Romi Aboulafia ( he, רומי אבולעפיה) is an Israeli

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

Early life

Aboulafia was born in

Tel Aviv, Israel Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

, to a

Sephardic Jewish Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...

family. She started acting at the age of six and was cast for a lead role in the award-winning Israel drama ''Shabatot VeHagim''. She was enlisted as a soldier in the

IDF Spokesperson's Unit The IDF Spokesperson's Unit ( he, דובר צה"ל, ''Dover Tsahal'', abbr. Dotz) is the unit in the IDF Operations Directorate, responsible for information policy and media relations. The unit is led by the IDF Spokesperson, a brigadier general ...

Career

Acting

In 2010, she starred in

John Madden John Earl Madden (April 10, 1936 – December 28, 2021) was an American football coach and sports commentator in the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978, who he led to eight pla ...

’s ''The Debt'' alongside

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (born Helen Lydia Mironoff; born 26 July 1945) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, she is the only performer to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting in both the United States and the United Kingdo ...

Jessica Chastain Jessica Michelle Chastain (born March 24, 1977) is an American actress and producer. Known for primarily starring in films with feminist themes, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. ''Time' ...

, and

Sam Worthington Samuel Henry John Worthington (born 2 August 1976) is an Australian actor. He is best known for playing Jake Sully in ''Avatar'' and its sequel, ''Avatar: The Way of Water''; Marcus Wright in '' Terminator Salvation'', and Perseus in '' Clash ...

. The film was released by

Fox Searchlight Pictures Searchlight Pictures, Inc. is an American film production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is part of the Walt Disney Company. Founded in 1994 as Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc. for 20th Century Fox (later 20th Century Stu ...

in 2011. That year, she also starred in the Israeli LGBTQ cult indie ''Joe + Bell'' by director Veronica Kedar. In 2012, she starred in Nony Geffen's '' Not in Tel Aviv'', which won the Jury Award at

Locarno Film Festival The Locarno Film Festival is an annual film festival, held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative, documentary, s ...

, as well as in Endemol Shine’s strip-club-thriller ''Allenby''. In 2014, she participated in the television series ''Very Important Man'' alongside

Yehuda Levi Yehuda Levi ( he, יהודה לוי; born June 29, 1979) is an Israeli actor and model. His breakthrough role was in the TV series ''Lechayey Ha'ahava'' (''Here's To Love'', 2001). Early life Levi was born in Petah Tikva, Israel. His father Y ...

, as well as starring in the German film ''Anderswo'' alongside her mother-in-law

Hana Laszlo Hana Laszlo ( he, חנה לסלאו; born 14 June 1953) is an Israeli actress, television presenter and comedian. In 2005, she won a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film '' Free Zone''. She has also receive ...

. In 2018, she starred in Endemol Shine’s ''Harem'' alongside Alon Abutbul.

Filmmaking

After her two years of mandatory army service, Aboulafia moved to the UK to study film. She earned a MFA from the

London Film School London Film School (LFS) is a film school in London and is situated in a converted brewery in Covent Garden, London, neighbouring Soho, a hub of the UK film industry. It is the oldest film school in the UK.

and directed her thesis film ''Eyes'', which was shot in Israel. Throughout her acting career she's also worked as a film editor. In 2019, she began developing a television series for Endeavour Content with her husband Ben Giladi and Hagai Levi.

Modeling

At the age of eighteen, Aboulafia became the first spokesmodel for Israeli fashion brand Castro. Aboulafia presented the company for one season before deciding to leave the country to study film. Castro spokesmodels that followed include

Gal Gadot Gal Gadot-Varsano ( he, גל גדות ; born 30 April 1985) is an Israeli actress and model. At age 18, she was crowned Miss Israel 2004. She then served in the Israel Defense Forces for two years as a combat fitness instructor, whereafter she ...

and

Bar Refaeli Bar Refaeli ( he, בר רפאלי; born ) is an Israeli model, television host, businesswoman and actress. She is among the most internationally successful models to come from Israel, appearing on the cover of the 2009 ''Sports Illustrated'' Sw ...

Personal life

Aboulafia married Israeli film and television producer Ben Giladi in 2016. The two have a child together and live in London. She is the daughter-in-law of Israeli actress and comedian

, sister-in-law of actor

Mark Ivanir Mark Alexandrovich Ivanir ( he, מארק איווניר; uk, Марк Олександрович Іванір; russian: Марк Александрович Иванир) is a Ukrainian-born Israeli actor known for his character actor, character ...

and the niece of television executive Orly Adelson.

References

External links

*
Romi Aboulafia
on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aboulafia, Romi Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Actresses from Tel Aviv Film people from Tel Aviv Israeli film actresses Israeli female screenwriters Alumni of the London Film School Israeli Sephardi Jews Israeli Mizrahi Jews