Jean-Michel Martial was born in Madagascar on January 1st,1952.

Initially, he engaged in the occupation of dentist in Cayenne (French Guiana).

But in 1983 he abandoned this activity to devote himself fully, like his brother Jacques, to his true passion: the profession of comedian.

As early as the 1970s, his career was divided between theater, cinema – usually in antiracist roles- and television.

He was mainly noticed at the 1993 Cannes Festival for his performance in Raoul Peck’s L’Homme sur les Quais.

In 2005 he performed Joseph Ignace in 1802 by Christian Lara. And he made himself known and appreciated by a large audience through popular French TV series like Plus Belle La Vie, Profilage or Plan Cœur.

In addition, his warm voice was appreciated for the dubbing of American films, from Pulp Fiction (1994) to Black Panther (2018).

Jean-Michel Martial also directed documentaries.

In 1997, he founded a theater company: L’Autre Souffle.

From 2016 to 2019, Jean-Michel Martial was President of the Overseas French Representative Council (CREFOM). One of the co-founders of this organization in 2014, he was, for 2 years, the very active Deputy President in charge of Culture.

There he distinguished himself by defending the prominence of Overseas People on the screens.

While courageously fighting for several years against the long illness that ended up winning, he contributed to the success of Alexis Michalik’s play Edmond. Breaking with the clichés, he plays the role of Monsieur Honoré, an erudite and literary café owner.

Jean-Michel Martial died in Paris on October, 18, 2019.

His passing was greeted by a unanimous tribute from the world of French Culture and Overseas.

His funeral will take place on Wednesday, October 23, 2019 at 10:30 in St-Roch church 296 rue St-Honoré 75001 Paris métro Palais-Royal Line 1