Born in
Sainte-Félicité, Quebec, where her parents owned a restaurant, Boulay moved to the nearby city of
Matane at the start of her adolescence, and studied literature at
Cégep Limoilou. In 1988, her friends signed her up, without her knowledge, for a singing contest in Matane, where she made the acquaintance of
Josélito Michaud, who later became her agent. In 1990, at the
Petite-Vallée song festival, she won an award for her performance of "Les gens de mon pays" (
Gilles Vigneault). The following year, in 1991, she won the
Granby Song Festival for her renditions of "
Amsterdam" (
Jacques Brel) and "Naufrage" (
Dan Bigras). She was also invited to take part in the festival
Les FrancoFolies de Montréal. In 1992, she performed in France at the
Théâtre Dejazet, introducing
Bill Deraime. In 1993, she represented
Radio Canada at the "Truffe de Périgueux" festival held in
Périgord, France, and was awarded the prize for Best Singer in the "Chanson francophone" category. Following Boulay's success in France, she was noticed by songwriter
Luc Plamondon, who was looking for emerging talents to perform in a new production of his
rock opera Starmania. There, Boulay portrayed the role of Marie-Jeanne from 1995 to 1998. She also provided the singing voice for Quebec singer
Alys Robi in the TV miniseries of the same name, adding to her popularity in Quebec. She also participated again in Les FrancoFolies de Montréal. Boulay made a number of media appearances in France in 1999, and, in the summer, sang again in the FrancoFolies de Montréal, where the live album ''
Scènes d'amour'' was recorded. She also performed with
Serge Lama at the
Olympia and introduced
Francis Cabrel on tour, as well as
Julien Clerc during his tour in Montreal. In October, she was given the Félix Award for female singer of the year. Boulay was a coach on
La Voix for its second, third, and fifth editions. In March 2019, she was one of 11 singers from Quebec, alongside
Ginette Reno,
Diane Dufresne, Céline Dion,
Luce Dufault,
Louise Forestier,
Laurence Jalbert,
Catherine Major,
Ariane Moffatt,
Marie Denise Pelletier and
Marie-Élaine Thibert, who participated in a
supergroup recording of
Renée Claude's 1971 single "Tu trouveras la paix" after Claude's diagnosis with
Alzheimer's disease was announced.
Personal life In October 2008, Boulay and her producer
Marc-Andre Chicoine, had their first child together, Marcus Andrew. Since 2016, she is living with the French Minister of Justice,
Éric Dupond-Moretti. ==Awards and recognition==