Michèle Laroque

Michèle Laroque (; born 15 June 1960) is a French actress, comedienne, producer and screenwriter.

Early life Michèle Laroque was born in Nice in the department of Alpes-Maritimes. She is the daughter of Romanian dancer and violinist Doina Trandabur, who fled to France to escape Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej's regime in Communist Romania. 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 and English, taking comedy classes at the same time in Antibes and then moving to America on a campus in Austin, Texas. 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, Muriel Robin and Jean-Marie Bigard.

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 and Une époque formidable... (1991) by Gérard Jugnot and also starring him in the main role. She was nominated for the César Awards for Best Supporting Actress in La Crise (1992) and Pédale douce (1996).

She joined Les Enfoirés 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. In 2007, she appeared in an advertisement for the game Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day! on Nintendo DS.

In 2025, she joined the cast of Emily in Paris.

Personal life Michèle Laroque was married to theatre director Dominique Deschamps and they divorced after a brief period. 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. Her tax exile 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 Year Title Author Director Notes 1987 La Drague Alain Krief 1987–1988 C'est encore mieux l'après-midi Ray Cooney Pierre Mondy 1988–1989 La face cachée d'Orion Lanford Wilson Blandine Harmelin 1990 Coiffure pour dames Robert Harling Stéphane Hillel 1991 Ornifle ou le Courant d'air Jean Anouilh Patrice Leconte Nominated - Molière Award for Best Supporting Actress 1992 Je veux faire du cinéma Neil Simon Michel Blanc 1993 Une folie Sacha Guitry Jacques Échantillon Silence en coulisses ! Michael Frayn Jean-Luc Moreau 1994 Cirque à deux Barry Creyton Jean-Michel Ribes 1996–1999 Ils s'aiment Pierre Palmade & Muriel Robin Muriel Robin 2001–2004 Ils se sont aimés Pierre Palmade & Muriel Robin Muriel Robin 2007 Faisons un rêve Sacha Guitry Bernard Murat 2009 My Brilliant Divorce Geraldine Aron Michèle Laroque 2012–2013 Ils se re-aiment Pierre Palmade & Michèle Laroque Alex Lutz 2017–2018 Ils/Elles s'aiment depuis 20 ans Pierre Palmade, Muriel Robin & Michèle Laroque Muriel Robin 2019 Encore un instant Fabrice Roger-Lacan Bernard Murat

