In the series Icons every time we add a new portrait to the gallery of honor of North Holland greats. This week it’s Dolly Bellefleur, entertainer and love ambassador.
biography
name: Dolly Bellefleur (Ruud Bouma)
born: Houses, 1961
profession: entertainer, lyricist
nickname: Beauty with brains
honors list: Pink sweetie (2012), Andreas medal (2014), Bob Angelo medal (2020)
It’s impossible to miss Dolly Bellefleur. With her full head of hair and her special and colorful creations, she is a striking appearance. These robes, as she prefers to call her creations, have become her trademark.
Do you have a hand in that yourself?
No, I’m very clumsy about that. I’ve had the same designer, Tycho Boeker, for years. We have tried to develop our own style from the start. No clothes that are obvious.
And he knows exactly what you want?
Yes. Especially show off those legs. I am also compared to Marlene Dietrich.
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American singer about whom Godfried Bomans once said: “If only my wife had one leg like that” (ed.).
What do you do to keep those legs so tight?
Climb stairs. Walking a lot of stairs. I can recommend it.
How did you become an entertainer?
I had performed a lot as a child. At a certain point that had faded into the background. I then walked with my soul under my arm for quite a while, that I really didn’t know what I wanted. I then met Onno van Dijk, who was director of the Antony theater. A very intimate theater where you sat close to the people. I went there once to see a show. Afterwards I spoke to the director, who felt that I also wanted to perform. He suggested that I should present a revue as Dolly. And I immediately said yes!
“I noticed that I could be more than an artist. That I could also cause something through my songs”
Did Dolly stand right away?
No not really. I had a very small part. I only presented, I didn’t sing yet. It was the only show where I had taken my costumes from Waterlooplein. I was also very different in terms of content. I didn’t have my own lyrics yet. It was all still very small.
Soon I was asked to perform at the Homo monument. Then I noticed that I could be more than an artist. That I could bring about something through my songs.
I participated in an anti-Putin demonstration in 2013. Then Putin passed a terrible law in Russia, the anti-gay propaganda law. At the time he was eating in the Scheepvaartmuseum. My motto has been for a long time: “let love reign.” It still amazes me, after all these years, that people can care so much about someone else’s love life. Who cares if you love a man or a woman or both. Or you like to wear women’s clothes every now and then. Let’s cherish those differences. Why don’t you worry about the environment when you need to worry. I never understood that.
I understand that you also visit schools with this message.
Yes, I was once asked to do that by a school. I was very happy with that. As a child I was bullied for years because I was different from other children. Trauma is a big word, but it always stays with you when you’ve been bullied. At that time I couldn’t talk to anyone about it, so I think it’s important to go to schools now. Even if it’s just one or two children that I can give a helping hand as Aunt Dolly, I like that.
I sometimes notice that boys, for example, find it strange that I arrive there in full regalia. You often have a kind of football cage at those schools. Then I like nothing better to play football as Dolly, to put those boys on the wrong track. They don’t expect me to play football, so I try to break the ice a bit.
Are you some kind of activist?
I try to tackle heavy subjects in a light-hearted way. For education and entertainment, but not with such a finger.
Look here for more North Holland Icons.
