Hiam Abbass | |
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هيام عباس היאם עבאס | |
 Abbass at the2012 Cannes Film Festival | |
| Born | (1960-11-30)30 November 1960 (age 64) |
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| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1989–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | |
Hiam Abbass (Arabic:هيام عباس;Hebrew:היאם עבאס; born 30 November 1960), also spelledHiyam Abbas, is aPalestinian actress and film director with Israeli and French citizenship.[1][2][3] She is known for her roles in films such asThe Syrian Bride (2004),Paradise Now (2005),Free Zone (2005),Munich (2005),The Visitor (2007),Lemon Tree (2008),Insyriated (2017), andBlade Runner 2049 (2017). She gained prominence for her role as Marcia Roy in theHBO drama seriesSuccession (2018–2023) for which she was nominated for aPrimetime Emmy Awards forOutstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. She has also acted in theChannel 4 seriesThe Promise (2011), theLifetime miniseriesThe Red Tent (2014), theHulu comedy seriesRamy (2019–present), and the Hulu drama seriesThe Old Man (2022).
Abbass was born inNazareth on 30 November 1960 to a family ofIsraeli Arabs ofPalestinians descent.[4][5] She was raised in the village ofDeir Hanna. Since the late 1980s, she has lived inParis, France,[6] and holds French citizenship.
During the filming of theSteven Spielberg filmMunich (2005), Abbass lived in a hotel with Israeli and Palestinian actors for three months. During that time, they had many discussions that "helpedboth sides grow closer." In an interview in 2006, Abbass said, "I still remember how difficult it was for the Arab actors to manhandle the Israeli actors in the first scene wherethe Israeli national team is taken hostage."[1]
Abbass is known for her roles inRed Satin (2002),Haifa (1996),Paradise Now (2005),The Syrian Bride (2004),Free Zone (2005),Dawn of the World (2008),The Visitor (2008),Lemon Tree (2008),Every Day Is a Holiday (2009), andAmreeka (2009). She appeared in Spielberg's filmMunich, depicting the response to theMunich massacre, and also served as a dialect and acting consultant.[1]
She directed two short films,Le Pain (2001), andLa Danse éternelle (2004). She portrays humanitarianHind al-Husseini inJulian Schnabel's filmMiral (2010), based on the life of Husseini and her orphanage.
In 2002, she appeared inSatin Rouge byRaja Amari, a film about the self-discovery of a middle aged Tunisian widow.[7] She also a similar role inThe Syrian Bride, about aDruze woman eager to break down barriers. Abbass appeared in the French filmsLe sac de farine andLe temps de la balle. In 2008, she played the mother of an illegal Syrian immigrant inTom McCarthy's movieThe Visitor, and the mother of an Iraqi soldier inAbbas Fahdel's filmDawn of the World. In the same year she could be seen inPomegranates and Myrrh as Umm Habib, the owner of a beleaguered café.
Also in 2008, she played the principal role in Israeli directorEran Riklis's filmLemon Tree (Etz Limon inHebrew language). For this role, she won Best Performance by an Actress at the 2008Asia Pacific Screen Awards. InJim Jarmusch's 2009 filmThe Limits of Control, in the role of Driver, she recites inClassical Arabic one of the film'sleitmotif-phrases, "He who thinks he is bigger than the rest must go to the cemetery. There he will see what life really is."
Abbass also appears inA Bottle in the Gaza Sea (2011), a French-Israeli film produced by Thierry Binisti. It is based upon the young adult novelUne bouteille dans la mer de Gaza byValérie Zenatti. She plays the role of Naïm's mother. In 2012, she was named as a member of the Jury for the Main Competition at the2012 Cannes Film Festival.[8] She made her directorial feature film debut withThe Inheritance in 2012. In 2017, she played Freysa, the head of thereplicant freedom movement, inBlade Runner 2049. Abbass has also acted in TV shows such asThe Promise (2011),The State (2017),Succession (2018–2023), andRamy (2019–present).
