French, gorgeous and she reads the news

  Who is the world's most famous Frenchwoman? If you are a youngish male who spends time on the internet, you know that her name is Mélissa Theuriau.

Mlle Theuriau, who is 28 and comes from Grenoble, is admired by millions of men around the world, yet she is only just becoming famous in France. The reason is YouTube.

Theuriau was a pre-dawn news presenter on LCI, a domestic cable news channel, when someone compiled a string of clips of her reading her text  and put it on the US site. The video, entitled "Beautiful News Reporter" [below]  has received almost 800,000 hits and dozens more clips and pictures of her -- some topless -- are circulating on the net.

Around the globe, and especially in the USA, Mélissa worship is doing wonders for the image of France.

One imagines that few of her fans understand what she is saying in the old news clips and extracts from her new job as presenter of Zone Interdite, a current affairs show on the M6 channel. "I never knew the words 'George Bush' and 'Iraq' could sound so sexy," comments a US admirer who had watched her on one of the sites devoted to Theuriau.

"Talk about drop-dead gorgeous. We love you, France. Are all your anchors like that?" wondered another American fan. The readers of the US Maxim online magazine voted Theuriau above nine American male and female superstars as "TV's sexiest news anchor". In January, visitors to the online site of Britain's Sun newspaper voted her "Youtube's Hottest Babe Ever".

The US magazine Askmen.com ranks Theuriau as a "global superstar".  "If we have to hear bad news, we want to hear it from Mélissa. This heaven-sent news host has a way of making even the most cataclysmic disasters seem palatable," it says. 

In the original video, Theuriau introduces reports on a paedophile rape case, the Bush-Kerry presidential debate and other items -- all set to slightly sinister music. Since she speaks only French, we can assume that her success is not driven by her journalistic skill or master's degree from a Grenoble college.

She says she is amazed over her impact and the cult-like following that she has earned. "I can't explain it. Just like I can't explain why they don't leave my private life alone," she told the French TV Magazine last month. "I am absolutely not seeking this publicity." Lawyers are now trying to purge the internet of her semi-naked beach pictures, which featured in a French magazine last year.

In France, Theuriau first made news last year when she refused an offer from TF1, the biggest network, to stand in during the summer holidays as a weekend news anchor. She did not feel experienced enough for the big time, she said then. The refusal caused disbelief because the TF1 job was a huge leap from her relatively obscure cable position.

She is not a household name yet, but she is fast earning celebrity on M6 with Zone Interdite, an investigative news programme, and a new soft show which was designed as a vehicle for her televisual charm. Called "Two or three days with me", this features Theuriau chatting with a celebrity whom she has invited to talk about their favourite city. In last week's Zone Interdite, Theuriau described by Paris Match as "la bombe cathodique" (television bombshell), dropped in on the training of an army parachute unit near Perpignan.

The daughter of a businessman and a psychologist, Theuriau was featured on the cover of Match this week with her new boyfriend, Jamel Debbouze, one of France's most popular actor-comedians. The journalist is, we are told, lodging with Debbouze in the Crillon, one of the grandest Paris hotels.  Theuriau is of course only one of many gorgeous French newswomen, Match gushes. "Framed on the television screen, their journalistic radiance gives them an aura that approaches the divine."

At least Theuriau does not claim that her professional talent alone explains her stardom. "I welcome complements, on condition that people also talk about my professional ability," she said. "It's great if the someone is pleasant to look at, the public is happy and she does the job well."

As well as being a dedicated journalist, Theuriau is also earning extra money from posing as a model for Vuarnet sunglasses.

News of Theuriau's attachment to Debbouze will not lift hearts among the love-lorn fans whose poetry to her fills the internet. Among them is Musti, a Turkish admirer, whose ode to her, in French, reads: "You are impossible... Without you, love is impossible..." Further south, in Lebanon, another fan wrote that, on seeing her video, "Suddenly I realise I am breathing." Less smitten fans have been debating suspected plastic surgery to her nose. 

   

Comments

[Dominique]

Never heard of her before. Unfortunatly, it sounds like a "Paris Hilton" thing to me.

[Ros]

I agree with Dominique - anyhow she only reads the news on LCI (cable) -& is obviously only trying to be a "celebrity"!
Don't waste your time on her, Mr Bremner, why not have a post about the dangers of Le Pen and his speech yesterday?

[christopher muir]

There’s a big difference between the French and Anglo-Saxon electronic town crier styles. Mlle Theuriau is so appealing to US viewers because of the subtle French approach to TV news. Probably the directions to French female anchors involve a lot of Stanislavskian coaching. “Telling” the news and not just reading it aloud is the objective; the teleprompter is seen as a story book and its short chapters must be delivered just above a whisper, as if being directed to one person only. And the coach would add, “Preferably speak quietly, imagine it is your lover (on a good day) or your child at story time that you address.” Leaning forward towards the camera lens is another seductive ploy. The eyes and body language will obediently follow the emotions expressed through the voice. It can make a dull news day more palatable for the viewer.

