Dominique Michel

Dominique Michel

Born: September 24, 1932
in Sorel-Tracy, Québec, Canada
Dominique Michel (born Aimée Sylvestre; September 24, 1932 in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec) is a Quebec comedian, actress, singer and artist.

She began her career in cabarets performing songs written by Raymond Lévesque and subsequently sang with Jean Coutu. She made her television debut co-hosting a variety show then widened her audience with her first sitcom Moi et l'autre in which she co-starred with Denise Filiatrault. The show was an enormous success during its run from 1966 to 1972 and made Michel a household name in Quebec.

She has been married only once in 1958 to New York Rangers all star Camille Henry but later divorced in 1960.

From 1977 to 1982, she had numerous leading roles in television programs such as Dominique, Chère Isabelle and Métro-boulot-dodo.

Michel's first film role was in Tiens-toi bien après les oreilles à papa with Yvon Deschamps in 1971. She played for cineast Denys Arcand in two movies well known outside of Quebec: The Decline of the American Empire (Le Déclin de l'empire américain) and its sequel The Barbarian Invasions (Les Invasions barbares).

She is also a comedian. She notably co-starred with Daniel Lemire and has hosted the Festival Juste pour rire multiple times. Michel also showed her multiple comedic talents in the year-end review show Bye Bye from Radio-Canada in which she would do multiple impressions on top of hosting the 90 minutes special.

In 1992, Michel received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement in broadcasting. In 1994, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada "for her encouragement of humour and her contribution to the cultural life of the country."[1] In 2002, she was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec. In 1995, she received, jointly with Denise Filiatrault, the Grand Prix Gémeau from l'Académie canadienne du cinéma et de la télévision for lifetime achievements.

In 2010, at 77, it was announced that she had colon cancer. After undergoing chemotherapy treatments, she declared in April 2011 that she was cancer-free.

Movies for Dominique Michel...

