In this episode Tanya Constantine speaks with Joanna about: memoir as catharsis; who is Eddie Constantine?; an American in Paris; a difficult childhood; a testament to the resilience of the human spirit; being the child of a celebrity; looking for authenticity; a long process of clearing pain and trauma; searching for the truth of one’s identity; the medicine of MDMA; becoming a finder; communing with the Earth and the Sun; relaxing into who you are; a balance between doing and being; competing with Frank Sinatra and Charles Aznavour; trying to understand.  

Tanya Constantine: “I was born in New York City in 1943 and when I was 3 and a half years old, my family moved to Paris, France, where I remained till I was in my 20s. My father and I recorded a song that sold two million records when I was just 11, which made me a child celebrity. I studied ballet, modern jazz dance, piano, singing and acting, and of course classical literature. When I was 20, I married a Frenchman with whom I had two children, Jessica and Edwina. Later, we moved to Los Angeles where I divorced that first husband and met my current one. We have been living in the San Francisco Bay Area for the past 45 years. I promoted Artists United for Peace, setting up fundraising dance events. I was a stage director for a theatre in Santa Rosa (I LOVED directing “The Time of Your Life” by William Saroyan). I co-wrote a manuscript with my husband entitled “The Master in the Mirror” (not published). Since 2001, I have been a commercial photographer, which I intend to be till I reach the end of my journey.” Her new book is “Out of My Father’s Shadow: Sinatra of the Seine, My Dad Eddie Constantine”.

Photo: Edwina Barzaghi Photography

“I Can’t Sit Still”, original music by Evarusnik

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