Jacques Villeret: what was his real name ?

Jacques Villeret is an actor who needs no introduction. While he has had many roles in the cinema, he is always very discreet about his private life and especially about his childhood. By the way, he officially became Jacques Villeret when he was 40 years old.

© Bestimage Jacques Villeret was not born with this first name and this last name.

IN BRIEF

• Jacques Villeret was raised by his stepfather Raymond Villeret after his parents divorced.
• He chose to change his name at the age of 40 to adopt his stepfather's name, despite having no connection with his biological father.
• Discover how Jacques Villeret's complex family past influenced his life and identity.

On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the death of Jacques Villeret, we are taking a little more interest in his childhood, with which he remained discreet. Moreover, he was not born with the first name and surname that made him famous. In fact, he was born on February 6, 1951 in Tours, to an Algerian father living in France, Ahmed Boufroura, and a French mother, Annette Bonnin.

He never had a traditional family life since his parents divorced when he was nine months old, a little over a year after getting married. It was his mother's new son, Raymond Villeret, who raised him. He was also the one who chose to name him Jacky when his name was Mohammed Boufroura. But it was only when he was 40, after having found his biological father, that he decided to change his civil status to take the name of the man who raised him.

Jacques Villeret's biological father went to prison shortly after his birth

So, he chose to be called Jacques Villeret. Although he never had a link with his biological father, he had a blood brother, Ahmin, another son of Ahmed Boufroura. In the columns of La Nouvelle République, he éhad returned to the story of the actor who won a César. “Three months later, at birth, my father recognized Jacky and ten months later, Annette's parents who ended up accusing my father of abduction of a minor (at the time, the majority was 21 years old), obtained his arrest and the couple's divorce“, he had explained.

“When he got out of prison, he no longer had the right to see his son or his ex-wife. The only link with them is the money he is condemned to pay them for the education of the child.” He had then left to settle in Paris to work and achieve pay the sum for the education of his son, whom he will never see again.

Jacques Villeret never saw his biological father again

“He never saw Annette and Jacky again. It was his great pain. I saw it in his eyes. Annette was his first love, the strongest. This past remained alive in him, even when he rebuilt his life with my mother“, he had also confided Ahmin Boufroura.