Almost 7 years to the day after his disappearance, his daughter, Laura Smet, decided to speak out. Indeed, the 41-year-old artist, fruit of the love of Johnny Hallyday and Nathalie Baye, gave a long interview to Paris Matchpublished this Wednesday, December 4, 2024.
In this one, she only mentions her father. From her childhood spent with him, to her special moments with the Taulier, David Hallyday's sister looks back, unvarnished, on her moments in the company of her dad that she had never mentioned until now.
Totally “absent on the day of the funeral
The opportunity for her to also return to December 9, 2017. This day, at La Madeleine, the whole of France pays tribute to Johnny Hallyday, who died on December 5 of the same year. A national tribute which deeply touched Laura Smet even if she admitted to having felt “absent” during this day.
“I was completely absent. I had tinnitus, I heard ringing in my ears, I didn’t understand anything about that day”explains the 41-year-old artist before remembering: “I had never been told about it. I remember calling a friend, that is to say I was at the mass, saying to him: 'I think there will be a few photographers. Can you help me, because I can't do anything'.
“I didn't know about the burial in Saint-Barth, I learned about it at the time and I was hallucinating. David and I were gobsmacked: 'Oh, okay, fine.' We followed the movement to be with him until the end”she also reveals.
Johnny Hallyday still “present” alongside Laura Smet
7 years after his disappearance, Laura Smet assures that her father is still with her : “I feel it a lot. Really a lot. And when I don't feel it, I'm still happy for him, because that means he's good up there. But on a day like today, he really been there, it’s very strange I see lots of signs from him.”
Johnny Hallyday would be so present that he would even advise his daughter on her projects. “The TV film that I shot for France 2, it was he who advised me to do it…”assures Nathalie Baye's daughter to Paris Match.
Laura Smet also recalls getting married on June 15, 2020, the day of her father's birthday. “The boat that was supposed to take us to Cap Ferret arrived late because my father was not a morning person. So obviously I needed to go to the toilet, I went to a café that had just opened. It was 7:30 a.m. and I heard 'Laura' on the radio. It was like he was saying, 'Sorry, I didn't wake up in time, but now we can go.' And I spent a day completely perched thanks to him”confides Raphaël Lancrey-Javal’s partner.
How did she welcome the adoption of Jade?
In addition to the constant presence of Johnny Hallyday, Laura Smet also wanted to return to the meeting of her parents and their divorce. But also the announcement of the adoption of Jade. Laura Smet assures that she welcomed the news very well.
“He called me: 'Here, you know, Læticia and I want to adopt a little girl from Vietnam'. I wasn't against it at all. He showed me photos of the baby some time later. later, when I had to go to the notary to give my consent, David also had to do this. The law requires that the first children give their consent. We did it with pleasure“, she assures with kindness.
An interview in which Laura Smet decided to indulge and open her heart in order to shed light on the relationship she had with this father who she misses so much, but who remains present every day at her side according to her.
