Lys Assia

Lys Assia
Lys Assia (1957)
Background information
Birth name	Rosa Mina Schärer
Born	(1924-03-03)3 March 1924
Origin	Aargau, Switzerland
Died	24 March 2018(2018-03-24) (aged 94) Zürich, Switzerland
Occupation(s)	Singer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1942–2018

Lys Assia (born Rosa Mina Schärer; 3 March 1924– 24 March 2018) was a Swiss singer. Assia is best known for being the first winner of the Eurovision Song Contest. She has represented Switzerland in Eurovision three times.

Life

Rosa Mina Schärer was born on March 3 1924 in Rupperswil, Aargau, Switzerland.

When Assia was a young girl she was a dancer. In 1940, however, she stood in for a female singer.

Lys Assia married Johann Heinrich Kunz on 11 January 1957 in Zürich. Kunz died just nine months later due to illness. In 1963, she married Danish businessman Oscar Pedersen, who died in 1995.

Assia died on 24 March 2018 at Zurich's Zollikerberg Hospital.

Eurovision Song Contest

Representing Switzerland, Assia won the first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956with the song "Refrain". She returned to the Contest in both 1957 and 1958, finishing 8th in 1957 and was the runner-up in 1958.

In 2005, Lys Assia took part in a celebration of Eurovision's 50-year anniversary. In 2009, she presented the trophy to that year's winner, Alexander Rybak.

Lys Assia in 2016

Assia tried to represent Switzerland at Eurovision once again in both 2012 and 2013, but was unsuccessful both times. However, she attended the 2012 Contest as a special guest.

In 2015, at age 91, Assia attended Eurovision's 60th anniversary celebration. This was her last public appearance.

Other websites

Media related to Lys Assia at Wikimedia Commons

• Official homepage Archived 2002-03-14 at the Wayback Machine