Finding My Father & Sister Made Christmas Happy Again

From the time I was very young, I knew something about me didn’t quite fit. I was one of 4 children growing up in France, but I always felt different, like I didn’t belong in the same way. It was a silent truth in our family that the father who raised me, Mr. Renault, was not my biological father. No one ever spoke about it. And so I carried that silence with me, like a piece of my life was constantly missing.

At 16, I left home for Switzerland to pursue what became a deeply fulfilling career in dance. I joined the Béjart Ballet in Lausanne, one of the most prestigious ballet companies in the world, and performed internationally as a principal dancer. The discipline and beauty of ballet became my refuge. Through dance, I could express emotions I had no words for. It helped me survive everything I couldn’t understand.

Valerie performing ballet

Even with all my success, something inside me was still searching. By the age of 18, I felt a powerful pull to find out where I truly came from. I began trying to trace my biological father, not out of anger, but out of a quiet insistence that I deserved to know his name. Just that. But with no real information, and even the spelling of his name in question, the path forward was painfully unclear.

That path finally led me to MyHeritage, and, in time, to an extraordinary reunion that changed my life.

You can watch that unforgettable moment in the video below:

Taking the test

For years, I searched in vain, until a fellow dancer shared a surprising story. He had found his Vietnamese birth family thanks to a MyHeritage DNA test. His story planted a seed in my mind, but I was afraid. Not of the test itself, but of what I might discover. It was a good fear, one that meant something important was at stake.

Then, on November 12, 2019, my mother passed away. It was a tragedy for me. The day she died, my world collapsed.

Valerie’s mother, Louise, as a young woman

That very day, my partner ordered a MyHeritage DNA kit for me. After so many years of hesitation, something shifted. I felt ready.

A call on Christmas Day

When I took the test, everything moved quickly. One match stood out immediately: a first cousin in Canada. I reached out, my heart racing. Her reply changed my life. Her mother remembered my mother and confirmed that her brother, Guy Charles Auguste Kayser, was my biological father. She even knew about the relationship between my parents.

Then came the moment I’ll never forget: on Christmas Day 2019, my father called me.

His voice trembled. He told me he had spoken to his wife and daughter, and they had urged him to reach out to me. “You’re crazy not to call her,” they said. “She’s been looking for you for years.” I later learned that he had been afraid — afraid of how I’d respond, afraid of facing the past after so long. But he called. On Christmas Day. A day that had always been marked by loss for me, since it was also the day Mr. Renault, the father who raised me, passed away.

Suddenly, Christmas meant something entirely new.

Soon after, I discovered I had a sister: Marie-line Akkisi Kayser, 36 years old, born in Côte d’Ivoire. Her mother, Jacqueline, was married to my father, and she welcomed me into their lives with extraordinary warmth and grace. We planned to meet in Paris in March 2020. Marie-line picked me up from the airport. I was nervous, excited, overwhelmed — but the moment we saw each other, it felt natural. As if we had known each other forever.

Like looking into a mirror

Meeting my father was a moment I find hard to put into words. He was 83, frail, and emotional. He stood, despite his handicap, and hugged me. He cried and said I was beautiful. He looked at me like he was seeing someone he had loved long ago. And I… I saw myself in him. It was like looking into a mirror. I felt whole. The constant sense of being the odd one out, the missing part — it was gone. I felt calm. I felt peace.

Valerie meets her father for the first time

Two months later, he passed away from COVID-19.

I had only just found him — and then I lost him. No single meeting, however powerful, could ever replace the years we never had. But I’m grateful I got to see his face, to hear his voice, to feel his arms around me.

A new kind of family

What remains now is something beautiful and lasting. Marie-line and I have built a bond that I treasure deeply, one of the most important relationships in my entire life. Jacqueline treats me like a daughter. I’m not just part of their family, I am family.

Six months ago, Marie-line gave birth to a baby girl named Eva. This October, I got to hold her for the first time.

Marie-line, Valerie, and little Eva

And back in France, I remain close to the sister I grew up with: Laurence Renault, my big sister in every way that matters. She was deeply moved by my discovery and supported me wholeheartedly. All my best childhood memories are with her, and I’ll be spending Christmas with her and her family this year.

Valerie (left) with her big sister Laurence as children

A time that once symbolized loss has been transformed into a celebration of connection.

The sisters Valerie and Marie-line stroll together in Paris

Without MyHeritage, none of this would have happened. I would never have known Marie-line. I would never have heard my father’s voice. I would still be carrying that ache — the not knowing. Instead, I carry something else now: peace, love, and a story I never thought I’d get to tell.

Many thanks to Valerie for sharing her beautiful story with us. If you’ve also made an amazing discovery with MyHeritage, we’d love to hear about it. Please send it to us via this form or email us at stories@myheritage.com.