Louis Paul Heussaff

Louis Paul Heussaff was a French businessman and former naval officer who became a well known family figure in the Philippines as the father of the actress, painter and television personality Solenn Heussaff and the entrepreneur and media personality Erwan Heussaff. He was born and raised in Douarnenez, a port town in Brittany, France, and in his younger years served as a sailor in the French Navy before settling in the Philippines, where he met and married Cynthia Adea, a Filipina who had danced with the renowned Bayanihan Dance Company.

After leaving the navy, Heussaff built a career in business, going on to found and head Supply Oilfield Services Inc, known by its initials SOS, a company that provided services to the oil and gas industry. Through this venture he spent decades working in and around the Philippine energy sector, establishing the family's roots firmly in the country even though he himself remained French. He and Cynthia raised three children, an elder daughter named Vanessa, Solenn, and a younger son, Erwan, all three of whom grew up moving between French and Filipino cultural worlds and later became prominent names in Philippine media, fashion and food entrepreneurship.

Heussaff himself was not a public figure by trade and rarely sought attention, but he became known to the Filipino public through his children, who often spoke affectionately about him in interviews and on social media. In the years before his death, his condition drew public sympathy after Solenn revealed that he had been diagnosed with dementia. In July 2026 she unveiled a painting collection titled Into the Unseen Garden, created as a tribute to her father and inspired by his favorite flower, which she used as a way of processing watching him lose his memory of her and her siblings.

Louis Paul Heussaff died on October 31, 2026, after his long battle with dementia. His wife Cynthia announced his death in an Instagram post that day, writing a tribute that read, in part, "In loving memory of our beloved husband and father." Solenn also posted a photo embracing her father, accompanied only by a red heart. Erwan has not yet issued a separate public statement. His exact age at death has not been confirmed, but earlier reporting in mid-2026 described him as 79 years old, suggesting he was around 79 or 80 at the time of his death.

No cause of death beyond the dementia diagnosis has been made public, and funeral or memorial arrangements have not yet been announced. He is survived by his wife Cynthia and their three children, Vanessa, Solenn and Erwan, along with grandchildren through Solenn's marriage to Nico Bolzico.