Trivia

On 17 January 1990, at the train station in Trappes, he was struck by a passing train travelling at 150 km/h. He lost the use of his right arm in the accident. His disabled hand is always placed in the right pocket of his trousers, which became his trademark in the films and serials.

Debbouze was born in Paris in 1975 to immigrant parents from Taza, Morocco. The family returned to Morocco when he was one year old, but moved back to France in 1979 and eventually settled in Trappes, a western suburb of Paris. He is the eldest of six siblings and holds both, French and Moroccan citizenship.

As part of the international leg of the 2004 Olympic Torch Relay, Jamal was one of the flame runners, carrying the Olympic flame in Paris on 25 June 2004.

His brother is Momo Debbouze. He sometimes casts him in his sketches or in his films.

He and his wife, Melissa Theuriau, have two children: Léon (b. December 3, 2008) and Lila (b. October 2011).

He is working with Gad Elmaleh on a new spectacle based on the Israelian/Palestinian conflict.