Nawell Madani

Nawell Madani is an Algerian‑Belgian comedian, television presenter and producer who has become a prominent voice in Francophone comedy. Born on 25 October 1979 in Watermael‑Boitsfort, Belgium, she grew up in a large family of six children to an Algerian taxi‑driver father and a nurse mother, and survived third‑degree burns at the age of two, experiences that forged her resilient, tomboy personality. After completing her basic education, Madani moved to Paris at 21 with aspirations of becoming a professional choreographer and dancer, only to return briefly to Belgium before embarking on a series of dance tours; disillusioned by industry pressures such as being asked to wear bikinis, she abandoned choreography, worked as an artistic director of an Antwerp nightclub, and discovered a passion for acting. She enrolled at Studio Pygmalion in late 2008, supplemented her training with courses by Damien Acoca and the “Laboratory of the Actor” led by Hélène Zidi‑Chéruy, and was soon spotted by the artistic director of the Jamel Comedy Club in a small venue called The Pranzo. Invited to a casting, Madani became the only woman to join Jamel Debbouze’s troupe, launching her comedy career in September 2011, though she left after six months, citing a “world full of ego and competition.” Her television breakthrough came on Télé Sud’s Backstage, where she interviewed international music stars such as Rick Ross, Shaggy, Wyclef Jean, Kery James, Nas and Chris Brown, and she co‑presented MTV’s Shake Your Body with Cut Killer in 2011. In September 2012 she joined the Grand Journal as a commentator, and the following year founded the collective Jam’Girls, a TV programme that spotlighted a new generation of female comedians on Chérie 25 and Comédie. In 2014 she staged her first one‑woman show, C’est moi la plus belge, touring Paris’s Palais des Glaces and French Zenith venues while tackling taboo subjects such as North‑African women’s virginity and homosexuality; the show earned her a place at Montreal’s Juste pour rire festival. Her talent was further recognized in 2015 when she won the Best One‑Man Show award at the Globe de Cristal ceremony.