Isabelle Mergault

Isabelle Mergault — Biography

Isabelle Mergault, born in Paris on 11 May 1958, died in Neuilly-sur-Seine on 20 March 2026 at 67 after a battle with cancer; the versatile French artist combined acting with screenwriting, film directing and playwriting.

Known through the 1980s for largely comedic supporting roles, sometimes drawing on her own speech impediment for comic effect, Mergault reached a wide audience with the 1985 film Profs and also appeared in popular series such as Maguy, Marc et Sophie and Navarro. After close to fifty roles, she stepped away from acting in 1991 to focus on screenwriting.

In 2005 she wrote and directed her first feature, Je vous trouve très beau, which won her a César award; she went on to direct Enfin veuve (2008), Donnant donnant (2010) and Des mains en or (2023), and performed in plays she wrote herself, including L'Amour sur un plateau, Adieu je reste!, Ouh Ouh and La Raison d'Aymé. A regular commentator from 1988 on Philippe Bouvard's, and later Laurent Ruquier's, radio and television programs, she was made a Knight of the Order of Agricultural Merit.