Frédérique Bel (born 24 March 1975) is a French actress and model. A native of Annecy in the French Alps, she became known for her role as Dorothy Doll in the La Minute Blonde sequence from Le Grand Journal on Canal+. She has since played main and supporting roles in many productions.
Early life and education
Frédérique Bel was born in Annecy in the department of Haute-Savoie. After obtaining her baccalauréat, she moved to the region of Alsace where she studied modern literature at the Marc Bloch University of Strasbourg.[1] She then graduated with a master degree and a DEUG in history of arts before joining the University Theater of Strasbourg.[2] She later began a career as a lingerie and body lining model to pay her comedy classes.[3]
Acting career
Movie roles
Frédérique Bel made her acting debut in 2000 playing a small role in the comedy film Deuxième vie and later in the 2003 comedy film La Beuze. She then had famous supporting roles in comedy and romantic films. These include Tu vas rire, mais je te quitte in 2004, Imposture and The Russian Dolls in 2005. She portrayed Miss France in the 2006 science fiction comedy Un ticket pour l'espace and later featured in the comedy film Camping which had a box office of 5.5 million viewers. The same year, film director Emmanuel Mouret gave her a role in his romantic comedy Change of Address, also featuring himself. She later featured in three other of his films, which are Shall We Kiss? in 2007, Fais-moi plaisir! in 2009, in which she appeared completely naked in one scene, and The Art of Love in 2011.
In 2013, she played one of the main roles in the romantic comedy Hôtel Normandy, filmed in the prestigious hotel Normandy Barrière located in the town of Deauville. In 2014, she portrayed one of the main characters in the comedy film Serial (Bad) Weddings with Christian Clavier and Chantal Lauby. The film was a huge success with a box office of over 200,000 viewers on its release date. She then featured the same year in the comedy-drama La Liste de mes envies, which was released soon after and is an adaptation from the novel of the same title, released in 2012.
Television roles
Frédérique Bel portraying her character of Dorothy Doll from La Minute Blonde.
Frédérique Bel began her career on television in 2001 playing a supporting role in the French sitcom Le Groupe which features stories about a group of students and their misadventures. She then rose to fame for creating and portraying the humoristic character of Dorothy Doll, in the sequence titled La Minute Blonde, where she portrays a blond stereotype talking to a celebrity made of cardboard. The sequence was included in Le Grand Journal on Canal+ hosted by Michel Denisot during the first and second season from September 2004 to June 2006.
Frédérique Bel has also played in television films such as the 2006 mini-series Petits meurtres en famille, and later in the 2012 crime series Profilage, where she portrays a manipulating lawyer until the end of the third season. To give the impression of a manipulating character, she even had to lower the tone of her voice to play the role.[4] She had in between a supporting role in the sixth season of the historical fantasy series Kaamelott, where she portrayed Caesar's servant. She later had a regular role from 2011 to 2013 in the comedy series Fais pas ci, fais pas ça from the fourth to the sixth season. She also had a guest role in specials of television series Scènes de ménages in 2013 and Nos chers voisins in 2014. She played as Virginie Delome in the Netflix Original Series La Mante in 2017.
Voice roles
Frédérique Bel started a career as a voice actress in 2007. Her shrill and particular voice, similar to a doll, gave her the opportunity to voice gentle female characters. She has since voiced in a number of animated films and series in both original and French versions. She began the same year in the third season of Canadian science fiction animated series Tripping the Rift, where she voiced the main character Six in the French version.
Frédérique Bel is the spokesperson of the foundation AMFE (Association Maladies Foie Enfants) that she supports since its creation. She created with her team a national campaign of prevention from liver disease of young children. She portrayed again for that occasion her character of Dorothy Doll from La Minute Blonde.
She is also an avid supporter and defender of women's rights all around the world, a cause that she has often expressed in the media and on the social networks. She posted on her Twitter account a picture of her naked to defend the right for the IVG (Interruption Volontaire de Grossesse, the French equivalent for abortion).[5]
Controversies
Frédérique Bel has posted pictures and comments via social networks which caused a lot of controversy. In 2012 on her official Twitter account, while supporting François Hollande during the 2012 French presidential election, she was suspended after having posted pictures of her naked,[6] only two days after having created her account. Her suspension was over three days later and she was allowed to post again on her account.[6]
In November 2014, her Facebook account was blocked for seven days for the head comment she posted on two articles she shared about trafficking of women in the Islamic State.[7] She then used her Twitter account to express her anger of being censored by Facebook.[7] She also added in an attached link the message she wrote them stating that she defends women's rights in the world and that she was angry for being blocked.[7]
