childhood, career, companions… what you need to know about the actress

She is still the darling of the French. Since making a name for herself in the television series “A Guy, a Girl” in the late 1990s, Alexandra Lamy has become a leading actress, performing in comedies and dramas. She is now an essential figure in French cinema. Portrait.

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What job did Alexandra Lamy plan to do when she was a child?

Born in Île-de-France in 1971, Alexandra Lamy grew up in the south of France, first in La Grande-Motte where her parents settled when she was 6 months old, then in Alès. “My father, who worked at Gaz de France, dreamed of sun and the seaside,” she confided in an interview with “ Free Midday », in 2012. She therefore grew up with the sun, the sea, and the singing accent. And she didn't dream of being an actress. No way. “After reading “The Impure”, by Guy des Cars, when I was 10 years old, I wanted to become a good sister to help lepers in India “, she admitted in an interview with “ Paris Match », in 2019. “She wanted to save the world”, explained her best friend Magaly in the documentary “Alexandra Lamy, darling of the French” (2017). “She wasn’t talking about being an actress. We felt that she wanted to travel the world, to do something exceptional. » She ended up doing something exceptional. But not in humanitarian work.

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When did Alexandra Lamy start acting?

It was at high school that Alexandra Lamy discovered theater, thanks to his French teacher. And it was a revelation. In secret from her parents, she enrolled at the Conservatory. “ So I went to classes without my parents knowing, I made them believe that I was going to the library where, supposedly, I was preparing presentations,” she told “Midi Libre”. “When a paper was received at home from the Conservatory specifying that I was passing into cWhen I was tired of it, my parents fell backwards. They were stunned. » They let her continue acting, on one condition: “My father told me at the time, if you pass your baccalaureate, you continue your studies and you stop acting. I missed it perhaps consciously,” she admitted to “ Parisian », in 2015. It was therefore without her baccalaureate, but with the approval of her parents who discovered her long-hidden talent, that Alexandra Lamy went to Paris to try her luck as an actress.

How was Alexandra Lamy chosen to play in “A Guy, a Girl”?

In Paris, she began to do a series of castings and odd jobs – hostess, waitresses, birthday mermaid – until landing her first roles. After appearing in an advertisement, it was in sitcoms that she distinguished herself. “ I did all the AB Productions series “, she remembered, in the documentary “Alexandra Lamy, darling of the French” (2017). She starred in “The Boys on the Beach” (1995), “The Miracle of Love” (1995), “La Croise Foll'Amour” (1996). “You had to earn your living and it was a way to learn the profession because in the end, I had only done theater, I didn't know what a stage was. » It is ultimately his role as Alex, aka Chouchou, in the series “A guy, a girl”broadcast on France 2 from 1999 to 2003, with Jean Dujardin (loulou), who revealed it to the general public. Role for which she was chosen thanks to an advertisement for “Precious Water” filmed 2 years previously, in which a casting director had spotted her.

If the success of “A Guy, a Girl” revealed Alexandra Lamy, her career did not explode immediately. After the end of the program, she certainly managed to land roles in the cinema – “Nothing But Happiness” (2003), “Home Delivery” (2003), “The Antidote” (2005), “Onward” (2005), “We will love each other” (2006), “Seeking fiancé all expenses paid” (2007), “Modern Love” (2008) – but most have gone unnoticed. Nothing to discourage her. She continued to do a series of shoots, until she established herself. “Now I am offered many roles directly. This makes me think of what Michel Piccoli said: “To be known overnight, in this profession, it takes 10 years.” That’s what I experienced, it seems to me,” she confided to “Paris Match” in 2019. Since the 2010s, Alexandra Lamy has had a number of leading roles in successful films. We can cite “The embarrassment of choice” (2017), “Everyone standing” (2018), “Chamboultout” (2019) or, more recently, “The green promise” (2024).

Who is Thomas Jouannet, the father of his daughter Chloé?

Shortly after her arrival in Paris, Alexandra Lamy met Thomas Jouannetoriginally from Switzerland, came to France to try his luck as an actor. He also began his career in AB Productions series – “First Kiss” (1993), “The Miracles of Love” (1995). Since then, we have mainly seen him in TV films and television series such as “The Dominici Affair” (2003), “Clara Sheller” (2007), “Nina” (2014-2020) and even “Sam” (2020- 2021). Together from 1995 to 2003, Alexandra Lamy and Thomas Jouannet had a daughter, Chloé, born in 1997. “Basically, it was not a project [de former une famille d’acteurs, ndlr] “, assured Thomas Jouannet to “Buzz TV” in 2024. And added: “I go to Paris, I meet Alexandra, we have a child, she becomes an actress. » At just 12 years old, Chloé Jouannet made her first appearance in the cinema in “Lucky Luke”, alongside her stepfather Jean Dujardin.

After taking theater classes in London, England, Chloé Jouannet returned to France. Since then, we have seen her in “Banlieusards” (2019), “Notre-Dameburn” (2022), or even the series “Killer Coaster” (2023), in which she plays opposite her mother and her aunt Audrey Lamy. “She wanted to be a surgeon, but she was a little weak in math and I told her: “It’s not a profession that can be learned on the job.” Then she expressed the wish to become an actress, but she had fears related to being the daughter of… “, confided Alexandra Lamy about her daughter to “Paris Match”, in 2019. And, in an interview with “Elle” magazine, she revealed her reaction: “From the start, I told her: ‘Go for it ! But remember that you have an advantage – as the “daughter of” people will want to meet you – and a disadvantage – you will only have one chance to prove yourself, not two. »

What relationship have Alexandra Lamy and Jean Dujardin maintained since their separation?

Alexandra Lamy and Jean Dujardin met in 1999 on the set of “Un Guy, Une Fille”. At the time, she was in a relationship with Thomas Jouannet and he was married to Gaëlle Demars. Partners from whom they separated in 2003, just before formalizing their relationship. They got married in Anduze in 2009, in front of a crowd of admirers. But, after ten years of relationshipAlexandra Lamy and Jean Dujardin separated in 2013. However, they kept “cordial” relations, confided Alexandra Lamy, who has good relations with all her exes: “I had Chloé with Thomas [Jouannet]. He's a great guy who I loved madly. Why hate him all of a sudden? Then I got married [à Jean Dujardin]. This story represents ten years of my existence. Why question everything? It would be a shame since we were happy. I especially didn't want to find myself in the situation of seeing photos, a few years later, and saying to myself each time: “Bastard!” What hell to stay in this posture…” she confided to “Paris Match”. “They have rebuilt their lives, I am remaking mine. I live neither in the past nor in resentment. »

Is Alexandra Lamy currently in a relationship?

Since she divorced Jean Dujardin, Alexandra Lamy has remained single (at least officially). And that suits him. “ I'm single and it's so great “, she assured in an interview with Léa Salamé on “France Inter”, in March 2024. “We always need to stick with someone in life. I had that, everyone was like, “I have someone for you.” Well no, I don't want to. I don't want to anymore. […] I want to take advantage of myself. » However, she is not “finished with love”. “If it happens, it happens, I don’t know. But it’s also good to be able to take responsibility for it a little, to say: “I’m good like that! I'm very alone, I think about myself. And that’s okay.” A few years ago, we were a little ashamed to say that we were separated, of having divorced. Today we accept it, especially women. We tell ourselves that we have the right. » She prefers to be alone than in bad company, as the saying goes. “Guys today […] completely lost because we slammed two thousand years of patriarchy in their faces”, very little for hershe slipped to “Elle” magazine.