Stage and screen actress. Her family was originally from Villemur. She moved to La Rochelle at the time of the phylloxera crisis. She kept close contact with her relatives from Villebrumier, the Gaffié family, so much so that during her youth, the young girl and her mother often visited their cousins.
The family then moved to Paris to run a business. The young Joëlle took acting lessons at the "Conservatoire de Paris" and passed the entrance exam to the Comédie Française at the age of 22. The actress then acquires the house on rue Gambetta in Villebrumier, still owned by her family. She married Léo Laks (1906-66), a man who owned studios in Saint-Cloud for dubbing and film effects and whose name appeared in the credits of many films under the pseudonym of 'Lax.' Some villagers remember this beautiful young woman with her exquisite toiletries and a large hat of the latest fashion. Others remember the imposing 'Cadillac' car driven by her husband. At the Comédie Française, where she became a popular and respected member (sociétaire) on Jan 1, 1953, she plays all the important roles in the repertoire, written by great authors such as Molière, Musset or Feydeau. Her partners include Robert Hirsch, Jean Piat, Georges Descrières, François Chaumette, Jacques Toja, Marcel Aumont, Robert Manuel, Louis Seignier, Jacques Charon, Michel Galabru, Gisèle Casadesus, Jeanne Moreau, and many others. She played her last role there just two weeks before her death on July 10, 1960, in Jules Renard's "Le Pain de Ménage" (as Marthe). Screen credits include " Violetas imperiales" (1952), "Les 3 Mousquetaires" (1953), "Du rififi chez les hommes" (1955), "Le gorille vous salue bien" (1958) and "Les femmes savantes" (1959/TV). At the end of the 1950s, suffering from leukemia, she had repeatedly to stay away from the scene. She died at the young age of 36, while in the Basque country, where she stayed to recover. On the day of her funeral, Villebrumier was invaded by personalities and journalists who paid her last respects.