Marisa Gabrielle Abela (born 7 December 1996) is a British actress. On television, Abela gained attention her leading role as Yasmin, an ambitious investment banker in the

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

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 ''

Industry Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial sector ...

'' (2020–present) for which she won the

British Academy Television Award for Best Actress This is a list of the British Academy Television Awards for Best Actress. The British Academy Television Awards began in 1955. The Best Actress award was initially given as an "individual honour", without credit to a particular performance, until ...

. She is also known for her recurring role in the

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

political thriller series ''

COBRA COBRA or Cobra, often stylized as CoBrA, was a European avant-garde art group active from 1948 to 1951. The name was coined in 1948 by Christian Dotremont from the initials of the members' home countries' capital cities: Copenhagen (Co), Brussels ...

'' (2020). She portrayed

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer, songwriter, musician, and businesswoman. With over 30 million records sold worldwide, she was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix ...

in the

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curric ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

Back to Black ''Back to Black'' is the second and final studio album by English singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse, released on 27 October 2006 by Island Records. Winehouse predominantly based the album on her tumultuous relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil, ...

'' (2024), and appeared in

Steven Soderbergh Steven Andrew Soderbergh ( ; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, and editor. A pioneer of modern Independent film, independent cinema, Soderbergh later drew acclaim for formally inventiv ...

's spy drama ''

Black Bag ''Black Bag'' is a 2025 American spy thriller film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by David Koepp. It stars Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender, Marisa Abela, Tom Burke, Naomie Harris, Regé-Jean Page, and Pierce Brosnan. In the f ...

'' (2025). Abela was named a 2023 ''

Screen International ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company which also owned '' Broadcast''. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involv ...

'' Star of Tomorrow and received a nomination for the

BAFTA Rising Star Award The EE British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Rising Star Award, currently styled as the EE Rising Star Award for commercial reasons and previously known as the Orange Rising Star Award, is a film award that acknowledges new talents ...

Early life and education

Marisa Gabrielle Abela was born on 7 December 1996 in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

to actress Caroline Gruber and director Angelo Abela and grew up in

Rottingdean Rottingdean is a village in the city of Brighton and Hove, on the south coast of England. It borders the villages of Saltdean, Ovingdean and Woodingdean, and has a historic centre, often the subject of picture postcards. Name The name Rotting ...

with her older brother Jack. Her father is of

Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Maltese ...

and

Libyan Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. All figures are from the United Nations Demographic Yearbooks ...

descent, and her mother's

Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

ancestors immigrated from Poland and Russia. They divorced when Abela was four years old. She attended

Roedean School Roedean () is a private boarding school governed by royal charter on the outskirts of Brighton, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1885 by three sisters to educate wealthy daughters and heiresses of aristocracy and industrial elites of the 19t ...

on a drama scholarship and took drama classes with the Theatre Workshop. She initially intended to study History and Law at UCL and become a human rights lawyer, but changed her mind last minute and decided to pursue acting instead. She went on to graduate from the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

(RADA) in 2019.

Career

Abela first appeared aged 11 as the character Alice in the thriller ''Man in a Box'' (2008). After graduating from RADA, Abela made her television debut in 2020 with main roles in the

political thriller ''

'' as Ellie Sutherland. She gained prominence for her role as Yasmin Kara-Hanani in

and

office drama ''

'' (2020–present). Maddy Mussen of ''

London Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free of charge in London, England. It is print ...

'' praised her performance citing her as the "true star of

season three A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and polar ...

" adding, "Any Yasmin naysayers of seasons past will struggle to come out of this season with anything but a profound desire to watch more and more of her character." For her performance in the third season she earned the

. She appeared in the 2022 films '' She Is Love'' and ''

Rogue Agent ''Rogue Agent'' may refer to: * ''Rogue Agent'' (film), a 2022 British film * '' GoldenEye: Rogue Agent'', a 2004 first-person shooter game {{disambiguation ...

''. In July 2022, Abela joined the cast of

Greta Gerwig Greta Celeste Gerwig ( ; born August 4, 1983) is an American actress, screenwriter, and film director. Initially known for working on various mumblecore films, she has since expanded from acting in and co-writing independent films to directing ...

's ''

Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll created by American businesswoman Ruth Handler, manufactured by American toy and entertainment company Mattel and introduced on March 9, 1959. The toy was based on the German Bild Lilli doll, Bild Lilli doll which Hand ...

'' (2023) in a minor supporting role as Teen Talk Barbie. She next starred as

in ''

'' (2024), a biopic about the late singer directed by

Sam Taylor-Johnson Samantha Louise Taylor-Johnson ( Taylor-Wood; born 1967) is a British filmmaker. Her directorial feature film debut was 2009's ''Nowhere Boy'', a film based on the childhood experiences of the Beatles' singer and songwriter John Lennon. She is ...

