Karl Zéro, the stage name of Marc Tellenne, was born on August 6, 1961, in Aix-les-Bains, Savoie, France. He is a writer, actor, filmmaker, and a political talk show host and personality. Additionally, he has recorded albums of pop standards from the 1940s and 1950s.
Karl Zéro is the youngest son of Gui Tellenne, a civil servant and poet, and Annick Tellenne, an author and talk-show host. He has three brothers, Éric, Bruno, and Olivier. His brothers Éric, Bruno, and Marc founded the satirical comedy troupe Groupe d'Intervention culturelle Jalons in the late 1970s.
Marc Tellenne met his future wife, Anne-Laure Chaptel, in the lyceum in 1979. Anne-Laure later became a member of the Jalons, as did Bruno's wife, Virginie. Karl Zéro's first publication was a comic entitled The Adventures of Edmond in the magazine Jalons in the early 1980s.
Karl Zéro started working for various publications, including Métal Hurlant, Charlie Hebdo, Zoulou, and L'Écho des savanes, as an artist, story writer, and journalist. He also worked for Radio Nova and Globe and Lui, where his interviewing skills gained attention.
