Since the couple's families opposed their marriage, they eloped to France in 1904.
His father, Carlos Luis de Funès de Galarza, a nobleman whose mother descended from the Counts de Galarza (of Basque origin).
His father was from Funes.
He had been a lawyer in Spain, but became a diamond cutter upon arriving in France.
His mother, Leonor Soto Reguera, was Galician, daughter to Galician lawyer Teolindo Soto Barro, of Portuguese descent.
Known to friends and intimates as "Fufu", de Funès spoke French, Spanish, and English.
During his youth, he was fond of drawing and playing the piano.
He was an alumnus of the lycée Condorcet in Paris.
He later dropped out, and his early life was rather inconspicuous; as a youth and young adult, de Funès held menial jobs, from which he was repeatedly fired.
He became a bar pianist, working mostly as a jazz pianist in Pigalle, Paris, where he made his customers laugh each time he grimaced.
He studied acting for one year at the Simon acting school, where he made some useful contacts, including Daniel Gélin, among others.
1914
Louis Germain David de Funès de Galarza (31 July 1914 – 27 January 1983) was a French actor and comedian.
Louis de Funès was born on 31 July 1914 in Courbevoie, Hauts-de-Seine to parents who hailed from Seville, Spain.
1936
In 1936, he married Germaine Louise Elodie Carroyer, with whom he had one child: a son named Daniel; the couple divorced in late 1942.
1940
Through the early 1940s, de Funès continued playing piano in clubs, thinking there was not much call for a short, balding, skinny actor.
His wife and Daniel Gélin encouraged him until he managed to overcome his fear of rejection.
His wife supported him in the most difficult moments and helped him to manage his career efficiently.
During the occupation of Paris in the Second World War, he continued his piano studies at a music school, where he fell in love with a secretary, Jeanne Barthelémy de Maupassant.
1943
She had fallen in love with "the young man who played jazz like God"; they married in 1943 and remained together for forty years until de Funès' death in 1983.
1944
They had two sons: Patrick (born on 27 January 1944), who became a doctor, and Olivier (born on 11 August 1949), who became a pilot for Air France Europe and also followed in his father's footsteps by becoming an actor.
Olivier de Funès became known for the roles he played in some of his father's films (Les Grandes Vacances, Fantômas se déchaîne, Le Grand Restaurant and Hibernatus being the most famous).
De Funès began his show business career in the theatre, where he enjoyed moderate success and also played small roles in films.
Even after he attained the status of a movie star, he continued to play theatre roles.
His stage career culminated in a magnificent performance in the play Oscar, a role which he would reprise a few years later in the film adaptation.
1945
In 1945, thanks to his contact with Daniel Gélin, de Funès made his film debut at the age of 31 with a bit part in Jean Stelli's La Tentation de Barbizon.
He appears on screen for less than 40 seconds in the role of the porter of the cabaret Le Paradis, welcoming the character played by Jérôme Chambon in the entrance hall and pointing him to the double doors leading to the main room, saying: "C'est par ici, Monsieur" ("It's this way, Sir").
Chambon declines the invitation, pushing the door himself instead of pulling it open.
De Funès then says: "Bien, il a son compte celui-là, aujourd'hui!" ("Well, he had enough, today!").
He went on to perform in 130 film roles over the next 20 years, playing minor roles in over 80 movies before being offered his first leading roles.
During this period, de Funès developed a daily routine of professional activities: in the morning, he did dubbing for recognized artists such as Totò, an Italian comic of the time; during the afternoon, he did film work; and in the evening, he performed as a theatre actor.
From 1945 to 1955, he appeared in 50 films, usually as an extra or walk-on.
1954
In 1954, he went on to star in such films as Ah! Les belles bacchantes and Le Mouton à cinq pattes.
1960
He is France's favourite actor, according to a series of polls conducted since the late 1960s, having played over 150 roles in film and over 100 on stage.
His acting style is remembered for its high-energy performance and his wide range of facial expressions and tics.
A considerable part of his best-known acting was directed by Jean Girault.
One of the most famous French actors of all time, Louis de Funès also enjoys widespread international recognition.
In addition to his immense fame in the French-speaking world, he is also still a household name in many other parts of the world, including German-speaking countries, the former Soviet Union, Italy ,former Eastern Bloc, Albania, Greece, Hungary, Portugal, Spain, ex-Yugoslavia, as well as Iran, Israel, Mauritius and Turkey.
Despite his international fame, Louis de Funès remains almost unknown in the English-speaking world.
1973
He was exposed to a wider audience only once in the United States, in 1973, with the release of The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob, which is best remembered for its Rabbi Jacob dance scene and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.
Louis de Funès has two museums dedicated to his life and acting: one in the Château de Clermont, near Nantes, where he resided, as well as another in the town of Saint-Raphaël, Southern France.
