# Mimie Mathy

Michèle "Mimie" Mathy (born 8 July 1957) is a French actress, comedian and singer. A former member of the female comedy trio "Les Filles" with Michèle Bernier and Isabelle de Botton, Mathy is best known for her starring role in the long-running Josephine, Guardian Angel television series. Mathy has achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism, and is 4 ft 4 in (1.32 m) tall.

## Life and career

Interested in the theatre from childhood, she studied the dramatic arts from 1979 to 1981 at Michel Fugain's workshop in Nice. In the early 1980s she performed in a number of theatre roles and appeared in Le Petit Théâtre de Bouvard television show. She formed a touring comedy troupe "Le Trio des Filles" (The Three Girls) which performed shows such as Existe en trois tailles (Available in Three Sizes) from 1988 to 1993. In 1993 she performed in the TV movie Une nounou pas comme les autres (A Nanny Like No Other), which garnered a 52.7% market share (~12 million viewers) in France.
She has starred in the title role of TV series Joséphine Ange Gardien (Joséphine, Guardian Angel) since 1997: the show reached popularity in France.
In 2006 she released a music record, La Vie M'a Raconté (Life Told Me) produced by Patrick Fiori.

## Personal life

Mathy first met restaurateur Benoist Gérard when she picked him out of the audience, as part of one of her stage comedy routines. They became romantically involved, and married on 27 August 2005.

## Philanthropy

Since 1994, Mathy has performed at least 15 times in the annual Les Enfoirés (The Tossers) charity concert for Restaurants du Cœur (Restaurants of the Heart). Les Enfoirés was the most watched TV show in France in 2009, with 12.3 million viewers.
Mathy is a former National Goodwill Ambassador for the French branch of the UNICEF.

## Awards and recognition

François Dorieux named a rose cultivar for her in 1999. In 2009 she was selected the sixth most popular French celebrity and highest ranking female celebrity by the weekly Le Journal du Dimanche. Mathy received the title of Knight (Chevalier) of the French Order of Merit in 2013, and was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour in 2015.

## Discography

| Year | Title | Sales |
| 2006 | La vie m'a raconté (Life told me) | 60,000 |

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
| 1982-1985 | Le Petit Théâtre de Bouvard | Various | Nino Monti | TV series |
| 1984 | La jeune femme en vert | The servant | Lazare Iglesis | TV movie |
| 1994 | Une nounou pas comme les autres | Julie Toronto | Eric Civanyan | TV movie |
| 1995 | Amimicalement | The Host | Gilles Amado | TV show |
| 1995 | Une nana pas comme les autres | Julie Toronto | Eric Civanyan | TV movie |
| 1997–present | Josephine, Guardian Angel | Joséphine Delamarre | Jean-Marc Seban, Pascal Heylbroeck, ... | TV series (103 episodes) 7 d'Or - Best Actress - Soap or Series (1997) 7 d'Or - Best Actress - Soap or Series (2000) 7 d'Or - Best Actress - Soap or Series (2003) |
| 1998 | Famille de coeur | Nadine Lefort | Gérard Vergez | TV movie |
| 1998 | Changement de cap | Marilyn | Patrick Malakian | TV movie |
| 2000 | Family Pack | Elisa Kessler | Chris Vander Stappen | |
| 2000 | Marie et Tom | Marie Bertin | Dominique Baron | TV movie |
| 2004 | À trois c'est mieux | Juju | Laurence Katrian | TV movie |
| 2005 | La bonne copine | Juliette | Nicolas Cuche | TV movie |
| 2011 | Amimicalement | The Host | Pascal Duchêne | TV show |
| 2011 | Trois filles en cavale | Vicky Lebel | Didier Albert | TV movie |
| 2013 | Link 2 | Herself | Daniel Bésikian & Franck Guedj | Short |
| 2017 | Le prix de la vérité | Capitaine Marie Jourdan | Emmanuel Rigaut | TV movie |
| 2018 | Camping paradis | Joséphine Delamarre | Philippe Proteau | TV series (1 episode) |
| 2018 | Demain nous appartient | Pénélope | David Lanzmann, Jérôme Navarro, ... | TV series (5 episodes) |
| 2019 | Le prix de la loyauté | Capitaine Marie Jourdan | Emmanuel Rigaut | TV movie |
| 2020 | I Love You Coiffure | Madame Plantin | Muriel Robin | TV movie |
| 2020 | Call My Agent! | Herself | Marc Fitoussi | TV series (2 episodes) |
| 2022 | Le prix de la trahison | Capitaine Marie Jourdan | François Guérin | TV movie |
| 2023 | Léo Matteï, brigade des mineurs | Chantal | Hervé Renoh | TV series (2 episodes) |

## Theatre

| Year | Title | Director | Author | Place | Notes |
| 1982-1983 | Elle voit des géants partout | Mimie Mathy & Didier Biosca | Jean-Claude Martin | Point Virgule | One-woman show |
| 1985-1986 | Mimie en quête d'hauteur | Mimie Mathy & Didier Biosca | Jean-Claude Martin | Théâtre de la Potinière | One-woman show |
| 1988-1990 | Existe en trois tailles | Patrick Timsit | Mimie Mathy, Michèle Bernier & Isabelle de Botton | Théâtre de la Michodière | Play |
| 1991-1993 | Le Gros N'avion | Éric Civanyan | Mimie Mathy, Michèle Bernier & Isabelle de Botton | Théâtre de la Michodière | Play |
| 1994-1996 | Mimie au Splendid | Pierre Palmade | Pierre Palmade | Le Splendid | One-woman show |
| 2002-2004 | J'adore papoter avec vous | Roger Louret | Muriel Robin & Mimie Mathy | Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin | One-woman show |
| 2013-2015 | Je (re)papote avec vous | Roger Louret | Muriel Robin, Mimie Mathy & Jean-Philippe Lemmonier | Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin | One-woman show |