Hiam Abbass

Early and personal life Abbass was born in Nazareth on 30 November 1960 to a Palestinian family. She was raised in the village of Deir Hanna. Since the late 1980s, she has lived in Paris, France, and holds French citizenship.

During the filming of the Steven Spielberg film Munich (2005), Abbass lived in a hotel with Israeli and Palestinian actors for three months. During that time, they had many discussions that "helped both sides grow closer". In an interview in 2006, Abbass said, "I still remember how difficult it was for the Arab actors to manhandle the Israeli actors in the first scene where the Israeli national team is taken hostage." She also a similar role in The Syrian Bride, about a Druze woman eager to break down barriers. Abbass appeared in the French films Le sac de farine and Le temps de la balle. In 2008, she played the mother of an illegal Syrian immigrant in Tom McCarthy's movie The Visitor, and the mother of an Iraqi soldier in Abbas Fahdel's film Dawn of the World. In the same year she could be seen in Pomegranates and Myrrh as Umm Habib, the owner of a beleaguered café.

Also in 2008, she played the principal role in Israeli director Eran Riklis's film Lemon Tree (Etz Limon in Hebrew language). For this role, she won Best Performance by an Actress at the 2008 Asia Pacific Screen Awards. In Jim Jarmusch's 2009 film The Limits of Control, in the role of Driver, she recites in Classical Arabic one of the film's leitmotif-phrases, "He who thinks he is bigger than the rest must go to the cemetery. There he will see what life really is."

Abbass also appears in A Bottle in the Gaza Sea (2011), a French-Israeli film produced by Thierry Binisti. It is based upon the young adult novel Une bouteille dans la mer de Gaza by Valérie Zenatti. She plays the role of Naïm's mother. In 2012, she was named as a member of the Jury for the Main Competition at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. She made her directorial feature film debut with The Inheritance in 2012. In 2017, she played Freysa, the head of the replicant freedom movement, in Blade Runner 2049. Abbass has also acted in TV shows such as The Promise (2011), The State (2017), Succession (2018–2023), and Ramy (2019–2022).

In 2023, Abbass starred in the documentary film Bye Bye Tiberias which follows her decision to pursue her dream of becoming actress, directed by her daughter, Lina Soualem. It premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival and screened at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival in September 2023.

Filmography As actor Film Year Title Role NotesRef. 1996 When the Cat's Away Woman in the courtyard Haifa Oum Said 1998 Raddem Short Vivre au paradis Histoire naturelle Short 2000 Ali, Rabiaa et les autres Rabiaa 2001 Ligne 208 Khaled's Mother Le pain Short Le mariage en papier Aunt Rabiaa Short Tar Angel (L'ange de goudron) Naïma Kasmi 2002 Fais-moi des vacances Lucien & José's Mother Red Satin Lilia A Loving Father Salma 2003 Noctambules Lonely Woman Short 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 Free Zone Leila The Demon Stirs Rim Munich Marie Claude Hamshari Also consultant and dialog coach 2006 Petites révélations Azur & Asmar: The Princes' Quest Jénane's Voice The Nativity Story Anna 2007 Conversations with My Gardener The gardener's wife Disengagement Hiam The Visitor Mouna 2008 La fabrique des sentiments Professor Sterne Lemon Tree Salma Zidane Un roman policier Fati Dawn of the World Mastour's mother Fatoush The woman Short Kandisha Mona Bendrissi Pomegranates and Myrrh Umm Habib Blanche The neighbour Short 2009 Amreeka Raghda Halaby Espion(s) Wafa Human Zoo Mina The Limits of Control The Driver Persécution Marie Chaque jour est une fête Hala 2010 Suite parlée The Ants Clichés Short Miral Hind al-Husseini Le temps de la balle Hana Short Habibti Iman Short 2011 The Source Fatima Do Not Forget Me Istanbul A Bottle in the Gaza Sea Intessar 2012 Le sac de farine Yasmine Inheritance Samira 2013 Les jeux des nuages et de la pluie Blanche May in the Summer Nadine Rock the Casbah Aicha Samarkande The Death Short Peace After Marriage Amani 2014 De guerre lasse Raïssa Nothing Escapes My Eyes Women Short Exodus: Gods and Kings Bithiah 2015 Dégradé Eftikhar The Sense of Wonder Dr. Mélanie Ferenza2017 Blade Runner 2049 Freysa Insyriated Oum Yazan 2020 Gaza mon amour Siham 2022 Hellraiser Serena Menaker 2023 Insidious: The Red Door Professor Armagan Bye Bye Tiberias Herself Documentary 2024 Last Breath Mme Broquet2025 No Beast. So Fierce. Mishal Palestine 36 Hanan 2026 Only Rebels Win Susan In a Whisper Wahida Atonement

Television Year Title Role NotesRef. 1989 La nuit miraculeuse Television movie 1993 Antoine Rives, juge du terrorisme Jacqueline Tabet Episode: "L'affaire JBN" 1994 3000 scénarios contre un virus A client Episode: "Poisson rouge" 1998 Venise est une femme Aïcha's Mother Television movie 2000 Mix-cité Television movie 2003 Pierre et Farid Farid's Mother Television movie 2008 Béthune sur Nil Farah Television movie 2010 Histoires de vies Zineb Episode: "Des intégrations ordinaires" I Am Slave Laila Television movie 2011 The Promise Old Jawda 4 episodes 2014 The Red Tent Queen Re-Nefer Miniseries 2016 The OA Khatun Episodes: "Homecoming" and "Away" 2017 The State Umm Salamah 4 episodes 2018–2023 Succession Marcia Roy 23 episodes 2019–2022 Ramy Maysa Hassan 22 episodes2022 Oussekine Aïcha Oussekine 4 episodes The Old Man Abbey Chase 5 episodes

As director Year Title NotesRef. 2001 Le pain Short film 2004 La danse éternelle Short film; also writer 2012 Inheritance Also writer 2013 Le Donne della Vucciria Short film; also co-writer 2015 Jerusalem, I Love You

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