Isabelle Mergault

Isabelle Mergault — Biography

Isabelle Mergault (11 May 1958, Paris - 20 March 2026, Neuilly-sur-Seine) was a versatile figure in French cinema and theatre, combining acting with screenwriting, film directing and playwriting.

Known through the 1980s for supporting, largely comedic roles in film and television, 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 concentrate on writing screenplays.

In 2005 she wrote and directed her first feature film, Je vous trouve très beau, which won over both audiences and critics and earned her a César award; she went on to direct Enfin veuve (2008), Donnant donnant (2010) and Des mains en or (2023). During this period she also performed in plays she wrote herself and became a regular contributor to Laurent Ruquier's radio and television programs.