Joséphine Jobert — things you didn't know about the Death in Paradise star
Joséphine Jobert is hugely popular as DI Florence Cassell in Death in Paradise, and she surprised everyone by coming back for Death in Paradise season 13. We think she'd be great as the next Death in Paradise detective when Ralf Little leaves the show.
She made her first appearance back in season 4 and has been in and out of the hit BBC One drama ever scene.
The French star has also had various roles in French TV series like Cut!, Summer Crush, Meurtres a and the French comedy movie Paroles. Here are some things you might not know about the star...
1. Before landing the part of Florence, she had an audition for a different role in Death in Paradise!
Speaking to her former co-star Tahj Miles, who played Marlon, she said: "Funny fact! Before auditioning for Florence I auditioned two years earlier for another character, for a guest character.
"But my English at that time wasn't as good as it is today. So I did the first audition and I had a callback. And they gave me a script, but it was the first time I’d seen the script so I didn't have the chance to practice."
Of course, it all worked out for the best! "Thank God, because two or three years later I had to audition for Florence for a main character."
2. She has a real-life connection to James Bond
Joséphine comes from a family of artists and performers. Her father, Charles Jobert, is a cinematographer and her mother, Véronique Mucret Rouveyrollis, is an actress, director, and writer.
Her most famous relative is almost certainly her cousin, French actress Eva Green! You probably know Eva from her performance as Bond Girl Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale (2006), but she's also appeared in Penny Dreadful, 300: Rise of An Empire, and in Tim Burton's live-action version of Dumbo!
Joséphine Jobert once told Hello! that she'd love to be a Bond Girl at some point, and commented that she "receive[s] so many messages from people and fans who say to me, 'You should be the next Bond girl.'" Hopefully, she gets to follow in her cousin's footsteps soon!
3. She's a singer
Joséphine's first major role was in the French series, nos années pension. In the show, a group of teenagers at a boarding school who all share a passion for music form a band called Five Only to get to know each other better.
Joséphine played Amel as a regular in Seasons 1-3. Amel was the typical good girl at the school and was one of the singers both in the fictional group and on the show's soundtrack.
The show featured numerous songs and the first three seasons’ soundtracks were released online for digital download, but you can also find them on Spotify if you want to listen to them!
4. She has a spider phobia and hates crabs!
After the second episode of Death in Paradise Season 10, Joséphine Jobert explained to her Instagram followers that she was forced to confront her spider phobia whilst filming a particular scene.
For many people (including herself!) her phobia extends to crabs as they just end up looking like huge spiders!
In the episode, we learned that Neville is terrified of crabs but bought them to enter a cooking competition, and Florence teases him with one of the escaped crabs after Neville screams and drops a box full of live crabs in the police station.
Ironically, the producers offered to rewrite a scene for Joséphine in case she struggled with it, but she decided to confront her fear and filmed the scene in one take!
5. She would love to train horses
Joséphine is no stranger to her fans, as she regularly gives them behind-the-scenes scoops on Instagram.
During a Q&A she held, one fan asked what she would like to be doing if she wasn’t an actress. She said that she would love to train horses, especially for work in the movies! Later in the session, a fan asked if she enjoyed horseback riding, and she explained that riding horses has been her passion since she was a child. She wrote: “I was on a pony before I even knew how to walk”!
6. Her biggest regret
In that same Q&A session, another fan asked Joséphine Jobert what her biggest regret in life was. She explained that she used to practice the piano when she was a little girl and described herself as "pretty gifted".
Although she did not say why, Joséphine said that one day she just stopped playing for whatever reason, and said that she still regrets it to this day.
6. Kris Marshall was a big help
Although she’s acted alongside three of the four main officers in Death in Paradise, Joséphine maintains that Kris Marshall (who played DI Humphrey Goodman) holds a special place in her heart.
She said: "He was there for me when I was struggling and a bit scared and he was so nice with me on set and so funny. His French was pretty amazing too.
"That's why Kris is special in my heart because he was the first."
Joséphine Jobert fact file
Answers to the most frequently asked questions about Joséphine Jobert...
How old is she?
Joséphine Jobert is 38, she was born on 24 April 1985.
Is she married?
Joséphine Jobert rarely talks about her personal life, but she is not married.
Does Joséphine Jobert have children?
Joséphine doesn't have any children.
Where was she born?
Joséphine Jobert was born in Paris, France. She moved to Canada when she was 12.
How tall is Joséphine Jobert?
Joséphine Jobert is 5ft 6.
We work hard to ensure that all information is correct. Facts that change over time, such as age, will be correct, to the best of our knowledge, at the time of the most recent article update.
