Nawell Madani (born 1979 in

Watermael-Boitsfort Watermael-Boitsfort () or Watermaal-Bosvoorde () is a residential suburb of the city of Brussels in Belgium, and one of the 19 municipalities which form the Brussels-Capital Region. The municipality has a total area of of which 58 percent is cov ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

) is a Belgian humorist of

Algerian Algerian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Algeria * Algerian people This article is about the demographic features of the population of Algeria, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, econo ...

descent, presenter and producer. She became famous in 2012 because of the

Jamel Comedy Club ''Jamel Comedy Club'' is a French comedy show on the television station Canal+, produced and presented by the French actor/comedian Jamel Debbouze. It aims to highlight talented young comedians, who each get roughly 5 minutes in on stage with ...

Biography

Born on 25 October 1979, Nawell grew up in Belgium, suffered third-degree burns at the age of 2, and was a

tomboy A tomboy is a term for a girl or a young woman with masculine qualities. It can include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and actively engage in physical sports or other activities and behaviors usually associated with boys or men. W ...

for most of her childhood and adolescence.Rachid Laïreche
Nawell Madani, vanne, vit et devient
''

Libération ''Libération'' (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Initially positioned on the far-left of France's ...

'', 7 February 2014. Her father is a taxi driver.Benjamin Locoge
Nawell Madani, la fureur de rire
''

Paris Match ''Paris Match'' () is a French-language weekly news magazine. It covers major national and international news along with celebrity lifestyle features. History and profile A sports news magazine, ''Match l'intran'' (a play on ''L'Intransigeant' ...

'', semaine du 24 au 29 avril 2014, page 20. She moved to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

at the age of 21, at first with the ambition to become a professional choreographer and dancer, returned to Belgium, and left again. After several tours as a choreographer, she gave up this career: "the artistic directors asked us to wear a bikini. They don’t give a damn about the dance", she declared. She was briefly an artistic director of a nightclub in Antwerp. She discovered the theatre and wanted to become an actress. At the end of 2008, she joined the Studio Pygmalion where she trained for a few months. She also followed courses taught by Damien Acoca, and those of the “Laboratory of the Actor” directed by Hélène Zidi-Chéruy.Marie-Josée Roy
Nawell Madani au Festival Juste pour rire : une détermination qui rapporte gros
''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'', 12 July 2014. This was how she was spotted in a small room, ''The Pranzo'', by the artistic director of the

who invited her to a casting to join the team created by

Jamel Debbouze Jamel Debbouze (; ar, جمال دبوز, Jamāl Dabūz; born 18 June 1975) is a French-Moroccan actor, comedian, screenwriter, film producer and director. Best known for his stand-up comedy sketches, he also worked with director Alain Chabat in ...

. Madani was the only woman to join the team. In September 2011 she began her career as a comedian. She left this troupe six months later: "I thought to join a big family, I discovered a world full of ego and competition". On Télé Sud, she hosted the programme ''Backstage'', where she received artists such as

Rick Ross William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. Prior to releasing his debut single, "Hustlin'", in 2006, Ross was the subject of a bidding war, receiving offers from Sean Combs, D ...

Shaggy Shaggy may refer to: People *Shaggy (musician) (born 1968), Jamaican American reggae rapper and singer *Shaggy 2 Dope, half of the hip hop, horrorcore band Insane Clown Posse *Shaggy Flores (born 1973), Nuyorican poet, writer and African diaspora ...

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, a ...

Kery James Alix Mathurin (; born 28 December 1977) better known as Kery James, is a French rapper, singer, songwriter, dancer and record producer from Orly, who was born in Guadeloupe to Haitian parents. Prior to his solo career, he was in Idéal J where h ...

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

and

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to '' Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempo ...

. In 2011, she presented the programme ''Shake Your Body'' on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

with

Cut Killer Anouar Hajoui ( ar, أنور حجوي, link=no, Latn, ar, Anwar Hājawiy; born 6 May 1971), better known as DJ Cut Killer or simply Cut Killer, is a Moroccan-born French DJ and record producer with a versatile repertoire of hip hop music. He ...

. In September 2012, she joined as a commentator the team of ''Grand Journal'' which was being renewed.Lucas Armati
Au “Grand Journal” de Canal+, le nouveau souffle se fait attendre
''

Télérama ''Télérama'' is a weekly French cultural and television magazine published in Paris, France. The name is a contraction of its earlier title: ''Télévision-Radio-Cinéma''. Fabienne Pascaud is currently managing editor. Ludovic Desautez is dep ...

'', 10 September 2012. In 2013, she founded the collective ''Jam’Girls'', a television programme which met a new generation of female comedians, broadcast on

Chérie 25 Chérie 25 () is a French TV channel, controlled by the NRJ Group. Chérie 25 is launched on TNT, satellite, and xDSL on 12 December 2012. The channel is named after the radio station Chérie FM, owned by the same group. History In 2011, Jean ...

and Comédie. In 2014 she went for her first

one-woman show A solo performance, sometimes referred to as a one-man show or one-woman show, features a single person telling a story for an audience, typically for the purpose of entertainment. This type of performance comes in many varieties, including auto ...

, ''C'est moi la plus belge'' ("I am more Belgian"), in the Palais des Glaces in Paris and did the tour of the Zeniths in France. She talked about taboo subjects, such as the virginity of North African women, or homosexuality. She took a place in the festival Juste pour rire of Montreal in July 2014. In 2015, she won Best One-Man Show in the

Globe de Cristal Awards The Awards (English: Crystal Globe Awards) is a set of awards bestowed by members of the French Press Association recognizing excellence in home art and culture. The annual formal ceremony and dinner at which the awards are presented happens ea ...

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Madani, Nawell 1983 births Living people Belgian film actresses Belgian humorists Belgian people of Algerian descent Belgian television presenters Women humorists Belgian women television presenters