Michèle Laroque (; born 15 June 1960) is a French actress,

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

humorist A humorist (American) or humourist (British spelling) is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit, in writing or public speaking, but is not an artist who seeks only to elicit laughs. Humorists are distinct from comedians, who are show business e ...

, producer and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

Early life

Michèle Laroque was born in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

in the department of

Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; oc, Aups Maritims; it, Alpi Marittime, "Maritime Alps") is a department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the Italian border and Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, it ...

. She is the daughter of Romanian dancer and violinist Doina Trandabur, who fled to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

to escape

Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej (; 8 November 1901 – 19 March 1965) was a Romanian communist politician and electrician. He was the first Communist leader of Romania from 1947 to 1965, serving as first secretary of the Romanian Communist Party ( ...

's regime in

Communist Romania The Socialist Republic of Romania ( ro, Republica Socialistă România, RSR) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist One-party state, one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989. From 1947 to 1965, the s ...

. Her father is French doctor Claude Laroque, who met Doina a year earlier during a tour. Michèle is also the niece of Pierre Laroque, the creator of Social Security in France. She studied

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

and English, taking comedy classes at the same time in

Antibes Antibes (, also , ; oc, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal, Antíbol) is a coastal city in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department of southeastern France, on the French Riviera, Côte d'Azur between Cannes and Nice. The town of ...

and then moving to America on a campus in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

. In 1979, along with her best friend, she was victim of a car accident that resulted in two years of hospitalisation, a long convalescence and several months of reeducation. Following an extended coma and associated psychological trauma, she made the decision to become a comedian.

Career

She made her television début in 1988 in the humorous programme ''La Classe'' hosted by Fabrice every evening on FR3, where she met

Pierre Palmade Pierre Palmade (born 23 March 1968) is a French actor, comedian, stage director and playwright. Biography Pierre Palmade began his career in sketch comedy shows on stage and on television in the late 1980s, and in the 1990s he wrote and played ...

Muriel Robin Muriel Robin (born 2 August 1955) is a French actress and comedian. She won an International Emmy Award for Best Actress in 2007 and received a nomination for a César Award in 2001 and six nominations for a Molière Award. Early years Muriel ...

and

Jean-Marie Bigard Jean-Marie Bigard (; born 17 May 1954) is a French comedian and actor. Known for his often controversial humour, he has performed at some of the largest entertainment facilities in France, including the Paris-Bercy Arena and Stade de France. Big ...

. In 1989, she had her first role in the film ''Suivez cet avion'' and later had small roles in ''Le Mari de la coiffeuse'' (1990) by

Patrice Leconte Patrice Leconte (; born 12 November 1947) is a French film director, actor, comic strip writer, and screenwriter. Life and career Leconte grew up in Tours, and began making little amateur films at 15. He went to Paris in 1967 and studied at Insti ...

and ''Une époque formidable...'' (1991) by

Gérard Jugnot Gérard Jugnot (; born 4 May 1951) is a French actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer. Jugnot was one of the founders of the comedy ''troupe'' Le Splendid in the 1970s, along with, among others, his high-school friends Christian Cl ...

and also starring him in the main role. She was nominated for the

César Awards The César Award is the national film award of France. It is delivered in the ' ceremony and was first awarded in 1976. The nominations are selected by the members of twelve categories of filmmaking professionals and supported by the French Min ...

for Best Supporting Actress in ''La Crise'' (1992) and ''

Pédale douce ''Pédale douce'' (Soft Pedal) is a 1996 French comedy film directed by Gabriel Aghion. Fanny Ardant won the 1997 César Award for Best Actress for her performance as Eva. Plot Adrien works in an advertising agency in the day and at night he b ...

'' (1996). She joined

Les Enfoirés Les Enfoirés (, 'The Tossers' or 'The Bastards') is the name given to the singers and performers in the yearly charity concert for the Restaurants du Cœur The Restaurants du Cœur (literally ''Restaurants of the Heart'' but meaning ''Restau ...

and is a member for the special tours and spectacles for Les Restos du Cœur. She is also the spokesperson for the association Enfance et Partage. In 2002, she was the voice of Captain Amelia in the French version of the animated film ''

Treasure Planet ''Treasure Planet'' is a 2002 American animated science fiction action-adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The 43rd Disney animated feature film, it is a science fiction adaptatio ...

''. In 2007, she appeared in an advertisement for the game '' Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day!'' on

Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...

Personal life

Michèle Laroque was married to theatre director Dominique Deschamps for a brief period and later divorced. She has a daughter named Oriane (born 12 July 1995), who acted alongside her mother in the film '' Hey Good Looking !'' Since 2008 she has been in a relationship with politician

François Baroin François Claude Pierre René Baroin (born 21 June 1965) is a French politician and lawyer who served as Finance Minister from 2011 to 2012, following a stint as Budget Minister in the government of Prime Minister François Fillon. A member of ...

. Her

tax exile A tax exile is a person who leaves a country to avoid the payment of income tax or other taxes. The term refers to an individual who already owes money to the tax authorities or wishes to avoid being liable in the future for taxation at what they ...

in the USA ended in 2010, her partner becoming at that time the Budget Minister of France. Michèle Laroque is 5' 7.5" (1.71 m) tall. She is a gay rights activist.

Theatre

Filmography

Box-office

Movies starring Michèle Laroque with more than a million of entries in France.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Laroque, Michele 1960 births Living people French people of Romanian descent French film actresses French television actresses French voice actresses French humorists People from Nice French film producers French television producers Women television producers French women film producers 21st-century French actresses 20th-century French actresses French women screenwriters French screenwriters Women humorists