Michèle Laroque was born in Nice in the department of Alpes-Maritimes. She is the daughter of Romanian dancer and violinist Doina Trandabur, who fled to France to escape Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej's regime in Communist Romania.[1][2] Her father is French doctor Claude Laroque, who met Doina a year earlier during a tour. Michèle is also the niece of Pierre Laroque, the creator of Social Security in France. She studied economics and English, taking comedy classes at the same time in Antibes and then moving to America on a campus in Austin, Texas. In 1979, along with her best friend, she was victim of a car accident that resulted in two years of hospitalisation, a long convalescence and several months of reeducation. Following an extended coma and associated psychological trauma, she made the decision to become a comedian.[3]
In 1989, she had her first role in the film Suivez cet avion and later had small roles in Le Mari de la coiffeuse (1990) by Patrice Leconte and Une époque formidable... (1991) by Gérard Jugnot and also starring him in the main role. She was nominated for the César Awards for Best Supporting Actress in La Crise (1992) and Pédale douce (1996).
She joined Les Enfoirés and is a member for the special tours and spectacles for Les Restos du Cœur. She is also the spokesperson for the association Enfance et Partage.[citation needed]
Michèle Laroque was married to theatre director Dominique Deschamps for a brief period and later divorced.[4] She has a daughter named Oriane (born 12 July 1995), who acted alongside her mother in the film Hey Good Looking !
Since 2008 she has been in a relationship with politician François Baroin.[5] Her tax exile in the USA ended in 2010, her partner becoming at that time the Budget Minister of France.[6]
In 2010, just as her partner became François Fillon's Budget Minister and Le Canard enchaîné was about to reveal his tax situation, she put an end to her tax expatriation to Las Vegas (a city where residents pay neither local income tax nor local taxes; however, federal income tax remains due).[7] The couple separated at the beginning of 2023.[8]
