Hiam Abbass (; ; born 30 November 1960), also spelled Hiyam Abbas, is a

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

actress and film director with Israeli and French citizenship. She is known for her roles in films such as ''

The Syrian Bride ''The Syrian Bride'' () is a 2004 film directed by Eran Riklis. The story deals with a Druze wedding and the troubles the politically unresolved situation creates for the personal lives of the people in and from the village. The film's plot looks ...

'' (2004), ''

Paradise Now ''Paradise Now'' () is a 2005 psychological drama film directed by Hany Abu-Assad. It follows the story of two Palestinian men preparing for a suicide attack in Israel. The film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film and recei ...

'' (2005), '' Free Zone'' (2005), ''

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

'' (2005), '' The Visitor'' (2007), '' Lemon Tree'' (2008), ''

Insyriated ''Insyriated'', released in some territories as ''In Syria'', is a 2017 Belgian drama film directed by Philippe Van Leeuw. It was screened in the Panorama section at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Panorama Audienc ...

'' (2017), and ''

Blade Runner 2049 ''Blade Runner 2049'' is a 2017 American Epic film, epic neo-noir science fiction film directed by Denis Villeneuve from a screenplay by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green (writer), Michael Green, based on a story by Fancher. A sequel to ''Blade ...

'' (2017). She gained prominence for her role as Marcia Roy in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

drama series ''

Succession Succession is the act or process of following in order or sequence. Governance and politics *Order of succession, in politics, the ascension to power by one ruler, official, or monarch after the death, resignation, or removal from office of ...

'' (2018–2023). She has also acted in the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

series '' The Promise'' (2011), the Lifetime miniseries '' The Red Tent'' (2014), the

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

comedy series '' Ramy'' (2019–present), and the Hulu drama series ''

The Old Man Old man, Old Man or The Old Man may refer to: Basic meanings * An elderly man * A father * A husband * Commanding officer of a military unit * Captain of a merchant ship or a warship * Any male amateur radio operator People * La Chapelle-aux-S ...

'' (2022).

Early and personal life

Abbass was born in

Nazareth, Israel Nazareth is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and commercial center for the Arab citizens of Is ...

on 30 November 1960 to a family of

Israeli Arabs The Arab citizens of Israel form the country's largest ethnic minority. Their community mainly consists of former Mandatory Palestine citizens (and their descendants) who continued to inhabit the territory that was acknowledged as Israeli by ...

descent. She was raised in the village of

Deir Hanna Deir Hanna (, ) is a local council in the Northern District of Israel, located on the hills of the Lower Galilee, southeast of Acre. In , it had a population of . Approximately 90% of Deir Hanna's inhabitants are Arab Muslims and the remainin ...

. Since the late 1980s, she has lived in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France, and holds French citizenship. During the filming of the

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

film ''

'' (2005), Abbass lived in a hotel with Israeli and Palestinian actors for three months. During that time, they had many discussions that "helped both 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 where the Israeli national team is taken hostage."

Film career

Abbass is known for her roles in '' Red Satin'' (2002), ''

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

'' (1996), ''

'' (2005), ''

'' (2004), '' Free Zone'' (2005), ''

Dawn of the World ''Dawn of the World'' is a feature film written and directed by the Iraqi-French film director Abbas Fahdel. Starring Venice Film Festival revelation Hafsia Herzi ('' The Secret of the Grain'') and Hiam Abbass ('' The Lemon Tree'', '' The Visito ...

'' (2008), '' The Visitor'' (2008), '' Lemon Tree'' (2008), '' Every Day Is a Holiday'' (2009), and ''

Amreeka ''Amreeka'' is a 2009 independent film written and directed by first-time director Cherien Dabis. It stars Nisreen Faour, Melkar Muallem, Hiam Abbass, Alia Shawkat, Yussuf Abu-Warda, Joseph Ziegler, and Miriam Smith. ''Amreeka'' documents th ...

'' (2009). She appeared in Spielberg's film ''

'', depicting the response to the Munich massacre, and also served as a dialect and acting consultant. She directed two short films, ''Le Pain'' (2001), and ''La Danse éternelle'' (2004). She portrays humanitarian

Hind al-Husseini Hind al-Husseini (; 25 April 1916 – 13 September 1994) was a Palestinian woman notable for rescuing 55 orphaned survivors of the Deir Yassin massacre, after they were dropped off in Jerusalem and left to fend for themselves. She later conv ...

Julian Schnabel Julian Schnabel (born October 26, 1951) is an American painter and filmmaker. In the 1980s, he received international attention for his "plate paintings"—with broken ceramic plates set onto large-scale paintings. Since the 1990s, he has been a ...

's film '' Miral'' (2010), based on the life of Husseini and her orphanage. In 2002, she appeared in ''

Satin Rouge ''Red Satin'' also known as ''Satin Rouge'' () is a 2002 Tunisian Arabic-language women oriented drama film written and directed by Raja Amari on her feature film directorial debut. The film stars Palestinian actress Hiam Abbass and Hend El Fahe ...

'' by

Raja Amari Raja Amari (born 4 April 1971) is a Tunisian film director and script writer. She is best known for her films ''Satin Rouge/ Red Satin'' (2002), and '' Dowaha/Les Secrets/Buried Secrets'' (2009), both of which have earned international awards and ...

