Mimie Mathy | |
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Mimie Mathy at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival
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Born |
Michèle Mathy 8 July 1957 Lyon, France |
Occupation | Actress, comedian, singer, writer |
Years active | 1980–present |
Spouse(s) | Benoist Gérard (2004-present) |
Website | www.mimiemathy.com |
Mimie Mathy (born 8 July 1957) is a French actress, comedian and singer who is best known for her starring role in the long-running Josephine, Guardian Angel television series. Mathy has achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism, and is 4 ft 4 in (1.32 m) tall.
Interested in the theatre from childhood, she studied the dramatic arts from 1979 to 1981 at Michel Fugain's workshop in Nice. In the early 1980s she performed in a number of theatre roles and appeared in Le Petit Théâtre de Bouvard television show. She formed a touring comedy troupe "Le Trio des Filles" (The Three Girls) which performed shows such as Existe en trois tailles (Available in Three Sizes) from 1988 to 1993. In 1993 she performed in the TV movie Une nounou pas comme les autres (A Nanny Like No Other), which garnered a 52.7% market share (~12 million viewers) in France.
Since 1994 she has performed 15 times in the annual Les Enfoirés (The Tossers) charity concert for Restaurants du Cœur (Restaurants of the Heart). Les Enfoirés was the most watched TV show in France in 2009, with 12.3 million viewers.
In 1997 she began her title role in Josephine, Guardian Angel, a TF1 show which is still in production as of 2010. In 2006 she issued a music CD, La Vie M'a Raconte (Life Told Me) produced by Patrick Fiori.
On 27 August 2005 she married 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) restaurateur and chef Benoist Gérard, a man she met during one of her shows by picking him out of the audience.
François Dorieux named a rose cultivar for her in 1999. In 2007 she was selected the 5th most popular French celebrity and highest ranking female celebrity by the weekly Le Journal du Dimanche.