Nour El Refai (born 14 November 1987) is a Swedish actress and comedian. She became known for her participation in the candid-camera show ''Raj Raj'' in 2007 and hosted Melodifestivalen 2014. El Refai has also appeared in several movies such as '' Kronjuvelerna'' and ''Johan Falk: Spelets regler''.

Early life

El Refai was born to

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

parents in

Tripoli, Lebanon Tripoli ( ; , , ; , ; see #Names, below) is the largest and most important city in North Lebanon, northern Lebanon and the second-largest city in the country. Situated north of the capital Beirut, it is the capital of the North Governorate ...

and her family moved to Sweden to live in Eslöv just a few months after her birth. She is of Syrian and Lebanese heritage. Her family moved a few years later to Norra Fäladen in

Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...

. She grew up in a single parent family with her mother, as her father left after a divorce just weeks after the arrival of the El Refai family in Sweden. Nour has had no contact with her father since.

Personal life

El Refai lives in Traneberg, Stockholm. El Refai was the victim of a

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...

just before the start of her television career. The man who assaulted her was later sentenced to four months imprisonment. El Refai has

dysthymia Dysthymia ( ), known as persistent depressive disorder (PDD) in the DSM-5-TR and dysthymic disorder in ICD-11, is a psychiatric condition marked by symptoms that are similar to those of major depressive disorder, but which persist for at leas ...

, a chronic form of depression. She has talked about her condition in two works: in her stand-up show ''En komisk depression'' ("''A comical depression''") in 2016–2017 and later in her late-2019 self-scripted and self-led four-part two-hour mini-documentary series "Livet lyckopiller" ("The happiness-pill life") which aired on

Sveriges Television Sveriges Television AB ("Sweden's Television aktiebolag, Stock Company"), shortened to SVT (), is the Sweden, Swedish national public broadcasting, public television broadcaster, funded by a public service tax on personal income set by the Riksd ...

, Sweden's national public television channel, in November–December 2019. In the mini-documentary she talks about her depression and showcases her attempts to get help and improve it, meets other Swedes with depression, and seeks and tells statistics and scientific facts about depression, mainly in Sweden.

Career

El Refai first came into prominence in 2006, when she had a role in the crime drama movie '' Beck – Det tysta skriket''. Along with Cecilia Forss she hosted the candid-camera show, ''Raj Raj'', which was broadcast on TV400 during 2007. In one notorious segment, she flashed her breasts to a man in Humlegården, which is famed for male flashers, and she was reported to the police. Charges were pressed and later she was sentenced to pay a fine for

indecent exposure Indecent exposure is the deliberate public exposure by a person of a portion of their body in a manner contrary to local standards of appropriate behavior. Laws and social attitudes regarding indecent exposure vary significantly in different ...

. El Refai and Forss had cooperated previously in the TV3 humour show ''Hus i helvete''. In 2008, El Refai was assigned as a reporter on stage for the '' Melodifestivalen 2008''; the Swedish national selection for the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

. She interviewed the singers after they went off stage following their performances. During the same year, she acted in the ''Morgonsoffan'' television show also on SVT. She acted in the Henrik Schyffert comedy show ''Sverige Pussas och Kramas'' on Kanal5. Nour has also been a radio talk show host on ''Morgonpasset'' at Sveriges Radio P3. During 2009, El Refai acted as the character "Bitterfittan" (English: "The bitter cunt") on the comedy show, ''Ballar av stål'', the Swedish version of '' Balls of Steel''. She also took part in '' Wipeout'' as a contestant; both shows were broadcast on the Swedish Kanal 5. In 2011, she appeared in the movie '' Kronjuvelerna'', and in 2012 had a role in another movie, ''Johan Falk: Spelets regler''. During late 2009 she was one of the characters on the comedy show ''Cirkus Möller'' on TV4. During 2010, she was on stage with a Swedish production of '' Grease'' at Göta Lejon in Stockholm. In late 2010, she worked again as a radio talk show host, and was part of the show's special, where stars including El Refai were locked inside a glass house for a whole week to raise money for Musikhjälpen on

Sveriges Radio Sveriges Radio Aktiebolag, AB (; "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio programming, radio broadcaster. Sveriges Radio is a public limited company, owned by an independent foundation, previously funded through a television ...

. El Refai hosted '' Melodifestivalen 2014'', along with Anders Jansson. Since 2021, she has been participating in Masked Singer Sverige.

Filmography

*2004 – ''Generation Y'' *2005 – ''Vem är du?''—as Åsa (feature film) *2006 – '' Beck – Det tysta skriket'' (TV film) *2006 – ''Elvismackan'' (short film) *2006 – '' Frostbiten''—as Cornelia (feature film) *2006 – ''När mörkret faller'' (feature film) *2009-2010: ''Ballar av stål'' as Bitterfittan (TV series – 10 episodes) *2010 – ''Välkommen åter'' (TV series) *2010 – ''Wallander – Dödsängeln'' (feature film) *2011 – '' Kronjuvelerna'' (feature film) *2011 – ''Stockholm – Båstad'' (TV mini-series, 1 episode as Sharon) *2012 – ''Johan Falk: Spelets regler'' as Lovisa (feature film to video) *2012 – ''Labyrint'' (TV series) *2014 – ''Sköterskan: The Nurse'' as The Nurse (short film) *2014 – '' Melodifestivalen 2014'' (TV series) *2018 – '' Bonus Family'' (TV series) *2023 – '' Trolltider – legenden om bergatrollet'' as Mara (TV series) *2024 – '' Bäst i test'' (TV series)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Refai, Nour 1987 births Lebanese emigrants to Sweden Swedish film actresses Swedish television actresses Living people People with mood disorders Swedish women comedians Swedish television presenters Swedish people of Lebanese descent Swedish women television presenters 21st-century Swedish comedians Actresses from Lund People from Tripoli, Lebanon