Born in Quimper on 14 May 1934,[2] Jégou grew up in a family of spinners from the Bigouden region.[3] Her great-grandparents invented the Bigouden picot, which was derived from the Irish picot.[4] Her ancestors embroidered for the likes of the Emperor of Russia.[5] She was the eldest child[6] of Marc Le Berre [fr],[7] who owned the store À la Ville d'Ys in Quimper.[8]> A Breton regionalist, he was a member of the Seiz Breur movement and created the kabic [fr]. He would later buy old pieces from Coco Chanel. Her mother, Anne-Marie Kerloc'h, taught her how to be a housewife. In her father's store, she met numerous artists being exhibited, including René-Yves Creston, Géo-Fourrier [fr], Robert Micheau-Vernez [fr], and René Quillivic.[8] Her father told her the tales of François-Marie Luzel, which would inspire her work.[9]
Impassioned with the arts, she entered the École régionale des beaux-arts de Quimper.[3] During her studies, she frequented the Faïencerie Keraluc [fr], where she gathered inspiration for her works.[8] She was a student of Jos Le Corre [fr] and met Gwen Jégou [fr], who she married in 1955. The couple had two children: Tugdual (1956–2018)[7] and Gaïde (1957–2016). Dodik and Gwen opened a ceramics shop in Saint-Malo in 1956, on Place de la Poissonnerie.[3]
In 1990, with the help of the municipality of Saint-Malo, she opened the Maison internatioanle des poètes et des écrivains, inaugurated by Federico Mayor Zaragoza, Director-General of UNESCO,[10] as well as MayorRené Couanau, 1989 Nobel Prize in Literature winner Camilo José Cela, and Édouard Maunick. She directed the house until August 2014, when it was led by Pascal Verdeau, although she maintained de facto leadership.[11] She was also a co-founder and member of the Maison des métiers d'art français and devoted time in 2008 to saving frescos in association with the Amis du peintre Geoffroy Dauvergne.[12]
Dodik Jégou died in Saint-Malo on 2 April 2024, at the age of 89.[13]
^ abcdefPelletier, Yannick (1990). Histoire générale de la Bretagne et des Bretons : culture et mentalités bretonnes (in French). Nouvelle librairie de France.