Comedian Gad Elmaleh Uncovers Surprising Family Polygamy Secret

The actor confided to the magazine Marie-Claire (January 2021 issue) that his grandfather, the manager of a hardware store, had two wives, of which he was unaware. It was his sister who revealed this family secret to him.

"One who was presented to me all my childhood as being my great-grandmother. And my grandmother. Married by force, as a teenager, because the first one could not give birth, he explained. I recently learned from my sister [Judith Elmaleh, editor’s note] that our father was the first of her seven children that she managed to keep without him being sent to the other one. My grandmother’s name was Simha. ’Simha’ means joy in Hebrew," he recounted.

Gad had a special relationship with Simha, with whom he took his first steps in comedy by imitating his neighbors.