In 2023, Abbass starred in the documentary filmBye Bye Tiberias which follows her decision to pursue her dream of becoming actress, directed by her daughter, Lina Soualem.[9] It premiered at the80th Venice International Film Festival and screened at the2023 Toronto International Film Festival in September 2023.[10][11][12]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | When the Cat's Away | Woman in the courtyard | ||
| Haifa | Oum Said | |||
| 1998 | Raddem | Short | ||
| Vivre au paradis | ||||
| Histoire naturelle | Short | |||
| 2000 | Ali, Rabiaa et les autres | Rabiaa | ||
| 2001 | Ligne 208 | Khaled's Mother | ||
| Le pain | Short | |||
| Le mariage en papier | Aunt Rabiaa | Short | ||
| Tar Angel (L'ange de goudron) | Naïma Kasmi | |||
| 2002 | Fais-moi des vacances | Lucien & José's Mother | ||
| Red Satin | Lilia | |||
| A Loving Father | Salma | |||
| 2003 | Noctambules | Lonely Woman | Short | |
| 2004 | The Gate of Sun | Um Youness | ||
| The Syrian Bride | Amal | |||
| Nadia et Sarra | Nadia | |||
| 2005 | Paradise Now | Said's Mother | ||
| Sur les traces de Mélanie | Madelaine | Short | ||
| Free Zone | Leila | |||
| The Demon Stirs | Rim | |||
| Munich | Marie Claude Hamshari | Also consultant and dialog coach | ||
| 2006 | Petites révélations | |||
| Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest | Jénane's Voice | |||
| The Nativity Story | Anna | |||
| 2007 | Conversations with My Gardener | The gardener's wife | ||
| Disengagement | Hiam | |||
| The Visitor | Mouna | |||
| 2008 | La fabrique des sentiments | Professor Sterne | ||
| Lemon Tree | Salma Zidane | |||
| Un roman policier | Fati | |||
| Dawn of the World | Mastour's mother | |||
| Fatoush | The woman | Short | ||
| Kandisha | Mona Bendrissi | |||
| Al-mor wa al rumman (Pomegranates and Myrrh) | Umm Habib | |||
| Blanche | The neighbour | Short | ||
| 2009 | Amreeka | Raghda Halaby | ||
| Espion(s) | Wafa | |||
| Human Zoo | Mina | |||
| The Limits of Control | The Driver | |||
| Persécution | Marie | |||
| Chaque jour est une fête | Hala | |||
| 2010 | Suite parlée | The Ants | ||
| Clichés | Short | |||
| Miral | Hind al-Husseini | |||
| Le temps de la balle | Hana | Short | ||
| Habibti | Iman | Short | ||
| 2011 | The Source | Fatima | ||
| Do Not Forget Me Istanbul | ||||
| A Bottle in the Gaza Sea | Intessar | |||
| 2012 | Le sac de farine | Yasmine | ||
| Inheritance | Samira | |||
| 2013 | Les jeux des nuages et de la pluie | Blanche | ||
| May in the Summer | Nadine | |||
| Rock the Casbah | Aicha | |||
| Samarkande | The Death | Short | ||
| Peace After Marriage | Amani | |||
| 2014 | De guerre lasse | Raïssa | ||
| Nothing Escapes My Eyes | Women | Short | ||
| Exodus: Gods and Kings | Pharaoh's daughter (Exodus) | |||
| 2015 | Dégradé | Eftikhar | ||
| The Sense of Wonder | Dr. Mélanie Ferenza | |||
| 2017 | Blade Runner 2049 | Freysa | ||
| Insyriated | Oum Yazan | |||
| 2020 | Gaza mon amour | Siham | ||
| 2022 | Hellraiser | Serena Menaker | [13] | |
| 2023 | Insidious: The Red Door | Professor Armagan | ||
| Bye Bye Tiberias | Herself | Documentary | ||
| 2025 | No Beast. So Fierce. | Mishal | World prenmiere at the75th Berlinale on 14 February 2025, to be released in theaters on 8 May 2025.[14] | |
| Palestine 36 | Hanan |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | La nuit miraculeuse | Television movie | ||
| 1993 | Antoine Rives, juge du terrorisme | Jacqueline Tabet | Episode: "L'affaire JBN" | |
| 1994 | 3000 scénarios contre un virus | A client | Episode: "Poisson rouge" | |
| 1998 | Venise est une femme | Aïcha's Mother | Television movie | |
| 2000 | Mix-cité | Television movie | ||
| 2003 | Pierre et Farid | Farid's Mother | Television movie | |
| 2008 | Béthune sur Nil | Farah | Television movie | |
| 2010 | Histoires de vies | Zineb | Episode: "Des intégrations ordinaires" | |
| I Am Slave | Laila | Television movie | ||
| 2011 | The Promise | Old Jawda | 4 episodes | |
| 2014 | The Red Tent | Queen Re-Nefer | Miniseries | |
| 2016 | The OA | Khatun | Episodes: "Homecoming" and "Away" | |
| 2017 | The State | Umm Salamah | 4 episodes | |
| 2018–2023 | Succession | Marcia Roy | 23 episodes | |
| 2019–present | Ramy | Maysa Hassan | 22 episodes | |
| 2022 | Oussekine | Aïcha Oussekine | 4 episodes | |
| The Old Man | Abbey Chase | 5 episodes |
| Year | Title | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Le pain | Short film | |
| 2004 | La danse éternelle | Short film; also writer | |
| 2012 | Inheritance | Also writer | |
| 2013 | Le Donne della Vucciria | Short film; also co-writer | |
| 2015 | Jerusalem, I Love You |
| Year | Association | Category | Project | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Ophir Award | Best Actress | The Syrian Bride | Nominated | |
| 2005 | Best Supporting Actress | Free Zone | Nominated | ||
| European Film Awards | People's Choice Award | Syrian Bride | Nominated | ||
| 2008 | Best Actress | Lemon Tree | Nominated | ||
| 2008 | Boston Society of Film Critics | Best Ensemble | The Visitor | Nominated | |
| Gotham Awards | Best Ensemble Cast | Nominated | |||
| 2016 | Lumière Awards | Best Actress | Insyriated | Nominated | |
| 2023 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series | Succession | Nominated |
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