Personal Life
In November 2005, Hallyday started a procedure to obtain Belgian citizenship but his request was turned down in 2006 because he failed to fulfill the residence requirements. In late 2006, Hallyday announced that he would move his permanent residency to Gstaad, Switzerland to escape the high tax rate imposed by the French government. Swiss law allows wealthy individuals to claim residency if they live six months and one day in the country and then pay a fixed tax based on expenses, such as rent or assets in Switzerland, rather than a percentage of their income. Hallyday has said that he would move his residency back to France if it changes its tax laws.
He maintains a second home in Los Angeles, where he has been spending increasing amounts of time in recent years, enjoying his relative anonymity in the U.S. One of his favorite leisure activities is riding his Harley-Davidson on long trips through the California desert, staying in small motels along the way.
Hallyday married Bulgarian-French singer Sylvie Vartan on 12 April 1965. Their son David was born on 14 August 1966. Hallyday and Vartan divorced in 1980. He was then briefly married to Babeth Étienne; the marriage lasted less than three months, ending in February 1982. A four-year relationship with French actress Nathalie Baye followed; their daughter Laura Smet was born on 15 November 1983. He was married to his third wife Adeline Blondieau for two years, divorcing her in 1992. He has been married to Laeticia Boudou since 25 March 1996. The couple have adopted two girls from Vietnam: Jade Odette Désirée, born 3 August 2004 (formerly Bui Thi Hoa), in November 2004, and Joy (Maï-Huong), born 27 July 2008, in December 2008. He also has 3 grandchildren through his son David; their names are Emma, llona and Cameron.
Hallyday supported Nicolas Sarkozy in the 2007 French presidential election. The Masked Avengers referenced this in their prank call to American vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin when an Avenger impersonating Sarkozy named Hallyday as his "Special American Advisor".
In July 2009, Hallyday was diagnosed with colon cancer, for which he was operated on. On 26 November 2009 Hallyday underwent surgery in Paris to repair a herniated disc. He suffered complications and was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. It was announced that Hallyday had been put into a medically induced coma in order to repair lesions that had formed as a result of the surgery and to relieve his pain. On 17 December, it was announced that Hallyday and his wife had started legal proceedings against Dr. Stephane Delajoux, who had performed the original surgery.
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