Sophie Garel will have left a lasting imprint on the French audiovisual landscape. Installed behind the RTL microphone from the end of the 1960s, over the decades she had become a familiar voice for millions of listeners. It is therefore with immense sadness that his family announced his disappearance on May 14, 2026, at the age of 84. THE causes of death have not been made publicbut the news was enough to trigger a wave of considerable emotion.
Because beyond the radio, Sophie Garel also had made a mark on the international scene. In 1968, she represented Luxembourg at Eurovision withWe will live on lovewhich she performed in a duet with Chris Baldo. A few days after the announcement of his disappearance, which sparked numerous expressions of friendship, those around him finally began to reveal the outlines of his funeral, organized to offer him a last goodbye worthy of what she represented.
A final farewell for Sophie Garel
It’s in the privacy of the Church of Sainte-Thérèse of the Child Jesus, in Boulogne-Billancourtthat loved ones and celebrities gathered this Friday, May 22 from 2:30 p.m. to say goodbye to Sophie Garel. Among those who insisted on making the trip included Laurent Ruquiervery touched by the disappearance of the one he considered to be a tutelary figure. The host was also one of the first to speak after the announcement of the terrible news.
On Instagram, he had in fact returned a moving tribute : “Sophie or ‘Mémène’ as Fabrice called you, it was you two who made me want to do radio. Your wit, your pleasure of being on the microphone while seeming to be doing it over your head, your laugh, your taste for puns, for all that, thank you. As soon as you no longer worked at RTL, you came with me to France Inter, then France 2, Europe 1 and back to RTL with Les Grosses Têtes and the reunion with Fabrice…For all that, thank you again.”
Many celebrities gathered for this ultimate tribute
Laurent Ruquier was not the only one to have made the trip. Danièle Evenou et Isabelle Alonsoboth emblematic figures of Grosses Têteswere also present to say goodbye to their accomplice. Gérard Hernandez, an essential figure in the French artistic community of the 1970s-1990s, also wanted to be there, as did George Beller, 80 years old, with whom Sophie Garel co-hosted the showAtoukadoOn RTL.
Among the notable faces, that of the actress Valérie Mairesse. Between them, it was a bond that went well beyond friendship: she considered Sophie Garel as on “replacement mom”. “We really had a mother/daughter relationship,” she confided after the death of her friend. A tenderness which sums up well what Sophie Garel inspired around her: beyond the presenter adored by the public, she leaves above all the memory of a woman deeply loved by those who had the chance to know her.
