Hélène Ségara was born in Six-Four-les-Plages, a small seaside town on the Mediterranean coast, on 26 February 1971. Hélène spent her early childhood living with her Italian father, an office clerk who worked at the Seyne-sur-Mer shipyard, and her Armenian-born mother, who worked in the local tax office. When her parents divorced in 1979 Hélène went to live with her mother, but relations between the two became increasingly strained and the young girl began to spend more and more time with her grandparents.

Hélène had been a passionate music fan from an early age and her childhood dream was to launch a professional singing career. Her grandparents actively encouraged her passion and, at the tender age of 11, Hélène took the first step towards achieving her dream, winning a local song contest with her performance of the Nana Mouskouri classic “L’Amour en heritage”.