Hafsia Herzi

Hafsia Herzi (born 25 January 1987) is a French actress, screenwriter, and director. She is best known for her debut role in the award-winning Franco-Tunisian feature The Secret of the Grain for which she won the award for most promising actress at the César Awards 2008, and the Marcello Mastroianni Award at the 64th Venice International Film Festival.

In 2025, Herzi won César Award for Best Actress, for Borgo by Stéphane Demoustier.

Early life Herzi is of Tunisian descent from her father and Algerian from her mother, and is the youngest of a family of four children (two brothers and a sister, Dalila). After her parents' divorce, her father remarried in Algeria. Her mother lives in Marseille, where Herzi grew up.

Career Acting Herzi's film debut is 2007's The Secret of the Grain. She has also appeared in 2011's House of Tolerance.

In 2016, Herzi starred in Sex Doll. Aside from her French film work, she has also appeared in American independent films War Story and This Teacher.

Filmmaking In 2019, Herzi directed her first feature film, You Deserve a Lover. In June 2021, her second feature, Good Mother , was selected to compete in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. At Cannes, it won the Ensemble Prize in the Un Certain Regard section.

Personal life Herzi has a son with her partner, cyclist Nacer Bouhanni.

In 2017, Herzi had an altercation with a chauffeur after the latter declined her request for a detour. According to Herzi, the chauffeur had previously made sexual innuendos alluding to nude scenes in her films and accusing her of violating religious morals. She was cleared of charges of insult by the court of first instance, but the Court of Appeal of Paris found her guilty of non-public racial insult.

Selected filmography

As filmmaker

As actress Year Title Role Notes 2007 The Secret of the Grain Rym César Award for Most Promising ActressLumière Award for Most Promising ActressMarcello Mastroianni AwardShooting Stars Award 2008 Dawn of the World Zahra A Man and His Dog Leïla 2009 The King of Escape Curly Durandot Buried Secrets Aïcha 2010 The Rabbi's Cat Zlebia Voice 2011 Jimmy Rivière Sonia House of Tolerance Samira The Source Loubna Esmeralda 2012 The Inheritance Hajar 2013 Exit Marrakech Karima The Marchers Monia On My Way Jeanne 2014 Le Sac de farineh Sarah Certifiée Halal War Story Hafsia 2015 Par accident Amra 2016 Sex Doll Virginie 2017 Des plans sur la comète Inès Of Skin and Men Amel Mektoub, My Love: Canto Uno Camélia 2018 Féminin plurielles Hafsia Chouchane Black Tide Le Banc This Teacher 2019 You Deserve a Lover Lila Also as director Mektoub My Love: Intermezzo Camélia Persona non grata Iris 2021 Madame Claude Nadège À l'ombre des filles Jess 2022 Three Nights a Week Samia La Gravité Sabrina 2023 The Rapture Lydia Borgo MelissaCésar Award for Best Actress 2024 My New Friends World premiere at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival 2026 The Birthday Party Nora