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

comedienne A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who ...

humorist A humorist is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit, in writing or public speaking. A raconteur is one who tells anecdotes in a skillful and amusing way. Henri Bergson writes that a humorist's work grows from viewing the morals of society ...

, producer and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

Early life

Michèle Laroque was born in

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; ; ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the France–Italy border, Italian border and Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'A ...

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

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

to escape

Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej (; 8 November 1901 – 19 March 1965) was a Romanian politician. He was the first Socialist Republic of Romania, 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 (, RSR) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist One-party state, one-party socialist state that existed officially in Romania from 1947 to 1989 (see Revolutions of 1989). From 1947 to 1965, the state was ...

.Chris Kaltenbach
« In `Closet', Laroque finds well-suited role »
''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...

'', 16 juillet 2001. 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 a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

and English, taking comedy classes at the same time in

Antibes Antibes (, , ; ) is a seaside city in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in Southeastern France. It is located on the French Riviera between Cannes and Nice; its cape, the Cap d'Antibes, along with Cap Ferrat in Saint-Jean-Ca ...

and then moving to America on a campus in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

. 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 Murie ...

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, screenwriter and comic strip writer. 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 Institut des ...

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 C ...

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'' (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. Founded at the initiative of Coluche in 1986, a year after the Restaurants du Cœur, ...

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 film, science fiction adventure film directed by John Musker and Ron Clements and written by Musker, Clements and Rob Edwards (screenwriter), Rob Edwards. Produced by Walt Disney ...

''. 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 foldable 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 worki ...

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 o ...

. 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. In 2010, just as her partner became François Fillon's Budget Minister and Le Canard enchaîné was about to reveal his tax situation, she put an end to her tax expatriation to Las Vegas (a city where residents pay neither local income tax nor local taxes; however, federal income tax remains due). The couple separated at the beginning of 2023.. Michèle Laroque is tall.

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 Actresses from Nice, France French film producers French television producers French women television producers French women film producers 21st-century French actresses 20th-century French actresses French women screenwriters French screenwriters French women humorists French women comedians Comedians from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur