couple, children, retirement, origins… everything you need to know

Happy birthday Jean Benguigui ! This native of Algiers celebrates his 80th birthday on April 8! But how well do you know this figure of French cinema who has a 55-year career and 32 plays to his credit? Here’s what you might not have known about him…

The latest information on Jean Benguigui

Who is Jean Benguigui in a relationship with?

For more than twenty-five years now, Jean Benguigui has shared his life with the woman he married in 1998, named Sylvie. Unknown to the general public, she is very discreet, unlike her theater man husband. Besides, he admits it himself: she never shows herself, not even in his company. “She is very discreet. She doesn’t like having her photo taken. Besides, I don’t have any photos of her on my phone”entrusted the brand new octogenarian to Jordan De Luxe last October.

And it’s up to him to continue: “For example, when we go to the cinema or the theater at a premiere, she walks away, she doesn’t want to be with me. She’s a woman who is like that, very discreet. And she’s one of her greatest qualities”.

Is Jean Benguigui a father?

Jean Benguigui, himself from a family of three children (he has two sisters), has an only son, the singer Antoine Léonpaul. Information that the main party only confirmed very recently. Born in Annecy in the mid-1970s, from a previous union of the French actor (the identity of his mother has always been kept secret), the artist now lives in Berlin where he continues to write and compose songs. And although Jean Benguigui believes he was a present father for his son, he also, “missed a lot of birthdays“, according to his confidences on the set of Jordan’s.

Jean Benguigui and money: a sometimes complex relationship

If Jean Benguigui was able to establish himself as an essential figure in cinema, theater, and even television, this did not prevent him from encountering some financial difficulties. This is also what he confided to Jordan De Luxe a few months ago. He who considers himself as “spender” has indeed experienced a somewhat complicated period.

“I remember a time when I had a big debt: like 40 million francs, so I had to make some arrangements”, began the great friend of Pierre Benichou and Claude Sarraute. Who was also able to count on another of his very good friends to save the day.

“It’s happened to me a few times, but I’ve always been rescued by people who saved my life”, he detailed. And for him to specify: “I think of my friend Jean-Claude Darmon, the advertising man. When I had this tax debt, he acted as guarantor for me for a bank loan”. Before concluding : “It’s nice, it means he’s really committed. It’s better than giving away a little money like that”.

Today, Jean Benguigui receives a comfortable retirement of 3,300 euros. “Compared to minimum wage, it’s good“, he commented.

What are Jean Benguigui’s political opinions?

The one we recently saw in Alexandre Arcady’s film, The Little Blond of the Casbah, never hid his political opinions. Moreover, in 2012, he publicly supported François Hollande. Asked by Jordan De Luxe about current political life, he did not hesitate for a single second: “I followed the socialist party a lot, I am a social democrat, always”. And it’s up to him to give his opinion on the rise of the far-right in France: “We have to see who founded the extreme right (…) it has racist, extremist roots”.

If Jean Benguigui has enjoyed great success in cinema and theater, it is to Laurent Ruquier that he owes his entry into the world of media. In fact, he was part of the troop of We’re going to get in troublefrom that of We tried everything, We just want to laugh about itthen, more recently, those of Big heads.

Experiences that go far beyond the professional. Moreover, the 80-year-old man affirms: his “life changed from that moment (when he met Laurent Ruquier, editor’s note)”. Questioned immediately by host Jordan de Luxe about their current relationship, he was quick to respond: “I am close friends with Laurent Ruquier”. Before showering him with praise and ending with: “He gives gifts, he takes you on vacation, he invites you, he is royal”.