Born into a wealthy family, Regnard travelled extensively as a young man. On one of his trips he was captured by Algerian pirates and imprisoned for seven months until ransomed by his family in 1679. His experiences and impressions provided material for a series of books.

In 1683 Regnard was named treasurer of France, a profitable post that he held for 20 years. From 1688 on, however, he devoted most of his time to writing, first for the Italian comedians in Paris and then for the Comédie-Française. He depicted a brilliant but decadent society in a light and facile style, free of moralizing. His prime concern was to make an audience laugh as often as possible. His best known plays are Le Joueur (1696; “The Gamester”), Le Légataire universel (1708; “The Heir”), and La Sérénade (1694). He died suddenly under mysterious circumstances at the family château.