, a film about the self-discovery of a middle aged Tunisian widow. She also a similar role in ''The Syrian Bride'', about a

Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

woman eager to break down barriers. Abbass appeared in the French films ''Le sac de farine'' and ''Le temps de la balle''. In 2008, she played the mother of an illegal Syrian immigrant in Tom McCarthy's movie '' The Visitor'', and the mother of an Iraqi soldier in

Abbas Fahdel Abbas Fadhel () is an Iraqi-French film director, screenwriter and film critic, born in Babylon, Iraq. Based in France since the age of 18 years, he studied cinema at the Sorbonne University until Ph.D. In January 2002, he returned to Iraq with ...

's film ''

''. In the same year she could be seen in ''Pomegranates and Myrrh'' as Umm Habib, the owner of a beleaguered café. Also in 2008, she played the principal role in Israeli director

Eran Riklis Eran Riklis (; born October 2, 1954) is an Israeli filmmaker. His films include Cup Final (film), ''Cup Final'' (1991), ''The Syrian Bride'' (2004), Lemon Tree (2008 film), ''Lemon Tree'' (2008) and ''Dancing Arabs'' (also known as ''A Borrowed I ...

's film '' Lemon Tree'' (''Etz Limon'' in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

). For this role, she won Best Performance by an Actress at the 2008

Asia Pacific Screen Awards The Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) is an international cultural initiative overseen by the Asia Pacific Screen Academy and headquartered in Australia, sometimes called "Asia-Pacific Oscars". In order to realise UNESCO's goals of promoting a ...

. In

Jim Jarmusch James Robert Jarmusch ( ; born January 22, 1953) is an American film director, screenwriter and musician. He has been a major proponent of independent film, independent cinema since the 1980s, directing films such as ''Stranger Than Paradise'' ...

's 2009 film ''

The Limits of Control ''The Limits of Control'' is a 2009 American film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, starring Isaach de Bankolé as a solitary assassin, carrying out a job in Spain. Filming began in February 2008, and took place on location in Madrid, Seville ...

'', in the role of Driver, she recites in

Classical Arabic Classical Arabic or Quranic Arabic () is the standardized literary form of Arabic used from the 7th century and throughout the Middle Ages, most notably in Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasid literary texts such as poetry, e ...

one of the film's

leitmotif A leitmotif or () is a "short, recurring musical phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of ''idée fixe'' or ''motto-theme''. The spelling ''leitmotif'' is a partial angliciz ...

-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 in ''

A Bottle in the Gaza Sea ''A Bottle in the Gaza Sea'' (, ) is a 2011 drama directed by Thierry Binisti based on a novel of the same name. The film, an international co-production shot in French, Hebrew and Arabic, is based on the French young adult novel ''Une bouteille da ...

'' (2011), a French-Israeli film produced by Thierry Binisti. It is based upon the young adult novel ''Une bouteille dans la mer de Gaza'' by Valérie 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 the

2012 Cannes Film Festival The 65th Cannes Film Festival took place from 16 to 27 May 2012. Italian filmmaker Nanni Moretti was the president of the jury for the main competition. French actress Bérénice Bejo hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. Austrian filmma ...

. She made her directorial feature film debut with '' The Inheritance'' in 2012. In 2017, she played Freysa, the head of the

replicant A replicant is a fictional bioengineered humanoid featured in the 1982 film ''Blade Runner'' and the 2017 sequel ''Blade Runner 2049'' which is physically indistinguishable from an adult human and often possesses superhuman strength and intellig ...

freedom movement, in ''

''. Abbass has also acted in TV shows such as '' The Promise'' (2011), ''

The State A state is a political entity that regulates society and the population within a definite territory. Government is considered to form the fundamental apparatus of contemporary states. A country often has a single state, with various administrat ...

'' (2017), ''

'' (2018–2023), and '' Ramy'' (2019–present). In 2023, Abbass starred in the documentary film ''

Bye Bye Tiberias ''Bye Bye Tiberias'' () is a 2023 documentary film directed by Lina Soualem, written by Soualem and Nadine Naous, in collaboration with Gladys Joujou. It follows Hiam Abbass, who leaves her Palestinian village of Deir Hanna in the Lower Galilee, ...

'' which follows her decision to pursue her dream of becoming actress, directed by her daughter, Lina Soualem. It premiered at the

80th Venice International Film Festival The 80th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 30 August to 9 September 2023, at Venice Lido in Italy. Alberto Barbera, Venice's artistic director, acknowledged that the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike was likely to impact the festival ...

and screened at the

2023 Toronto International Film Festival The 48th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from September 7 to 17, 2023.Victoria Ahearn"TIFF reveals new programmers and other 2023 festival details" '' Playback'', April 20, 2023. The most noted change from past years was tha ...

in September 2023.

Filmography

As actor

Film

Television

As director

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
G21 Interview: Hiam Abbass
by Brad Balfour

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbass, Hiam 1960 births Israeli Arab actors Living people Palestinian film actresses People from Nazareth Palestinian television actresses Asia Pacific Screen Award winners Ophir Award winners