[Robert Marchenoir]

Sorry guys. I am aware this might come as a blow to some of you. Melissa Theuriau is actually on the payroll of DGSE, the French intelligence agency, with a mission to improve our image among the wretched Anglo-American capitalist hordes.

Glad you liked our agent. I can confirm she is a swell girl in private. I am sure the friendship between our great nations will prevail in the end.

[Hugues]

Wait till the world discovers Arlette, also on YouTube :

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ngkc2UZKHfk

[Frank Schnittger]

"I can confirm she is a swell girl in private"

Can we have some more detail on this Robert, please?

[Bela]

Hmmm... I added this blog to my blog roll the other day because I thought it was a serious glimpse into life in the country of my birth (I've lived in the UK for 27 years). Should I remove it, I wonder? Is it just meant for superficial male readers? Hope not.

[Bela]

After watching the videos, I was going to add that I didn't think she had been born with that nose - then I read the last line of this blog post (I'm afraid I hadn't read the whole thing before). I'm absolutely sure she's had surgery.

[Dale]

Others wrote -
"Should I remove it, I wonder? Is it just meant for superficial male readers? Hope not."

"I'm absolutely sure she's had surgery."

Lighten up, it is an entertainment news story about a person who has become famous becasue she is smoking hot! Big deal.

Of course, she must have had surgery, no one can be that good looking naturally...

Careful, your insecurity is showing. :-)

[selwyn]

Hello Charles
You had better post something serious and weighty very soon, just to calm everyone down.
Say something on Patrick Thomas, head of Hermès International, who ‘said that the country needed a leader who put an emphasis on wealth creation as well as wealth distribution. "We need a president who is convinced of liberalism and who really does it," he said. "We are fed up with people who get elected on a liberal ticket but have a communist strategy [after they get elected]."’
That should work to make everyone composed and serene again.

[Michel R, Marseille]

Charles,

Don't listen to the killjoys, this piece of news was refreshing and I think it is perfectly relevant in a blog about France. Mélissa Theuriau is indeed a phenomenon in France and abroad, so why should we leave it to Paris Match?

I disagree with only one thing: the music on the video is not "slightly sinister"! It is more "Je t'aime moi non plus"-like, if you see what I mean... And I'm not saying that because I'm a "yougish male who spends time on the internet"!

[Robert Marchenoir]

Mmmm... Frank, I'm afraid not. National security, you see. I'm sure you'll understand.

[peter kinsley www.peterkinsley.com]

The men: Wow! The women: Miaow...

[PeterD]

Ah, Mélissa Theuriau, she is certainly a beautiful young woman, but I could watch Claire Chazal breath in French and understand it all...

[Ros]

Well, I hope you all had a chance to see her at length on "Zone Interdite" last night?
Personally I prefer the two "Envoyé Special" presenters but then I'm just a woman !

[John]

Anything that improves France's standing with the Anglo-Saxon countries is probably a good thing. Personally, Béatrice Schonberg had me at "Bonjour."

[Scott Leikam]

Granted Mlle Theuriau is quite attractive, but my money is on Laurie Dhue from FOX News. She is very smart, articulate, talented and a complete knockout.

[Bela]

Lose the patronizing tone, Dale! Women don't really appreciate being told what to think by men. I'm sure I don't.

And I'm long past the age when I could be made to feel insecure by a beautiful young woman.

[Erik da Viking]

There's something about a European woman that drives me crazy! (Even if she IS French). I woudn't mind having an anchor like that here in the States.
C'est la vie

[sally]

Are there really so few gorgeous women/men in American people's lives for them to get all hot under the collar about this smooth-rolling frenchie? I think she's lovely but there are thousands of look and sound-alikes walking the streets of Paris. Time to turn tourist! France needs it for the economy.

[Jo]

You should see the facebook group dedicated to her, with 10,539 members.... male and female... everyone's in awe.

[ken whitmore]

Good try, Charles, but If you want a genuine smasher, try Marie Drucker of France Soir 3.

[Guessedworker]

Pretty. But "Marianne" will not survive is she, too, takes up with a Moroccan.

[Errol Flynn]

I see she is dating Jamel Debbouze, which sounds Muslim to me. What does that tell us?

