May Skaf () (April 13, 1969 – July 23, 2018) was a Syrian actress and activist. She began her career in 1991. Skaf acted in many series and movies such as '' Al-Ababeed'' in 1997, '' Maraya'' in 1998 and ''

Omar Umar ibn al-Khattab (; ), also spelled Omar, was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () and is regarded as a senior companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muh ...

'' in 2012. Skaf was known for her opposition to Syrian regime, she was labeled ''The rebellious artist'', ''The Free artist'' and ''Revolution icon''. She died in July 2018 in

Dourdan Dourdan () is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France. It is the capital of the historical region of Hurepoix. It is located in the metropolitan area of Paris. Geography Dourdan is located on the river Orge in the western Es ...

, France from a heart attack.

Early life and career

Skaf was born to a Christian family in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

, She studied French literature at

Damascus University Damascus University () is the largest and oldest university in Syria, located in the capital Damascus, with campuses in other Syrian cities. It was founded in 1923 as the Syrian University () through the merger of the Faculty of Medicine of Dama ...

. Her dad was Syrian and her mom Lebanese. Skaf started to act in many French plays, when in 1991 she got the attention of director Maher Keddo, who chose her for the main role in his film ''Sahil aljehat'' (Neigh of direction). She worked with director

Abdellatif Abdelhamid Abdellatif Abdelhamid (, 5 January 1954 – 15 May 2024) was a Syrian film director. His films have earned numerous awards, beginning with the Damascus International Film Festival, the Carthage Film Festival, and Rabat International Film Festi ...

who offered her a role in his movie ''Rise of rain'' in 1995. Her first role in TV was in ''A crime in memory'' in 1992. Skaf became famous from her breakout role in '' Al-Ababeed'' (The Anarchy) in 1997. She acted in many other series like ''Albawasel'' (The Heroes) in 2000, ''Bit alelah'' (House of family) in 2002,

Ash-Shatat ''Ash-Shatat'' (; also transliterated ''Al Shatat'') is a 29-part Syrian television series, produced in 2003 by a private Syrian film company, Linn, at a cost of $5.1m. Production Although it was produced in Syria and the closing credits give ...

(The diaspora) in 2003, ''Ahel algharam'' (People of love) in 2006. She portrayed the medieval Arab woman

Hind bint Utbah Hind bint Utba ibn Rabi'a () was an Arabs, Arab commander, the wife of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb and the mother of Mu'awiya I. Hind fought against the early Muslims and the Prophets and messengers in Islam, prophet Muhammad until converting to Islam he ...

in ''Omar'' in 2012, and as ''Tawq asphalt'' (Asphalt collar) in 2014. Her last role was in ''Orchedea'' in 2017. She participated in the Syrian artists association in 2001, but she was suspended in 2015 for not making payments to the association.

Personal life and activism

She was formerly married and divorced; she had one son, Judd Alzobbi. Since the beginning of Syrian revolution of 2011, she participated in many protests against

Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

. She was arrested and released in August 2011. In 2012, she left Syria secretly for Lebanon then to Jordan, where she immigrated to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

with her son in 2013. She accused Syrian police of rape when she was under arrest. The government took possession of her house in

Jaramana Jaramana () is a city in southern Syria, administratively part of the Rif Dimashq Governorate in the Ghouta plain. Its location, 3 kilometers southeast of the Syrian capital, makes it a bustling town in the greater Damascus metropolitan area, wit ...

in late 2014 after she fled the country.

Death

On July 23, 2018, her son watched Skaf die at her bed. Her family doubted the cause of death was due to natural reasons. A couple of days before her death she had traveled to

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

, which led to speculation that

Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...

may have had a role in her death. However, the official autopsy concluded that she died from a heart attack. Her maternal cousin

Dima Wannous Dima Wannous (; born 1982 in Damascus, Syria) is a Syrian literary writer and journalist. She studied French literature at Damascus University and the University of Paris - Sorbonne. She also studied translation in France and has lived in Beirut, ...

said that she died from a stroke, she also said that she suffered from a great deal of frustration for what happened in Syria.

Works

Series

* ''Crime in memory'' (1992) * ''Partly cloudy'' (1996) * ''

The Anarchy The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Duchy of Normandy, Normandy between 1138 and 1153, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a war of succession precipitated by the accidental death of William Adel ...

'' (1996) * ''Silk khan 2'' (1998) * ''

Mirrors A mirror, also known as a looking glass, is an object that reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror forms an image of whatever is in front of it, which is then focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the ...

8'' (1998) * ''The castles'' (1998) * ''Seat in garden'' (1998) * ''Fire shaft'' (1999) * ''The knights'' (1999) * ''The heroes'' (2000) * ''House of family'' (2001) * ''For what talking'' (2001) * ''Migrating spirits'' (2002) * ''Spring of Cordoba'' (2003) * '' The Diaspora'' (2003) * ''The Apostates'' (2005) * ''The Station 30'' (2005) * ''The Houri'' (2005) * ''The sun rise again'' (2005) * ''Last days of Yamama'' (2006) * ''Dew of days'' (2006) * ''Echo of spirit'' (2006) * ''People of love'' (2006) * ''This world'' (2007) * ''Love biography'' (2007) * ''Narcissus flower'' (2008) * ''Me and my sisters 2'' (2008) * ''The dangerous seasons'' (2008) * ''Me and my sisters 3'' (2009) * ''The spirit restricitions'' (2010) * ''The lift'' (2011) * ''

'' (2012) * ''Birth from waist 3'' (2013) * ''We waiting'' (2013) * ''Asphalt collar'' (2015) * ''Promise of stranger'' (2017) * ''Orchedea'' (2017) * ''Hope'' (2017) * ''We are all Syrians'' (2017)

Films

* ''Neigh of directions'' (1993) * ''Rise of rain'' (1995) * ''Half mg nicotin'' (2007) * ''Damascus, Smile of Sadness'' (2008) * ''Crypt'' (2017)

Stage

* ''The death and the virgin'' (2003) * ''Ship of love'' (2007) * ''The Tigers'' (2016)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skaf, May 1969 births 2018 deaths 20th-century Syrian actresses 21st-century Syrian actresses Syrian film actresses Syrian stage actresses Syrian television actresses Damascus University alumni People of the Syrian civil war Syrian Christians People from Damascus Syrian dissidents Syrian emigrants to France Syrian activists Syrian women activists Women in the Syrian civil war