Éric Legrand, the French dubbing actor known to many Dragon Ball Z viewers as Vegeta, died in May 2025, according to reports from colleagues and friends. His age was reported inconsistently: TF1 Info said he was 66, while Le Monde said he was 72. The available reporting does not resolve the discrepancy.
Who voiced Vegeta in the French dub of Dragon Ball Z?
Éric Legrand voiced Vegeta in the French version of Dragon Ball Z. His work in the franchise also included Yamcha. The French publication Dragon Ball Super – France dates his Yamcha work to 1986 and his Vegeta role to 1990; laVF.fr’s credits database lists him in multiple animated Dragon Ball productions, including as both characters.
Those dates are career chronology reported by Dragon Ball Super – France, rather than independently verified production records. See its tribute to Legrand and the laVF.fr credits listing.
Did Éric Legrand die?
Yes. Colleagues Patrick Borg and Marc Saez announced Legrand’s death in May 2025. Le Monde published its report on May 24, 2025. Borg’s tribute, as reproduced by Dragon Ball Super – France, included the line: “Tu as fait preuve d’un courage exemplaire, tu es un vrai Sayen Végéta!” It was Borg’s recollection and tribute, not a statement by Legrand.
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On the cause, Le Monde said the colleagues who announced his death did not specify it. The newspaper reported, citing RS-Doublage, that Legrand died from myeloma, which he had reportedly been battling since 2017. This cause-of-death account is attributed to that secondary source.
How old was Éric Legrand?
Contemporary reports disagree. TF1 Info reported that Legrand was 66; Le Monde reported that he was 72. Neither report settles the discrepancy with primary biographical evidence, so neither figure can be treated here as conclusively verified.
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What else did Éric Legrand do?
Legrand trained at Paris’s Conservatoire national supérieur d’art dramatique and worked in acting beyond anime dubbing. Le Monde notes that he provided French voices associated with Owen Wilson, John Slattery and Michael Vartan, as well as roles for Tom Hanks in the 1980s.
Reflecting on dubbing, Legrand wrote, as quoted by Le Monde: “Vous ne connaissez probablement pas mon visage et n’aviez sans doute jamais lu mon nom avant de le voir ici, mais vous avez déjà sans nul doute entendu ma voix tant j’ai travaillé et aligné de rôles en doublage.” The newspaper also quoted him describing work “plus ou moins dans toutes les disciplines qui s’offrent aux comédiens.”
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Read Le Monde’s obituary for its account of Legrand’s death, career and quotations. TF1 Info’s report on his death gives the conflicting age of 66.
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