Smaïn

Smaïn (born Smaïn Fairouze, on January 3, 1958 in Constantine, Algeria) is a French comedian, humorist, writer, actor and director of Algerian descent.

Born in 1958 in Constantine, Algeria, to an unknown father and mother, Smaïn Fairouze was taken in by the children's ward of the civil hospital. In 1960, brought back to France by an administrative assistant, he joined his foster family. His adoptive father, a street sweeper at the Régie immobilière de la ville de Paris, was Algerian and his adoptive mother, a cleaning lady, was Moroccan. He attended the Notre-Dame school in Saint-Mandé and then the Saint-Michel high school in St Mandé. During his childhood, he practiced choral singing for many years.

Smaïn, to break into the world of show business, counted on the limitless support of his adoptive parents: «Of modest origins, they looked with suspicion at the world of artists. They constantly told me that there are many called and few chosen... But my desire quickly got the better of their advice! Unfortunately, they died too early to be able to benefit from my success. But I hope they would have been proud of it!».

Smaïn began with a long career in café-théâtre in the 1980s, performing in small Parisian cabarets. Later, he met Philippe Bouvard who offered him a place in his Théâtre de Bouvard. It was there that he expanded his circle of friends by meeting Didier Bourdon, Bernard Campan, Pascal Légitimus and Seymour Brussel. With these four companions, he formed a small com…