“Four exceptional women will go through an intense and tragic moment in the history of France”: here is, in brief, the summary of the new historical fiction of TF1, “Les Combattantes”, broadcast since September 19 on the channel.
The series takes place in a small French village, during the First World War, and follows the daily life of four heroines, played on screen by Audrey Fleurot, Julie de Bona, Camille Lou and Sofia Essaïdi.
Filmed – in part – in the Vosges, the soap opera was directed by Alexandre Laurent, to whom we also owe another TF1 fiction, acclaimed three years ago: Le Bazar de la Charité. Headlining this first series, inspired by the great fire of 1897, we found three of the four main actresses of Les Combattantes, namely Audrey Fleurot, Julie de Bona and Camille Lou.
Another curiosity: three of the main actors of the historical drama have a singular point in common. They were singers before becoming actors. They are Sofia Essaïdi, Tom Leeb and Camille Lou. Planet invites you to come back to their journey.
The interpreter of Caroline Dewitt became known in a singing competition before shining in several TV productions. In 2003, Sofia Essaïdi took part in the third season of Star Academy, TF1’s hit musical TV show. She even reached the semi-finals.
But it is truly as an actress that the young woman will dazzle the public. In the years that followed, the Franco-Moroccan appeared in the cast of several productions, and even won the prize for Best Young Talent Actress of the Year in 2009 for her role in the TV movie Aïcha.
Sofia Essaïdi has not forgotten the song, however: in 2017, she put her voice on the album Méditerranéennes, bringing together many artists such as Chimène Badi, Julie Zenatti and Slimane.
Tom Leeb, who plays a war doctor in the series Les Combattantes, has a heterogeneous career to say the least. Son of humorist Michel Leeb, he began his career on the stage of theaters, before playing in several series, including Sous le soleil de Saint-Tropez.
In 2014, he launched into stand-up, with comedian Kevin Levy. Their duo even finds themselves opening for Gad Elmaleh’s show at the Olympia.
But that’s not all. Tom Leeb also owns the musician cap. In 2018, the young man embarked on the song with a first single, Are We Too Late. In January 2020, he was announced as the artist who will represent France at the Eurovision Song Contest. A few months later, the actor will however be forced to cancel his participation: his schedule was too busy.
The young actress Camille Lou, who plays Suzanne Faure, a nurse on the run, in Les Combattantes, began her career in the music industry. And for good reason: her father is the singer and guitarist of the group Les Paradoxes, and she learned very early to handle the violin, also winning a singing competition at the age of twelve.
In 2010, then aged 18, Camille Lou began a solo career in music, under the stage name Jimmie. At the time, she was recruited to play the first part of certain artists, such as Coeur de Pirate.
Her talents as a singer led her, in 2011, to play in the musical 1789, Les amants de la Bastille. But it was from 2017 that her acting career, on the small and the big screen, exploded. Camille Lou plays in several films and series, in particular the soap operas of TF1 I promise you and Les Bracelets rouges, but also the French production of Netflix, Christmas Flow (2021).