. The film received mixed reviews but Abela's performance received positive notices from critics including

Peter Bradshaw Peter Nicholas Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire'' magazine. Early life and education Bradshaw was educat ...

of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' who wrote, "Abela conveys her tenderness, and perhaps most poignantly of all her youth, so tellingly at odds with that tough image and eerily mature voice." Damon Wise of ''

Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. It is updated several times a day, with en ...

'' wrote, "

bela Bela may refer to: Places Asia *Bela Pratapgarh, a town in Pratapgarh District, Uttar Pradesh, India *Bela, a small village near Bhandara, Maharashtra, India *Bela, another name for the biblical city Zoara * Bela, Dang, in Nepal *Bela, Janakpur, ...

excels when she’s free of delivering expositional biopic dialogue and just being Amy Winehouse". Leslie Felperin cites Abela as the film's highlight citing her "intensely physical performance" adding, "Much of the credit should go to its star Marisa Abela...who manages to project Winehouse’s distinctive blend of fragility, intelligence and cornered-wildcat self-destructiveness". In 2025 she was nominated for the

. That same year, she appeared in

's spy drama ''

'' starring

Michael Fassbender Michael Fassbender (; born 2 April 1977) is a German-Irish actor. His accolades include nominations for two Academy Awards, four British Academy Film Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. In 2020, he was listed at number nine on ''The Irish Ti ...

and

Cate Blanchett Catherine Élise Blanchett ( ; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor and producer. Regarded as one of the best performers of her generation, she is recognised for Cate Blanchett on screen and stage, her versatile work across stage and scre ...

. It was announced that Abela would lend her voice and portray

Elizabeth Bennet Elizabeth Bennet is the protagonist in the 1813 novel '' Pride and Prejudice'' by Jane Austen. She is often referred to as Eliza or Lizzy by her friends and family. Elizabeth is the second child in a family of five daughters. Though the circ ...

in new adaptation of

Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...

's ''

Pride and Prejudice ''Pride and Prejudice'' is the second published novel (but third to be written) by English author Jane Austen, written when she was age 20-21, and later published in 1813. A novel of manners, it follows the character development of Elizabe ...

'' on

Audible Audible may refer to: * Audible (service), an online audiobook store * Audible (American football), a tactic used by quarterbacks * ''Audible'' (film), a short documentary film featuring a deaf high school football player * Audible finish or ru ...

. She will act alongside

Harris Dickinson Harris Dickinson (born 24 June 1996) is an English actor. He began his acting career in British television and had his first starring role in the drama film ''Beach Rats'' (2017), for which he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Be ...

as Mr. Darcy,

Will Poulter William Jack Poulter (born 28 January 1993) is an English actor. He first gained recognition in '' School of Comedy'' (2009) and then for his role as Eustace Scrubb in the adventure film '' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Tread ...

as Mr. Wickham,

Jessie Buckley Jessie Buckley (born December 28, 1989) is an Irish actress and singer. The accolades she has received include a Laurence Olivier Award, and nominations for an Academy Award and three BAFTA Awards. Buckley began her career in 2008 as a contes ...

as Caroline Bingley, Toheeb Jimoh as Mr. Bingley and

Glenn Close Glenda Veronica Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress. In a career spanning over five decades on Glenn Close on screen and stage, screen and stage, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Glenn Close, numerous ac ...

Lady Catherine de Bourgh Lady Catherine de Bourgh ( ; ) is a Character (arts), character in the 1813 novel ''Pride and Prejudice'' by Jane Austen. According to Janet Todd, Lady Catherine can be seen as a foil to the novel's protagonist Elizabeth Bennet. Family Lady Cat ...

Personal life

In 2020, Abela was diagnosed with

thyroid cancer Thyroid cancer is cancer that develops from the tissues of the thyroid gland. It is a disease in which cells grow abnormally and have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms can include swelling or a lump in the neck, ...

, undergoing an eight-hour operation to remove the tumor followed by radiotherapy. In July 2024, Abela became engaged to West End actor Jamie Bogyo, whom she had first met while at RADA.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theater

Audio

Accolades

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abela, Marisa 1996 births 21st-century English actresses Actresses from Brighton Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art English people of Libyan descent English people of Maltese descent English people of Polish-Jewish descent English people of Russian-Jewish descent Jewish English actresses English film actresses English television actresses English video game actresses Living people People educated at Roedean School, East Sussex Best Actress BAFTA Award (television) winners People of Ashkenazi-Jewish descent