| Jamel Debbouze | |
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Debbouze at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival |
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| Born | 18 June 1975 Paris, France |
| Occupation | Actor, comedian, producer |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Spouse | Mélissa Theuriau |
| Website | |
| http://www.jameldebbouze.fr | |
Jamel Debbouze (Arabic: جمال دبّوز; born 18 June 1975) is an actor, comedian and producer of Moroccan descent.
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Debbouze is the oldest of five brothers. He was born in Paris, France, but his family moved to Morocco the following year. They returned in 1979 and settled in Trappes, where Jamel spent the rest of his childhood.[1]
On 17 January 1990, at the train station in Trappes, he was struck by a passing train travelling at 150 km/h. He lost the use of his right arm, while another young man, Jean-Paul Admette, died. After this accident Debbouze met Alain Degois, his mentor, and began his career as a comedian/actor.
On 29 March 2008 Jamel Debbouze became engaged to French journalist and news anchor Mélissa Theuriau; the two married on 7 May 2008.[2]
In 1990, Jamel met Alain Degois, an educator who organized theater improvisation workshops, and joined his troupe. With this troupe, he took part in the French Championship of Improvisation in 1991 and toured Quebec and Morocco. In 1992, he got his first part in a film called Les Pierres Bleues du Désert. After this film, Jamel wanted to work as an actor and create his own show. This happened in 1995 with the show C'est Tout Neuf which had been enjoyed a lot. Then he had an approximative role on the radio program Radio Nova and took part in the television program Nova Premiere where he was noticed by Canal+.
In 1998, Debbouze played Jamel Dridi an operator, in the hospital sitcom, H on Canal+, alongside fellow comedians Eric and Ramzy. By the time the series ended in 2002, Jamel had achieved national fame.
In March 1999, Jamel started his new show Jamel en Scène. In this show, Jamel talked about his beginnings, his childhood and show business. The show played at La Cigale and then at the Bataclan in Paris. He went on tour throughout France in 2000. At the end of the year, he returned to Paris with his show at the Olympia for three weeks.
In 2002, Jamel returned with a new show, 100% Debbouze. For three years this show played in the top Parisian theaters: the Casino de Paris, the Bataclan, the Zenith, and the Olympia. He then toured France, Morocco, Tunisia, Switzerland and Belgium. The DVD of the show went on sale in 2004, and sold more than 1 million copies.
In 2006, Jamel became the presenter of a new program, Jamel Comedy Club, which featured a half an hour of the new generation of French humorists each week. With this troupe, Jamel went to the Casino de Paris in 2007 for a new show, le Jamel Comedy Club Envahit le Casino de Paris. This show was very successful, its run was extended and it also played in Canada.
In 1992, the seventeen-year-old Debbouze appeared in his first film, Les Pierres Bleues du Désert. The film tells the story of a young boy who is persecuted because he believes in the existence of blue stones in the desert. It was the first of numerous film roles for Debbouze. In 1996, he played a small part in Les Deux papas et la maman, a film by Jean-Marc Doval with Smaïn and Arielle Dombasle. Three years later he received his first big role in a feature film called Le Ciel les oiseaux et ta ... mère! (Boys on the Beach). This comedy was successful, with more than one million tickets sold. Over the next two years he continued his stage shows, before returning to film with the highly-successful Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain. He was nominated for his part in this film for the César Award of the Best Supporting Actor in 2002. In 2002, Debbouze appeared in another big French film, Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra directed by Alain Chabat. This successful film was seen by 14,000,000 spectators. In 2005 he had the leading role in Luc Besson's film Angel-A.
In 2006, Debbouze played one of the most important parts of his career in the film Indigènes (Days of Glory in the United States). The film told the story of four African soldiers who participate in the liberation of France during World War II. Debbouze, Samy Naceri, Sami Bouajila and Roschdy Zem shared the prize for the best male performance at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.[3]
In 1996, he took part for the first time in a TV show called Nova première on Paris Première. He was noticed on this show by some producers from Canal+ who hired him to present a show called Le cinéma de Jamel. For New Year's Eve in 2000, Jamel created a TV show for this occasion called the Jamel show. Numerous French comedians such as Bruno Solo, Alain Chabat, Elie and Dieudonné appeared in this show. In April 2003, he took part in 6 commercials for Orangina.
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