One of four children, she was born into a musical family her father, Giuseppe, was an accordion player, and her mother, Maria, was a musical comedienne. Of Italian ancestry, Valente was born and raised in France, and is a French citizen. In 2021 the song went viral on social media platform TikTok, thanks to its use for a trend that has collected over 250 million views, started from Latin countries and South America, and then popularized also in Italy and Germany. In 2019 her song Bongo cha cha cha was included in the soundtrack of Spider-Man: Far from Home, directed by Jon Watts, suddenly becoming viral and risen to new popularity. In 2001, she released a new album, Girltalk, with harpist Catherine Michel.

Ī briglia sciolta, the Italian jazz CD recorded in 1989 and re-released in later years under the titles Fantastica and Platinum deluxe, was her best-selling CD worldwide. In 1970 she appeared in the Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium singing Before the Parade Passes By, and The Breeze and I. Valente also made three appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show. Valente was a principal on the CBS variety series The Entertainers (1964–65). In 1959, she was nominated for a Grammy Award. Over the years, she has recorded or performed with many international stars, including Louis Armstrong, Chet Baker, Perry Como, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Claus Ogerman, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Sy Oliver, Buddy Rich and Edmundo Ros. There, she recorded Cole Porter's I Love Paris under the German title Ganz Paris träumt von der Liebe, which sold more than 900,000 copies in 1954. In Germany, she was a major performer of Schlager music. She was a frequent guest on The Dean Martin Show. In 1964-65, she was co-host (with Carol Burnett and initially Bob Newhart) of The Entertainers, a CBS variety show. Valente was a favorite of singer Perry Como, making eight guest appearances on his NBC Kraft Music Hall television program from 1961 to 1966. In the mid 1960s, Valente worked with Claus Ogerman and recorded material in both Italian and English that he arranged/conducted and/or composed on the Decca and London labels. During Haley's segment, Valente sang a duet with Haley on a newly recorded version of his song 'Vive la Rock and Roll'.

In 1958, she filmed the musical comedy Hier bin ich – hier bleib ich ( Here I Am, Here I Stay) which featured a guest appearance by Bill Haley & His Comets. In 1955, she was featured on The Colgate Comedy Hour with Gordon MacRae.

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