Jean-Marc Thibault was born in Saint-Bris-le-Winey, France in 1923. His sister later married politician Lionel Jospin. After attending theatre classes at the Simon course, Thibault worked in dance halls and played sketches in cabarets. His first film appearance was in Premier de cordée (1944, Louis Daquin).
Thibault and Roger Pierre formed a comedy duo, performing in Parisian cabarets such as le Tabou, le Caveau de la Terreur, l'Amiral, and le Moulin-Rouge. They wrote over 3,000 sketches and songs together and appeared in numerous TV shows and film comedies.
