Léa Doffey

My name is Léa Doffey, and I am 22 years old. I was born in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, to a Swiss father and a Portuguese mother. I grew up in a very close-knit family, between these two cultures, with a particularly strong connection to Portugal.

My father has had multiple sclerosis since I was about two years old, so illness has always been part of my life. I grew up with a father who taught me mental strength through the way he faced it, and a mother who has always held our family together.

She is my pillar, my best friend and my confidante. From a very young age, I understood that I had to be strong and keep moving forward, even when inside things were not going well. My big brother, who is six years older than me, has also become essential in my life.

We were not always close, but he was one of the rare people I kept talking to during my most difficult periods. Today, he is my brother, my best friend, and one of the people I most want to make proud. School was complicated.

I was educated in Germany even though I spoke French, I developed school phobia, and I was bullied. My self-confidence was deeply damaged as a result.

I grew up with a fear of failure, the feeling that I was never good enough and, above all, an impression that never left me: that I did not belong. I then trained as a medical assistant, particularly in surgery, and went on to work in that profession.

But the same feeling kept returning. That knot in my stomach that told me: You don't belong here. Alongside this, there was dance and singing. I never had any intensive vocal training. I sang mostly for myself.

But the stage, music, dance and shows have always been the place where, for once, I knew exactly where I was meant to be. I watched Star Academy with my parents and was already telling them that I thought I would have to do that one day.