Régine Young Photo: Singer Régine Zylberberg In Her Youthful Days

Régine Zylberberg was a French singer and nightclub owner who was born in Belgium.

Régine was born to Polish Jewish parents in Anderlecht, Belgium, and spent much of her childhood hiding from the Nazis in occupied France. Régine became a torch singer after the war and was a nightclub manager in Paris by 1953.

She opened Chez Régine in the Latin Quarter in 1957, and it quickly became the go-to spot for celebrities, socialites, and royalty. As Zylberberg’s celebrity grew, she opened additional Chez Régine’s restaurants in London, New York City, Monte Carlo, and other cities.

 

The establishment of the Whisky a Go-Go nightclub in Los Angeles was inspired by Zylberberg’s Paris Whisky à Gogo. Jimmy’s, a nightclub in Monaco, was also founded by her in 1974.

She designed a line of “Ready-to-Dance” evening gowns for Bloomingdale’s in the 1970s that were wrinkle-resistant and thus could be packed. She was the chef de cuisine at the Ledoyen Restaurant on the Champs-Élysées in Paris in 1988.