Janette Bertrand : à l'aube d'être centenaire
Title: Janette Bertrand : à l'aube d'être centenaire
Character: Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Released: November 17, 2023
Type: Movie
Janette Bertrand will soon celebrate her 100th birthday. This intimate documentary, dotted with archives, pays tribute to this great lady, who devoted her life to providing popular education and breaking taboos. Through her daily life as a nearly century-old woman, Janette takes stock of her career.
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Jukebox
Title: Jukebox
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: September 4, 2020
Type: Movie
In the mid-1950s, Denis Pantis, the son of Greek immigrants, became obsessed with rock ’n’ roll. His dream was to be the next Elvis, but instead he became Quebec’s most important record producer of the 1960s. Jukebox looks back on the career of “the king of the 45.” A new generation of stars, producers, musicians and lyricists emerged alongside him, establishing an independent recording industry unparalleled anywhere in the world.
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Title: La semaine des 4 Julie
Character: Self
Released: January 6, 2020
Type: TV
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Valérie et moi
Title: Valérie et moi
Character: Self
Released: December 13, 2019
Type: Movie
A meeting between the character of yesterday and the woman of today. A life later, Danielle Ouimet revisits the different stages and circumstances of the film's creation. Its impact here, around the world, but also on her own career and personal life.
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Title: Bonsoir bonsoir!
Character: Self
Released: April 1, 2019
Type: TV
Each day, Jean-Philippe Wauthier welcomes guests on the show in warm, friendly setting. His interviews focus on their newsworthy achievements but also, and most importantly, on their passions, interests and opinions.
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Title: Cette année-là
Character: Self
Released: September 15, 2018
Type: TV
A culture show set hosted by Marc Labrèche and his collaborators, Simon Boulerice, Émilie Perreault and Fred Savard. Each week, based on a significant year in history, they revisit a cultural event of a previous era and compare it with today’s yardstick. The hosts and their guests examine subjects that link the chosen year to what’s hot in cultural circles right now.
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Juste pour rire - 35 ans d'ovations
Title: Juste pour rire - 35 ans d'ovations
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: October 1, 2017
Type: Movie
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Title: Conversation secrète
Character: Self
Released: September 24, 2017
Type: TV
Paul Arcand conducts interviews as he strolls with guests from all walks of life, including entertainment, business, politics and sports, through the streets of Montreal or other cities, under the gaze of passers-by.
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Title: Le beau dimanche
Character: Self
Released: May 21, 2017
Type: TV
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Title: MTL
Character: Self
Released: April 13, 2017
Type: TV
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Title: Vox pop
Character: Self
Released: April 19, 2016
Type: TV
The first vox pops are of inestimable sociological value. Now, decades later, André Robitaille takes his mike to the street again to ask passers-by questions on the same subjects. Have we changed at all?
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Title: Les échangistes
Character: Self
Released: April 4, 2016
Type: TV
Host Penelope McQuade welcomes three celebrities each evening, along with two different swapping contributors who will intervene, make critical comments and spice up the conversations!
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Title: Marina
Character: Self
Released: October 27, 2014
Type: TV
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Title: Viens-tu faire un tour?
Character: Self
Released: May 25, 2014
Type: TV
Michel Barrette hits the road with public figures. Every drive is the perfect opportunity to share a moment, a chat and a trip down memory lane. For each outing, Michel selects the car best suited to his guest from his personal collection.
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Title: Qui êtes-vous?
Character: Self
Released: November 9, 2013
Type: TV
Public figures take a trip to the place where their most quaint and colourful ancestors lived. They meet historians, genealogists, archivists, museum conservationists and other guardians of history who help them relive their remarkable ancestors.
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Title: On passe à l'Histoire
Character: Self
Released: September 16, 2013
Type: TV
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Title: Les enfants de la télé
Character: Self
Released: September 15, 2010
Type: TV
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Title: Juste pour rire: 25 grands numéros
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 2008
Type: TV
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Title: Le moment de vérité
Character: Self
Released: September 22, 2007
Type: TV
Each week, three teams must train and successfully complete a skill-testing challenge in order to win once-in-a-lifetime dream prizes.
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Title: La petite séduction
Character: Self
Released: May 1, 2006
Type: TV
Dany Turcotte invites celebrities to discover a small rural towns in unexpected and surprising ways. Events are carefully planned cater to the celebrity’s tastes, desires and passions.
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Title: Tout le monde en parle
Character: Self
Released: September 12, 2004
Type: TV
Host Guy A. Lepage brings together six to eight personalities from different milieus—sports, politics, stage productions and more—that are the subject of everyone’s conversations and/or are important figures in recent events. Participants are invited to speak freely, voicing their opinions on headline news or on a subject that is near and dear to them. 
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Title: C'est dans l'air!
Character: Self
Released: September 6, 2004
Type: TV
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The Barbarian Invasions
Title: The Barbarian Invasions
Character: Dominique
Released: September 24, 2003
Type: Movie
In this belated sequel to 'The Decline of the American Empire', middle-aged Montreal college professor, Remy, learns that he is dying of liver cancer. His ex-wife, Louise, asks their estranged son, Sebastian, a successful businessman living in London, to come home. Sebastian makes the impossible happen, using his contacts and disrupting the Canadian healthcare system in every way possible to help his father fight his terminal illness to the bitter end, while reuniting some of Remy's old friends, including Pierre, Alain, Dominique, Diane, and Claude, who return to see their friend before he passes on.
