Didier Morville (; born 27 October 1967), better known by his

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

JoeyStarr, is a French rapper, record producer and actor, from Saint-Denis,

Île-de-France The Île-de-France (; ; ) is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 residents on 1 January 2023. Centered on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the cou ...

. He co-founded the French rap band

Suprême NTM Suprême NTM (), or simply NTM, is a French hip hop band formed in 1989 in Saint-Denis, Île-de-France. The band comprises rappers JoeyStarr and Kool Shen. Their 6 albums were released by Sony Music. The group takes its name from the French ...

in 1989 along with

Kool Shen Bruno Lopes (, ; born 9 February 1966), better known as Kool Shen, is a French rapper, actor and producer, with Portuguese and Breton origins. He is also a break dancer and a graffiti artist. He is a co-founder of Suprême NTM and one of the ...

Life and career

Childhood and upbringing

JoeyStarr is from a family originating from the French overseas department of

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

. He had a difficult childhood, having been raised by his violent father until he turned 18. He was taken from his mother when he was five years old, and only saw her again 18 years later. He tells of a time when his father killed his pet rabbit and made him eat it. In 1985, he joined the military at

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

, "19 months of hell", an experience which he raps about in his album ''Authentik''. After the army, he wandered the streets, sleeping in subways and alleys. He discovered drugs and hip-hop, and the latter changed his life.

Suprême NTM

During his time on the streets, he met another aspiring rapper,

, who was also born in Saint-Denis. In 1988 they formed the group

alias NTM. When the first single came out in 1989, he could not cash the check, since he could not provide an address or a bank account. The group achieved record sales with their four albums, but split in 1998. It had a comeback as announced on 13 March 2008.

Personal life

JoeyStarr had an infamous romantic liaison with French actress

Béatrice Dalle Béatrice Dalle (born 19 December 1964) is a French actress and model. She has appeared in over fifty films and is best known internationally for her debut role in the 1986 film '' 37°2 le matin'' (also released as ''Betty Blue''). Béatrice Da ...

, and the couple appeared on TV shows and promotional events. JoeyStarr has two sons, Mathis and Kalil, with his current girlfriend, hip-hop journalist Leïla Dixmier. In 1999, he was sentenced to two months in prison for physically harassing a flight attendant. He was also sentenced to three months in prison and fined 2,000 euros for physically abusing a former partner. His criminal record includes 13 infractions. In 2003, he was condemned for animal brutality for hitting a monkey on national television, and was heavily criticized in the press and by his fans.

Awards and nominations

;Music *2007: "Best rap artist" during ''L'Année du hip-hop Les trophées'' *2008: "Best concert" during ''L'Année du hip-hop Les trophées'' ;Acting *2010: Nomination for "Best actor in a secondary role" during

César Award Cesar or César may refer to: Arts and entertainment * César (film), ''César'' (film), a 1936 French romantic drama * César (film), ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt Places * Cesar, Portugal * Cesar Department, Colombia * Cesar R ...

for his role in ''Le Bal des actrices'' *2012: Nomination for "Best actor in a secondary role" during César Award for his role in ''

Poliss ''Polisse'' (released at some film festivals as ''Poliss'', ) is a 2011 French crime drama film written, directed by and starring Maïwenn. It also stars Joeystarr, Karin Viard, Marina Foïs, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Emmanuelle Bercot and Riccardo S ...

e'' *2012: Laureate for Patrick Dewaere Award

Discography

Albums

;Mixtapes *2006: ''My Playlist'' *2007: ''L'Anthology Mixtape''

Singles

Filmography

Film

Television

*1990 : ''Le Lyonnais'' (1 episode "Taggers) *2001 : ''Toc toc toc'' (TV mini series) as himself *2002 : '' H'' - (1 episode, "Lucifer") *2003 : 60 jours 60 nuits de Juliette Baudouin as himself *2008-2010 : ''Mafiosa, le clan'' as Moktar *2015 : ''

Call My Agent ! ''Call My Agent!'' () is a French comedy-drama television series that premiered on France 2 on 14 October 2015. The series depicts talent agents at the fictional agency ASK () and their relationships with their actor clients, who are real, mainl ...

'' as himself

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Joeystarr 1967 births Living people Actors from Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis Male actors from Île-de-France Rappers from Seine-Saint-Denis Black French musicians French male rappers French people of Martiniquais descent French male film actors French male television actors 21st-century French male actors Black French male actors