Jamel Debbouze (Arabic: جمال دبّوز) (born June 18, 1975) is a French actor, comedian and producer of Moroccan descent, born in Paris.
In 1992, he got his first role in Nabil Ayouch's short film Les Pierres bleues du désert. Many people know him from the French television series H and his standup comedy show, Jamel Comedy Club. In 2001, he sold 400,000 videotapes of Jamel en scène. In 2002, he was the best paid actor in France.
On 17 January 1990, while crossing the tracks at the SNCF station in Trappes, Debbouze was struck by a Paris - Nantes train travelling at 150 km/hr. As a result of this accident he lost the use of his right arm. In the same incident another youth named Jean-Paul Admette, who was known to Debbouze, was killed. Debbouze was prosecuted in connection with the death of Admette but was discharged from the charge of "homicide involontaire" due to lack of evidence. The family of Admette have maintained that Debbouze is responsible for his death. In 2004, Debbouze cancelled a tour of Reunion, obstensively for reasons of health. It later emerged that the Admette family had planned to protest at the shows to draw attention to their position.