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Title: Viens voir les comédiens
Character: Self
Released: September 20, 2002
Type: TV
Viens voir les comédiens is a television show on the Canadian French-language arts and culture television network ARTV.
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Laura Cadieux II
Title: Laura Cadieux II
Character: La belle-mère
Released: December 3, 1999
Type: Movie
Laura Cadieux and her friends are taking a cruise on the St. Lawrence River to celebrate Laura's 50th birthday.
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Title: Catherine
Character: Rachel Salvail
Released: September 10, 1999
Type: TV
Catherine was a Quebec sitcom that aired on Radio-Canada from 1999 to 2003. It tells the story of Catherine, a sexy, epicurean, man-crazy Montrealer in her thirties working at the advertising agency Mirage-Image, as well as the story of her best friend and orderly flatmate Sophie, her landlord Rachel, her ex-boyfriend Pierre and other friends and co-workers.
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Louis 19, King of the Airwaves
Title: Louis 19, King of the Airwaves
Character: Aline Jobin
Released: April 1, 1994
Type: Movie
Louis Jobin is an ordinary young man from Montreal who sells televisions at an electronics store. He wins a contest sponsored by the local cable company in which the first prize is that he'll be followed non-stop by a camera crew, with the footage broadcast live on Channel 19. Unfortunately, his ordinary life is so ordinary, despite the best efforts of his starstruck mother, that the producers attempt to spice things up behind his back.
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Les Tisserands du pouvoir
Title: Les Tisserands du pouvoir
Character: Henriette Fontaine
Released: October 21, 1988
Type: Movie
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Night Zoo
Title: Night Zoo
Character: Receptionist at peep-show
Released: May 1, 1987
Type: Movie
Marcel, recently released from prison, attempt to rebuild his relationship with his girlfriend Julie (now a prostitute) and especially his father Albert (who thinks he's been away on a long trip abroad), while being pursued by two corrupt cops (one of whom bears a longstanding grudge against him) for drug money he's alleged to possess.
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The Decline of the American Empire
Title: The Decline of the American Empire
Character: Dominique
Released: June 19, 1986
Type: Movie
Four very different Montreal university teachers gather at a rambling country house to prepare a dinner. Remy (married), Claude (a homosexual), Pierre (involved with a girlfriend) and Alain (a bachelor) discuss sex, the female body and their affairs with them. Meanwhile, their four female guests, Louise (Remy's wife of 15 years), Dominique (a spinster), Diane (a divorcée) and Danielle (Pierre's girlfriend) are spending the time at a downtown health gym. They also discuss sex, the female body and, naturally, men. Later in the evening, they finally meet at the country house and have dinner. A ninth guest, named Mario, who used to know Diane, drops in on the group for some talk and has a surprise of his own.
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Title: Le 101, ouest, avenue des Pins
Character: Sonia
Released: September 18, 1984
Type: TV
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Le crime d'Ovide Plouffe
Title: Le crime d'Ovide Plouffe
Character: L'agente de voyage
Released: August 29, 1984
Type: Movie
Ovide Plouffe has married Rita. She still tries to attract other men even after their marriage. Unhappy Ovide feels for Marie - a young French woman he had met. But his catholic background and surrounding can't let him love another woman or divorce from his wife. So Ovide finishes with Marie and plans a trip with Rita hoping for reconciliation. At the last instant he announces to Rita that he can't make the trip. She goes alone. The plane explodes, and Ovide is suspected and arrested for this horrible crime.
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Title: Champs-Elysées
Character: Self
Released: January 16, 1982
Type: TV
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Je suis loin de toi mignonne
Title: Je suis loin de toi mignonne
Character: Rita
Released: November 3, 1976
Type: Movie
In 1940, two sisters work in an ammunition factory, but dream of marriage.
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Les aventures d'une jeune veuve
Title: Les aventures d'une jeune veuve
Character: Hélène
Released: December 25, 1974
Type: Movie
A widow must cope with her late husband's associates, crooked Japanese businessmen who want her shares of a rich Northern Quebec land and a Jewish con man who wants to get a hand of her mysterious synthetic fur coat.
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There's Always a Way to Find a Way
Title: There's Always a Way to Find a Way
Character: Le Mère Supérieure
Released: September 27, 1973
Type: Movie
A bank clerk is driven by his brother-in-law in many adventures.
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I've Had It
Title: I've Had It
Character: Danielle Cartier
Released: February 23, 1973
Type: Movie
A Parisian named Cartier living in Quebec City and employee of a major English Canadian insurance company is promoted to a job in Vancouver. He brings along his annoying and hyperactive Quebecquer wife and his two young kids. Rolling on a trailer van and with no knowledge of the English language, it becomes a Trans-Canadian wacky journey for the French-speaking family, and might influence Mr.Cartier to reconsider accepting this important position...
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Hold on to Daddy's Ears
Title: Hold on to Daddy's Ears
Character: Suzanne David
Released: December 25, 1971
Type: Movie
The tribulations of two Québec nationalists in the English-speaking world of insurance. A satire that draws its irony from a specific social situation. A typical example of the era's popular comedies based on television and trendy stars, which gave birth to a certain commercial stream in Québec cinema.
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Title: Bye Bye
Released: December 31, 1968
Type: TV
Broadcast on December 31st, Bye Bye is a comic year-in-review which consists of sketches that parody the political, cultural and social events of the past year.
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Let's sing now
Title: Let's sing now
Character: Self
Released: February 9, 1956
Type: Movie
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Title: Juste Pour Rire - Galas
Character: Self
Released: December 31, 1969
Type: TV