2009 during a visit by Dieudonné to Iran where they reportedly discussed their shared anti-Zionist views. Personal life Dieudonné M'bala M'bala was born in Fontenay-aux-Roses, Hauts-de-Seine, France. He is the son of a retired sociologist from Brittany, who is also a painter and exhibits under the name Josiane Grué, and an accountant from Ekoudendi, Cameroon. His parents divorced when he was one year old, and he was brought up by his mother. He attended Catholic school, though his mother was a New Age Buddhist. Dieudonné lives with Noémie Montagne, his producer, and has five children with her. Performing career Dieudonné began writing and practicing routines with his childhood friend, Jewish comedian and actor Élie Semoun. They formed a comedic duo, Élie et Dieudonné (Élie and Dieudonné), and performed in local cafés and bars while Dieudonné worked as a salesman, selling cars, telephones, and photocopy machines. In 1992, a Paris comedian spotted them and helped them stage their first professional show. In the 1990s, they appeared on stage and on television together as "Élie et Dieudonné". In 1997 they split and each went on to a solo theater career. In 1998, they reunited in a screen comedy, Le Clone, which was a failure critically and financially. From the mid-1990s Dieudonné appeared in several French film comedies, primarily in supporting roles. His most successful screen appearance to date was in Alain Chabat's box-office hit Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra in 2002; in 2004 he appeared in Maurice Barthélémy's box office bomb Casablanca Driver. Dieudonné's successful one-man shows include Pardon Judas (2000), Le divorce de Patrick (2003), and 1905 (2005). Other one-man shows were Mes Excuses (2004), Dépôt de bilan (2006) and J'ai fait l'con (2008), all understood as attacks on political and social opponents and defences of his own positions. Anti-Semitic statements made within and around these productions led to intense controversy and numerous lawsuits. Following the 2005 civil unrest in France, Dieudonné also penned a play called Émeutes en banlieue (Riots in the Suburbs, February 2006). In 2009, surrounded by scandals (see below, "Political activities"), Dieudonné launched two one-man shows: Liberté d’expression (Freedom of expression) and Sandrine. While the latter was a follow-up to Le divorce de Patrick, the former was conceived as a series of itinerant "conferences" on "free speech". Started on 18 June 2010 in his theater, Dieudonné's most recent show to date, Mahmoud (standing for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) has