Hiam Abbass

Hiam Abbass
Born	(1960-11-30) November 30, 1960 Nazareth, Israel
Occupation(s)	Actress, filmmaker
Years active	1989–present
Known for	The Syrian Bride, Paradise Now, Free Zone, Munich, The Visitor, Lemon Tree, Insyriated, Blade Runner 2049, Succession

Hiam Abbass (; ; born 30 November 1960), sometimes spelled Hiyam Abbas, is a Palestinian actress and filmmaker who holds both Israeli and French nationalities. She is best known for her performances in films such as The Syrian Bride (2004), Paradise Now (2005), Free Zone (2005), Munich (2005), The Visitor (2007), Lemon Tree (2008), Insyriated (2017), and Blade Runner 2049 (2017). Abbass gained wider recognition through her portrayal of Marcia Roy on the HBO drama series Succession (2018–2023), which earned her a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Awards in the category of Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. Her television work also includes roles in the Channel 4 drama The Promise (2011), the Lifetime miniseries The Red Tent (2014), the Hulu comedy series Ramy (2019–present), and the Hulu drama series The Old Man (2022).

Early and personal life

Born on 30 November 1960 in Nazareth, Abbass comes from an Israeli Arab family of Palestinian heritage. She spent her upbringing in the village of Deir Hanna and has resided in Paris, France, since the late 1980s, where she obtained French citizenship.

While working on Steven Spielberg’s film Munich (2005), Abbass shared living quarters with both Israeli and Palestinian actors for a period of three months. This experience facilitated conversations that contributed to bridging divides between the two groups. She remarked on the initial challenges Arab actors faced when performing scenes alongside Israeli counterparts.

Career

Abbass’s filmography includes notable appearances in titles such as Red Satin (2002), Haifa (1996), Paradise Now (2005), The Syrian Bride (2004), Free Zone (2005), Dawn of the World (2008), The Visitor (2008), Lemon Tree (2008), Every Day Is a Holiday (2009), and Amreeka (2009). In addition to acting, she contributed as a dialect and acting advisor on the production of Munich.

Her directorial efforts include two short films: Le Pain (2001) and La Danse éternelle (2004). She also portrayed humanitarian figure Hind al-Husseini in Julian Schnabel’s film Miral (2010).

In 2002, Abbass starred in Raja Amari’s Satin Rouge, which explores a Tunisian widow’s journey of self-discovery, a theme echoed in her role in The Syrian Bride. Her work extends to French cinema with roles in films such as Le sac de farine and Le temps de la balle. The year 2008 saw her take significant parts in Tom McCarthy’s The Visitor, Abbas Fahdel’s Dawn of the World, and as Umm Habib in Pomegranates and Myrrh. That same year, she appeared in Eran Riklis’ Israeli production Lemon Tree, for which she received Best Actress honors at the 2008 Asia Pacific Screen Awards. In Jim Jarmusch’s 2009 movie, The Limits of Control, she delivered a key line in Classical Arabic.

Abbass played Naïm’s mother in the French-Israeli movie A Bottle in the Gaza Sea (2011). She was selected as a jury member for the Main Competition at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. Her debut feature as director came with the film The Inheritance. In 2017, she took on the role of Freysa, leader of a replicant liberation movement, in Blade Runner 2049. Her television appearances include parts in series such as The Promise, The State, Succession, and Ramy.

In 2023, Abbass featured in the documentary titled Bye Bye Tiberias, directed by her daughter Lina Soualem. The film chronicles Abbass’s pursuit of an acting career and debuted at the 80th Venice International Film Festival, later screening at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.

