Isaach de Bankolé

De Bankolé was born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, to Yoruba parents from Benin. His grandparents are from Nigeria. He moved to Paris in 1975 for his last year of lycée and pursued a master's degree in physics and mathematics. He then attended an aviation school and earned a private pilot licence, before a chance encounter with French director Gérard Vergez led him to enroll in the Cours Simon, a Parisian drama school.