Jacques Dumesnil (born Marie Émile Eugène André Joly ; 9 November 1903 – 8 May 1998) was a French film and television actor. Jacques Dumesnil was born as Marie Émile Eugène André Joly on November 9, 1903, in Paris, France. Before becoming an actor, he received training as a mechanical engineer. After starting as a secretary at the aviation school, he became an industrial designer, a profession he left to devote himself to the theater.

He adopted the pseudonym Dumesnil because of the admiration he had to French actor Camille Dumény. He started out as a fanciful singer in a café located in Paris Place de l'Hôtel de Ville , he was paid in sandwiches and glasses of beer.