Feature Films

- 2020 - Gaza mon amour - Siham - - - 2022 - Hellraiser – Serena Menaker – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Year	Title	Character	Additional Information	Ref.
1996	When the Cat's Away	Courtyard Woman
	Haifa	Oum Said
1998	Raddem		Short film
	Vivre au paradis
	Histoire naturelle		Short film
2000	Ali, Rabiaa et les autres	Rabiaa
2001	Ligne 208	Khaled’s Mother
	Le pain		Short film
	Le mariage en papier	Aunt Rabiaa	Short film
	Tar Angel (L'ange de goudron)	Naïma Kasmi
2002	Fais-moi des vacances	Mother of Lucien & José
	Red Satin	Lilia
	A Loving Father	Salma
2003	Noctambules	Solitary Woman	Short film
2004	The Gate of Sun	Um Youness
	The Syrian Bride	Amal
	Nadia et Sarra	Nadia
2005	Paradise Now	Said’s Mother
	Sur les traces de Mélanie	Madelaine	Short film
	Free Zone	Leila
	The Demon Stirs	Rim
	Munich	Marie Claude Hamshari	Also served as consultant and dialogue coach
Petites révélations
Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest	Voice of Jénane
The Nativity Story	Saint Anne (Anna)
Conversations with My Gardener	Wife of the gardener
Disengagement	Hiam
The Visitor	Mouna
La fabrique des sentiments	Professor Sterne
Lemon Tree	Salma Zidane
Un roman policier	Fati
Dawn of the World	Mastour’s mother
Fatoush	Woman	Short film
Kandisha	Mona Bendrissi
Al-mor wa al rumman (Pomegranates and Myrrh)	Umm Habib
Blanche	Neighbor	Short film
																																			- rowspan=2 2025  - No Beast. So Fierce. - Mishal - Scheduled to premiere at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival#Competition and Berlinale Special sections and Perspectives strand at Berlinale, on February 14, with theatrical release set for May 8, 2025. - Palestine 36 - Hanan

Television

Year	Title	Role	Remarks
1989	La nuit miraculeuse		TV movie
1993	Antoine Rives, juge du terrorisme	Jacqueline Tabet	Episode: "L'affaire JBN"
1994	3000 scénarios contre un virus	Client	Episode: "Poisson rouge"
1998	Venise est une femme	Mother of Aïcha	Television film
2000	Mix-cité		TV movie
2003	Pierre et Farid	Farid's Mother	Television film
2008	Béthune sur Nil	Farah	TV movie
2010	Histoires de vies	Zineb	Episode: "Des intégrations ordinaires"
2010	I Am Slave	Laila	Television movie
2011	The Promise	Old Jawda	Appeared in 4 episodes
2014	The Red Tent	Queen Re-Nefer	Miniseries
2016	The OA	Khatun	Episodes: "Homecoming" and "Away"
2017	The State	Umm Salamah	Featured in 4 episodes
2018–2023	Succession	Marcia Roy	Participated in 23 episodes
2019–present	Ramy	Maysa Hassan	Appeared across 22 episodes
2022	Oussekine	Aïcha Oussekine	Role in 4 episodes
2022	The Old Man	Abbey Chase	Featured in 5 episodes

Directorial Work

Year	Title	Details

|-

|2001 
|Le pain 
|Short film 

|} |-

|2004 
|La danse éternelle 
|Short film; also credited as writer 

|} |-

|2012 
|Inheritance 
|Also credited as writer 

|} |-

|2013 
|Le Donne della Vucciria 
|Short film; co-writer as well 

|} |-

|2015 
|Jerusalem, I Love You 
|

|}

Awards and nominations

Year	Organization	Category	Work	Outcome
2004	Ophir Award	Best Actress	The Syrian Bride	Nominated
2005	Best Supporting Actress	Free Zone	Nominated
2005	European Film Awards	People's Choice Award	Syrian Bride	Nominated
2008	European Film Awards	Best Actress	Lemon Tree	Nominated
2008	Boston Society of Film Critics	Best Ensemble	The Visitor	Nominated
2008	Gotham Awards	Best Ensemble Cast	The Visitor	Nominated
2016	Lumière Awards	Best Actress	Insyriated	Nominated
2023	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series	Succession	Nominated

See also

• List of Arab citizens of Israel

External links

• G21 Interview: Hiam Abbass, conducted by Brad Balfour
• Photographs of Hiam Abbass at the Berlin Film Festival, 2008