Officer of the Order of Canada

• Awarded on: November 4, 2009
• Invested on: June 18, 2010

ClÚmence DesRochers is an iconic figure on Quebec's cultural scene. A pioneering female singer-songwriter, she also wrote the book for the first QuÚbÚcois musical comedy, Le Vol Rose du Flamant, as well as for a number of other revues, including Les Girls. She was the first Quebec comedienne to put on a one-woman show, and one of the first to mix humour with in-depth reflection on humanity. In her productions, she dealt with then-taboo-for-the-stage topics like menopause and old age with unprecedented authenticity, tenderness and humour. Those same qualities are found in her collections of poems and short stories. In addition, she has enjoyed a distinguished career in cinema, and as a show host and serial actress on television. She has also lent her name to, and is greatly involved in, a variety of causes.