Filmography Year Title Role Director Notes 1988 Vivement lundi Didier Albert TV series (1 episode) 1989 Suivez cet avion The stewardess Patrice Ambard The Hitchhiker Florence John Laing TV series (1 episode) 1989–1990 Tribunal Me Adler Dominique Masson, Claire Blangille... TV series (12 episodes) 1990 The Hairdresser's Husband Adopted Child's Mother Patrice Leconte Imogène François Leterrier TV series (1 episode) La télé des inconnus The host Gérard Pullicino TV series (1 episode) 1991 Une époque formidable... The headhunter Gérard Jugnot Bébé express Agathe François Dupont-Midi TV movie C'est quoi ce petit boulot? Madame Robine Gian Luigi Polidoro & Michel Berny TV mini-series 1992 La Crise Martine Coline Serreau Nominated - César Award for Best Supporting Actress Max et Jérémie Suzanne Claire Devers Coiffure pour dames Isabelle Michel Treguer TV movie Les cravates léopards Madame Bergaux Latour Jean-Luc Trotignon TV movie 1993 Tango Hélène Baraduc Patrice Leconte Chacun pour toi Fernande Jean-Michel Ribes Louis, the Child King Duchesse de Longueville Roger Planchon Paranoïa Frédéric Forestier & Stéphane Gateau Short Navarro Catherine Vallet Nicolas Ribowski TV series (1 episode) 1994 Personne ne m'aime Marie-Christine Marion Vernoux Aux petits bonheurs Sabine Michel Deville B comme Bolo Doctor Salomé Jean-Michel Ribes TV movie 1995 Nelly and Mr. Arnaud Isabelle Claude Sautet Le fabuleux destin de Madame Petlet Marcie Camille de Casabianca Oui The judge Pascal Perennes Short Le mouton noir Cécile Francis De Gueltz TV movie Le nid tombé de l'oiseau Eva Prudhomme Alain Schwartzstein TV movie Une femme dans mon cœur Alice Bataille Gérard Marx TV movie Quatre pour un loyer Georges Barrier TV series (1 episode) Le retour d'Arsène Lupin Adrienne Nicolas Ribowski TV series (1 episode) 1996 Fallait pas ! ... Constance Gérard Jugnot Pédale douce Marie Hagutte Gabriel Aghion Nominated - César Award for Best Supporting Actress Passage à l'acte Florence Francis Girod Du cul, du cul, du cul ! Voice Patrick Menais Les aveux de l'innocent The judge Jean-Pierre Améris The Best Job in the World Hélène Monier Gérard Lauzier Elvis Aziz Hélène Rivard Frédéric Compain TV movie 1997 Ma vie en rose Hanna Fabre Alain Berliner 1998 The Wall The TV announcer Alain Berliner Serial Lover Claire Doste James Huth Week-end ! Hélène Arnaud Sélignac TV movie Maternité Arnaud Sélignac TV series (1 episode) 1999 Doggy Bag Jeanne Frédéric Comtet 2000 Épouse-moi Oriane Roche Harriet Marin Une femme neuve Marie Didier Albert TV movie 2001 The Closet Mademoiselle Bertrand Francis Veber J'ai faim !!! Arlette Florence Quentin L'oiseau rare Alexandra Didier Albert TV movie 2003 La chose publique Michèle Mathieu Amalric TV movie Mon voisin du dessus Claire Letellier Laurence Katrian TV movie 2004 Pédale dure Marie Hagutte Gabriel Aghion Malabar Princess Valentine Gilles Legrand 2005 L'anniversaire Élisabeth Diane Kurys 2006 L'entente cordiale The bank manager Vincent De Brus Hey Good Looking! Isa Lisa Azuelos La Maison du Bonheur Anne Boulin Dany Boon Petits Secrets et gros mensonges Isabelle Delambre Laurence Katrian TV movie 2007 The Neighbor Christine Eddie O'Flaherty The Merry Widow Anne-Marie Gratigny Isabelle Mergault En marge des jours Julie Emmanuel Finkiel TV movie 2009 Dans tes bras Solange Hubert Gillet Oscar and the Lady in Pink Rose Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt 2010 Le grand restaurant A client Gérard Pullicino TV movie 2011 Monsieur Papa Marie Vallois Kad Merad 2012 Moi à ton âge ! Caroline Gardel Bruno Garcia TV movie La méthode Claire Claire Robin Vincent Monnet TV movie 2014 Un fils Mathilde Alain Berliner TV movieFestival de La Rochelle - Best Actress En pères et contre tout Claire Robin Vincent Monnet TV movie 2015 Hard Madeleine Fournier Laurent Dussaux & Mélissa Drigeard TV series (7 episodes) 2015–2019 Peplum Arria Philippe Lefebvre & Maurice Barthélemy TV series (6 episodes) 2016 Camping 3 Anne So Fabien Onteniente The Canterville Ghost Élisabeth Otis Yann Samuell Diabolique Hélène de Lassay Gabriel Aghion TV movie 2017 Alibi.com Françoise Philippe Lacheau Chouquette Diane Patrick Godeau Embrasse-moi! Babouchka Océan & Cyprien Vial 2018 Brillantissime Angela Michèle Laroque 2019 Premier de la classe Madame Martin Stéphane Ben Lahcene Joyeuse retraite! Fabrice Bracq 2020 Chacun chez soi Catherine Michèle Laroque ' 2022 Ténor Madame Loyseau Claude Zidi Jr. 2025 Emily in Paris (season 5) Yvette Andrew Fleming

Box-office

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

FilmsDirectorYearFrance (entries)1 The Closet Francis Veber 2001 2 Pédale douce Gabriel Aghion 1996 3 La Crise Coline Serreau 1992 4 The Best Job in the World Gérard Lauzier 1996 5 The Merry Widow Isabelle Mergault 2007 6 Une époque formidable... Gérard Jugnot 1991 7 Nelly and Mr. Arnaud Claude Sautet 1995 8 Malabar Princess Gilles Legrand 2004 9 La Maison du Bonheur Dany Boon 2006 10 Hey Good Looking ! Lisa Azuelos 2006