Zoë (Austrian singer)

Zoë Straub (born 1 December 1996), known professionally as Zoë (stylized in all caps), is an Austrian singer, songwriter and actress. She represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Loin d'ici", placing thirteenth in the grand final.

1996–2014: Early life
Zoë Straub was born in Vienna to musician parents, Christof and Roumina Straub, on 1 December 1996.

At the age of six, she featured in a song by her parents' musical project, Papermoon, called "Doop Doop (Baby Remix)". In 2007, Straub participated in the Austrian reality singing competition Kiddy Contest, where she covered "Engel ohne Flügel", originally performed by Mark Medlock, a German singer, while she was attending the Lycée Français de Vienne (French High School of Vienna), where she studied for nine years.

2015–2018: Career beginnings, Debut and Eurovision Song Contest
Straub appeared on ORF television series Vorstadtweiber in 2015. She also competed in the Austrian national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2015, where she eventually placed third with the song "Quel filou", written by Straub herself and her father, Christof Straub. She performed live at Rathausplatz while Vienna was serving as the host city of the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. In October 2015, she released her debut album Debut.

On 12 January 2016, she was announced as one of the participants of the Austrian national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2016, and on 12 February 2016, she emerged as the winner of the national final and therefore represented Austria in the contest with the song "Loin d'ici"; qualified for the grand final where she placed 13th in total and 8th in televoting. On 29 April 2016, she released a reissued version of Debut. In Eurovision 2017, she was a member of the Austrian jury for semi-final 2 and for the grand final. In December 2017, it was announced that she would serve as a judge in the Sammarinese national selection event for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 a national final event she and her family funded, alongside Neon Hitch and Vince Bugg.

2018–present
After her album Debut achieved gold status, Straub toured Austria and Europe. Her single "C'est la vie" was number 1 in Italy for many months, and also became a radio hit in some other European countries.

She also appeared in the first German Netflix production Isi & Ossi.

After her releases "Tout Paris" and "Rêverie", in 2022 she released the song "Loin d'ici (Far from Here)", a reworking with English verses of her Eurovision entry, with the support of newcomer Leonardo Davi.

Personal life
Straub lives in Vienna with her husband Kaspar Leuhusen, whom she met in 2010 and married on 3 August 2022. On 4 February 2020, she gave birth to their son Viktor.

Straub's favorite television series is Close Up, which focuses on the lives of various celebrities from different fields, such as music, film, and sports. She also looks up to a range of individuals from the worlds of music, film, and fashion. Among her personal idols are Mika, Avril Lavigne and Romy Schneider.

Discography
Her debut studio album, simply titled Debut, was released on 23 October 2015 under the label Global Rockstar Music. The album reached #5 on the Austrian album charts and was certified Gold by IFPI AUT.

Zoe has released several successful singles throughout her career, starting with "Quel filou" in 2015, which reached #23 on the Austrian charts. The same year, she released "Je m'en fous" and "Mon cœur a trop aimé". In 2016, Zoe released "Loin d'ici", which peaked at #13 on the Austrian charts and #66 on the Swedish charts. She also released "La nuit des merveilles" as a non-album single that year.

In 2017, Zoe released "Dangerous Affair", followed by "C'est la vie" in 2018. In 2019, she released "C'est la vie (Remixes)", "Amour fou", and "Amour fou the Remixes" as an EP. She released "Tout Paris" in 2020, followed by "Nacht", "Tout Paris (Laibert Remix)", and "Rêverie" in 2021.

"Loin d'ici (Far from Here)", a reworking of her Eurovision entry, was released in 2022.

Filmography
Straub made her TV debut in the series Vorstadtweiber in 2015, where she played the role of Laura in four episodes of the first season. The same year, she appeared in the mini-series "Pregau" as Rosa. In 2016, Zoe played the character of Silke Lehmann in an episode of the long-running Austrian crime series SOKO Kitzbühel. She also made a guest appearance in the sixth season of Schnell ermittelt, where she portrayed Lia Pollak in one episode. In 2018, She appeared in the comedy series Wischen ist Mach, followed by a role in the crime drama series Meiberger – Im Kopf des Täters in 2019. She then returned to the crime genre in 2021, with a guest role in an episode of Soko Donau/ Wien.

Zoe's film career began in 2020 with her role as Camilla in the romantic comedy Isi & Ossi. The same year, she also appeared in the documentary Habsburgs Coupled Daughters, where she played the role of Leopoldina. In 2021, She starred in the short film Der weiße Kobold before her role as Blanka in the 2022 film Filip.