Jamel Debbouze Reflects on Father’s Death and Parenting Son in Candid Interview

Ahmed Touzani died on March 14, 2021, swept away by a sudden illness. "Rest in peace Dad. Thank you for everything. We will never forget you," the comedian had written as a tribute to his father. More than a year later, he is still marked by this tragic loss. "It changes everything. I just lost mine, I only have my mom left. But my father has never been as present as he is today," he explained in an interview with the newspaper Le Monde. "When I need to educate my son, very often I think of him," he added.

Married on May 7, 2008, Jamel Debbouze and Mélissa Theuriau have two children together: Léon, 13, and Lila, 10. The couple leads a peaceful and fulfilling life. "I think fortunately that our couple works because otherwise my children would always want to be with their father. It would be awful. I wouldn’t see my children," the actor’s wife from Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra confided on the show En Aparté (Canal +) last March.