of her childhood, growing up in a milieu of Portuguese political intellectuals who had emigrated to Belgium. It also gave important insights into her teen career, her feminist battles and her painful personal past as a battered wife.

Meanwhile, Lio took to the stage again to tour a new version of "Coeur de rubis." This tour took her abroad with dates all the way from Beirut to Tunis. The show, based on Prévert’s songs, proved a huge hit. Indeed, Lio ended up performing it more than 250 times in four years (to over 180,000 concert-goers). In November, the label Ze Records reissued Lio’s back catalogue and released "Pop Box" (a special boxed album set including everything from "Premier album" to "Wandatta").

Later that same year, Lio appeared on stage as an actress for the first time, starring in Marie Darrieussecq’s play "Le Bébé." The play was originally staged in the tiny "Vingtième théâtre", but proved such a success that it ended up at the "Studio des Champs-Élysées." Lio went on to tour "Le Bébé" in the rest of France in the autumn of 2005. (The role of career mother suited Lio down to the ground as the singer had managed to have six children of her own without ever taking a break).

After years in the showbiz wilderness, Lio thus managed to make a major comeback on the music front as well as in the theatre world. In 2006, she went on to release her tenth album, "Dites au prince charmant", an entirely acoustic affair recorded in Malmö, Sweden, with Doriand (who wrote most of the lyrics on the album). A number of songs were also penned by Marie Darieussecq and Jacques Duvall, who had worked with Lio in the past as well as other French stars such as Alain Chamfort and Dani.

As for the music on the album this was taken care of by Peter Von Poel (a close friend of Bertrand Burgalat). His slow moody rhythms and nostalgic tones, bordering on melancholy at times, gave the album an unexpected edge.

In March 2007 the singer joined the "RFM Party 80" tour which brought together a number of the decade’s stars. She also took part in the 2008 tour, performing at the Stade de France in Paris on 17 May, along with Emile & Image, Jean-Pierre Mader, Jeanne Mas and others.

In 2008, the singer debuted on the jury of "La Nouvelle star", a reality/talent show on the French TV channel M6.

Lio also pursued her career as an actress. She had roles in "Une vieille maîtresse" (Catherine Breillat, 2007), "Pas douce" (Jeanne Waltz, 2007) and "La reine des pommes" (2010), as well as featuring in several television films.

Lio returned to the punk rock roots of her youth with her collaboration with the Belgian group Phantom for the album "Phantom feat. Lio", released in autumn 2009, featuring tracks like "Ta cervelle est en grève mais ta grande gueule fait des heures sup" (your brain is on strike, but your big mouth is working overtime). The lyrics were written by Jacques Duvall. Lio performed several concerts with the group in France and Belgium.

In 2010 she was once again on the jury of "La Nouvelle star".

April 2010