Julia Vignali and Kad Merad Married: The Project She Doesn’t Feel Ready to Take On With Him
Julia Vignali has addressed the possibility of working in cinema alongside her husband, actor Kad Merad, and made clear that such a project is not something she sees herself doing for now. In an interview published by Télé 7 Jours on Monday, June 1, she said she has great respect for actors and believes a long career must be built gradually, with time and experience. For her, sharing the screen with Merad would require a level of artistic legitimacy she does not feel she has yet earned. Rather than jumping straight into a joint film, she prefers to continue developing her own path.
At 50, Vignali says she wants to build a career with two complementary sides: television presenting and fiction. Her professional journey has already moved between several formats. She began in acting at the end of the 1990s, appeared in television series, and also took roles in films such as Brillantissime, La Ch’tite Famille and Le Doudou. However, television remains the space where she is most visible to the public. Over the years, she has worked on programs including Les Maternelles, C à vous and Le Meilleur Pâtissier on M6, before joining Télématin on France 2 in August 2021 alongside Thomas Sotto. Two years later, she took over from Sophie Davant as host of Affaire conclue.
The presenter also spoke about her future ambitions. She revealed that she is currently working with France Télévisions on a fiction project set in the regions, in which she will play the lead role. Even so, she insisted that she does not want to leave presenting behind in favor of acting. Instead, she hopes to combine both professions in the final phase of her career. She said that, after the age of 50, her goal is to blend animation and acting rather than choose one over the other.
Vignali’s comments also reflect a more grounded perspective on fame and ambition than she may have had earlier in life. She explained that when she was younger, she might have dreamed of sharing the bill with major actors immediately. Today, she says her priority is different: being close to people, a quality she values in her role on Affaire conclue. For her, connection with the audience now matters more than chasing a grandiose project.
Married to Kad Merad since November 2022, Vignali shares a blended family life with the actor, who is known for his breakthrough role in Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis and more recent appearance on Prime Video’s LOL : qui rit, sort !. Merad has a son, Kalil, while Vignali is mother to Luigi, born in 2006 from a previous relationship.
Vignali will next appear in a special prime-time edition of Affaire conclue on France 3 on Friday, June 12, 2026. The episode will take viewers to the Clos Lucé in Indre-et-Loire, one of Leonardo da Vinci’s final residences, with a mix of classic sales, candlelit auctions and sealed-bid bidding.
