Born in Saint-Quentin-Lamotte, Michel Douay studied at the School of Applied Arts and began his career working in the advertising field in the 1930's. He was in captivity during World War II. Upon the liberation, he joined Paul Grimault's animation studios. He also took on a career in illustration. He cooperated on several newspapers and magazines since, like Carrefour, Le Parisien Libéré, Paris-Match and Point de Vue. He has also made several comic strips during his career.
He made 'Clic' in France-Dimanche from 1949 to 1953, and for La Vie Catholique, he drew the comic series 'Séraphine' between 1956 and 1994. He created the daily comic 'Zoé enfant terrible' in Le Parisien Libéré in 1946. This comic about a little mischievous girl ran exclusively in this paper until 1974, drawn by Douay in alternation with Jo Carbi, Ange Michel and Roland Moisan. Michel Douay was also present in children's magazines like Formule 1 ('Plumoo', 1968) and Djin et Triolo ('Didine', 1981).
