Jamel Debbouze
Personal details
  • Born:
    • Birthday: 1975-06-18
    • Born Place: Trappes, Yvelines, Ile-de France, France
  • Also Known As:

    Djamel Debbouze, Jamel Debouze, 자멜 드부즈, جمال دبوز

Jamel Debbouze

Jamel Debbouze is an iconic Moroccan-French actor, comedian, and producer born on June 18, 1975, in Paris, who rose from humble beginnings in the suburb of Trappes to become a central figure in French pop culture. He first captured the public’s imagination in the late 1990s with the sitcom H and his high-energy stand-up specials, where his physical comedy and sharp linguistic wit became legendary. Despite losing the use of his right arm in a childhood accident, he turned his unique physicality into a hallmark of his performance style. He achieved massive cinematic success with roles in Amélie (2001) and as the hapless architect Numérobis in Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra (2002), and later earned a Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival for the poignant World War II drama Days of Glory (Indigènes) in 2006. As of 2026, Debbouze remains a powerhouse in the industry, continuing to lead his influential Jamel Comedy Club, which serves as a premier launching pad for new French comedic talent and is currently touring throughout France until June 2026. In the film world, he makes a high-profile return in the 2026 adventure comedy Marsupilami, where he reprises his role as Pablito Camaron from the 2012 film Houba! On the Trail of the Marsupilami. This appearance effectively links Philippe Lacheau's new adaptation to the previous installment, with Debbouze playing the eccentric guide whose father (played by Didier Bourdon) also appears in the story. Additionally, he is coming off the recent success of his 2025 film Mercato, a sports comedy he produced and starred in as a desperate football agent navigating the high-stakes transfer market.

Person History