[anglosaxonne]

reading all these comments, I can understand Melissa's u-tube fame. Go girl! There are zillions of drooling men out there to be taken advantage of :-)

[c montagne]

A beautiful French girl, a rare sight indeed! After twelve years of living amongst the Socialist pygmies and having garnered an appreciation, of sorts, of the local womanhood it is indeed rare to witness a French woman who is reasonably well-dressed, has an inkling of modern style, has managed to see a dental hygenist within the last twenty years and who- from the looks Mélissa Theuriau- doesn't suffer from an allergy to the feel of water upon her skin of a morning. Don't be fooled into thinking that the French are on the whole sexy, well-dressed, well-versed or modern. There is far too much gypsy chic that masquerades for people trapped within an aging economy where piercings, dreadlocks and general tattines prevail. Perhaps a Paris things are different but one newsreader doesn't change a nation- or hopefully she does!!!

[rocket]

I'll take Tanya Young from LCI any day

http://www.itele.fr/pid106.htm

scroll to bottom and click on picture

[Stephen Miller]

"I welcome complements, on condition that people also talk about my professional ability," she said.

complements?

[Romain]

La plupart des choses écrites ici sont ridicules... comme le 1er message la comparant à Paris Hilton (quel rapport ?) ou un autre qui nous dit que les français ne sont pas tous sexy (merci de l'info...)
Je relève pas tous mais heureusement que certains relèvent tout de même le niveau...
Tant pis si vous comprenez pas le français...

[Andy Clift]

Pretty? Undubitously.
Reads? Certainly.
I suspect that such attributes apply to a large proportion of females. However, it's a bit thin for a CV.
Any other redeeming features?

[Rand Dorsey]

Hey, Rocket. You must be kidding ! ! ! Tanya Young is not even in the same galaxy as Mélissa Theuriau. She looks like an old witch in comparison. Better see your optometrist, guy.

[Rand Dorsey]

To Dominique and Ros -- Do you guys usually drink hydrochloric acid for breakfast? Your view of the world around you is so slanted, you may just slide off the edge -- if you haven't already. Had you been paying attention you'd have noticed (1) that Mélissa has NOT sought to become a celebrity at all, and (2) that she is on the opposite end of the spectrum from such loose women as P. Hilton.
Get a grip, guys! You are showing the world that you are both out of touch.

Rand D.

[ateo]

.....Beyond that, she's distracting to me. I don't want some chick I can't take my eyes off of reading me the news while I'm trying to get ready for work in the morning. Should I choose to look at the screen I don't want to distracted by some hotty.

It is a proven fact that an attractive female will distract a man and make him perform worse at a given task. When it comes to television news anchors I'm going to say her attractiveness is actually a detriment to her ability to perform her job well. There is "TV newswoman pretty" and then there is "model/superstar stripper pretty." This one falls into the latter category.

[saskia]

wow and this is why the world is such a mess!! People sitting around talking about some woman who you will never meet and doesn't even know you exsist. Why can't you "men" just be happy with what you have got?? COME ON she reads the bloody news!!! wow what a star...

[Loving The News]

On a par with Lucy Hockings of BBC News 24.

[vink]

young,atrictive,fresh. and she reads the news too. what more is there?. jan vink,breda.nl

[Melissa Ofoedu]

What is wrong with the world. Does everyone have to make a hipe about everything?

[robert furlong]

american men have for decades lusted in their hearts after sexy french film stars. but since france has for quite awhile been a place to 'dis,' not admire, american men were stuck with catherine deneuve movies, and their ba**-busting american companions. melissa is one of this generation's catherine deneuve, albeit a tv actress/youtube phenom, to be ogled from afar, lusted after, but alas, unattainable for horny, red-blooded, american men more than willing to admit that france has the sexiest women on earth, but not willing to hop a plane and learn french in order to make the experience a bit more, ummm...., tactile. good work, charles.

[Mr. Hammond]

Are you all nuts?

The only interesting point made by this article is the role that a new technology service, such as youtube, has garnered the ability to create a starlet of a previously unlikely sensation.

Sure she's pretty, but believe me, the US has no shortage of hotties to chose from and while she would range in the top nano% of any country's hot list, I'd posit that she appears hotter in contrast to other news anchors, but is just another dime-a-dozen pretty face in Hollywood or New York.

[Sus]

Further proof of the eroding line between entertainment and journalism.

[maxximus]

i love this girl...

her smile so glassy it rests weithlessly on the lips.
her tempting eyes often drowns into a plenary of modern fashion.
her appeal so high it takes me away in exemplary blue skies.

i am charmed by her dignified expressions.
i am floored by her gorgeous presence.
i am charged by her youthful exuberance.
i am drowned by her childish fragrance.

be yourself no matter what they say...

maxximus - bohol, philippines

[Andrew]

Mélissa Theuriau is like goddess..such innocence,peace and youthfulness is exuberated from her face, that i can't stop loving her..i cant understand a damn word in french but still just to sit and watch her pics relaxes me and may be i perform well in my high school exams if i take her pic in my pocket..hehehe

[Andrew]

i like her smile and she feels like child goddess. i think i will perform well in my high school exams if i carry her photo in my pocket..hehehe..LUCKY CHARM