Michèle Doïna Laroque was born on Wednesday June 15, 1960, at the Santa Maria clinic in Nice. She is the daughter of Doïna Trandabur, a Romanian dancer and violinist who fled the communist dictatorship in Romania then led by Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej. His father, Claude Laroque, of French nationality, is a real estate developer.

Pierre Laroque, a senior civil servant who set up social security in France, is a cousin of his father.

She then lived in the Musicians district and studied economics and English at the University of Nice. She stays in the United States on the Austin campus in Texas. She obtained a degree in economics and a diploma in general university studies in English.

In 1979, in the company of her best friend, she was the victim of a terrible car accident which led them both to the clinic for two years, with a multitude of femur fractures in 18 pieces. During this period, she underwent a dozen operations, two years in bed and a long convalescence. It was following this psychological trauma that she decided to become an actress. Recovering from her accident in 1981 after a long rehabilitation, she resumed her studies and took classes with Julien Bertheau at the Municipal Conservatory of Antibes. Recommended to Jean Poiret, she went to Paris at the age of 25 to perform her first play in 1985 at the Théâtre des Blancs-Manteaux (one of the halls of which bears her name) in René Badache's play Save the women babies, staged by Francoise Thyrion. In 1987 at the Théâtre des Variétés, It's even better in the afternoon by Ray Cooney, adapted by Jean Poiret. She then chained roles in the theater for seven years. She was nominated for the César for Best Actress in La Crise (1992) and Pédale Douce (1996).