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1-50 of 494
- Actress
Sofia Pernas was born in Fes, Morocco, and saw a lot of the world before finally settling in Los Angeles. Initially aiming for a career in journalism, Pernas' life took an unexpected turn when she was approached by a modeling scout and later an acting agent who put her career into motion. Her unique look is attributed to her Moroccan-Cuban heritage.- Jean Reno was born Juan Moreno y Herrera-Jiménez in Casablanca, Morocco, to Spanish parents (from Andalucía) who moved to North Africa to seek work. His father was a linotypist. Reno settled in France at 17. He began studying drama and has credits in French television and theater as well as films. His first two marriages both ended in divorce, and he had two children with each of them. He keeps homes in Paris and Los Angeles.
- Actor
- Stunts
- Director
When he was seven years old Michel Qissi began training in boxing. He soon met and befriended a young Jean-Claude Van Varenberg (Jean-Claude Van Damme) who was studying Shotokan Karate, and the two traded techniques in their systems. They grew up together and shared the same love of action films and dreamed of being action stars themselves one day. In 1982, Qissi and Jean-Claude went to Hollywood together to look for a career in action movies. landing their big break in 1986. After obtaining an interview with Menahem Golan of Cannon Pictures they secured a three-picture deal, the first of which was the highly successful Bloodsport. In Cyborg (1989), Qissi worked as Van Damme's personal trainer but had no part in the cast. In the picture, Kickboxer (1989), Qissi was working as a choreographer when he overheard the production crew say they needed a tall Asian-looking guy who had a background in Muay Thai. Qissi had studied Muay Thai years before in Thailand so he volunteered and got the part of Tong Po. Michel Qissi was not credited; however, he was dubbed as Tong Po and even given a make-up job to make him look Asian. His final picture with Van Damme was Lionheart (1990) (AWOL), playing a legionnaire sent to bring Van Damme back to the army. Since then, he returned to his role of Tong Po in the sequel Kickboxer 2: The Road Back (1991). Qissi also did a few of his own flicks including Terminator Woman (1993) which he directed; he also had a relative Jeanette Agaronoff as the writer for this movie. Extreme Force (2001) was a movie directed by him along side Hector Echavarria as once again looking just like Tong Po but under the moniker Kong Li.- Morjana Alaoui (born November 30, 1982) is a Moroccan-French actress. She appeared in Marock (2005) and Pascal Laugier's horror film Martyrs (2008).
Alaoui spent her early life in the Arfa neighborhood of Casablanca, Morocco, and studied at the Casablanca American School. At 18, Alaoui moved to Paris, France, where she studied at the American University of Paris. While attending the university, she met director Laila Marrakchi, who offered her a role in the film Marock (2005). Marock was critically acclaimed and provided Alaoui national fame. In 2007, she began filming Martyrs, for which she is also known. In 2016 Alaoui starred in psychological thriller Broken directed by Shaun Robert Smith - Actress
- Writer
- Director
Nathalie Delon was born on 1 August 1941 in Oujda, French Protectorate Morocco [now Morocco]. She was an actress and writer, known for The Samurai (1967), They Call It an Accident (1982) and The French Dispatch (2021). She was married to Alain Delon and Guy Barthelemy. She died on 21 January 2021 in Paris, France.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Imposingly large, 6' 2" Abdel Qissi was born in Morocco on 20 January 1960 and he is best known for playing some of the leading bad guys to Jean-Claude Van Damme.
He grew up in Brussels, where he was trained in boxing at sports center in Ixelles, there he also met Jean-Claude Van Damme. Van Damme, Abdel and his younger brother Michel Qissi (later best known as another Van Damme bad guy - Tong Po in "Kickboxer") and traveled to Los Angeles to begin a movie career.
Abdel debuted as monstrous fighter Attila in Lionheart (1990) and from that moment he was besides Van Damme in two more films, The Quest (1996), perhaps the best known film with Damme, where Abdel played the Mongolian fighter, also opposite Roger Moore, James Remar and Janet Gunn, and The Order (2001), this time in smaller role of big Arab on market place, opposite Charlton Heston and Brian Thompson. Other films that Abdel appeared are Shadow Boxing (1993) and Silver Tears (2007).- Actress
- Composer
- Music Department
Nadia Farès was born on 20 December 1968 in Marrakech, Morocco. She is an actress and composer, known for The Crimson Rivers (2000), Wasabi (2001) and War (2007). She has been married to Steven Chasman since July 2002. They have two children.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Gad was born in Morocco in April 1971. His father was a mime. He was a student at Georges Bizet school and Lycée Lyautey in Casablanca but didn't like school much. In 1988, Gad left Casablanca to go to Montreal. He stayed there for 4 years, during which he was a political science student for one year, worked on radio, wrote humorous stories and played them in night clubs.
In 1992, he came to Paris and took Le Cours Florent course where he has, among others, Isabelle Nanty as a teacher. He wrote a one-man show named 'Décalages' which told a lot about his experiences in Montreal and Paris in 1996. Three years later, he presented his second one-man show named 'La Vie Normale', again staged by Isabelle Nanty. Gad was revealed as a humorist but is also a great actor who starred in various French movies. Gad lived with French actress Anne Brochet and has a son, Noé. One of his best friends in business is Jamel Debbouze.- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Macha Méril was born on 3 September 1940 in Rabat, French Protectorate in Morocco [now Morocco]. She is an actress and producer, known for Deep Red (1975), Belle de Jour (1967) and Vagabond (1985). She was previously married to Michel Legrand and Gian Vittorio Baldi.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Aharon Ipalé was born on 27 December 1941 in Morocco. He was an actor, known for The Mummy (1999), The Mummy Returns (2001) and Fiddler on the Roof (1971). He died on 27 June 2016 in Tel Hashomer, Israel.- Zineb Triki was born in 1980 in Casablanca, Morocco. She is an actress, known for The Bureau (2015), Vortex (2022) and Homeland (2011).
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Sofia Essaïdi was born on 6 August 1984 in Casablanca, Morocco. She is an actress, known for Aïcha (2008), Overdose (2022) and Mea culpa (2014).- Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Michel Galabru was born on 27 October 1922 in Safi, French Protectorate of Morocco [now Morocco]. He was an actor and writer, known for Subway (1985), La Cage aux Folles (1978) and Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar (1999). He was married to Claude Etevenon and Annette Jacquot. He died on 4 January 2016 in Paris, France.- Actress
Nisrin Erradi was born on 6 August 1989 in Morocco. She is an actress, known for Adam (2019), Catch the Wind (2017) and Jahilya (2018).- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Pedro Casablanc was born on 17 April 1963 in Casablanca, Morocco. He is an actor and director, known for Policías, en el corazón de la calle (2000), Sacrilegio (2023) and B (2015).- Actor
- Additional Crew
Little known by the general public, Moroccan-born Amidou can nevertheless boast an onstage and on screen career spanning almost five decades. Appearing in French films most of the time, he also worked in Morocco, in Tunisia and in American action movies like William Friedkin's 'The Sorcerer' and 'Rules of Engagement', John Frankenheimer's 'Ronin' and Tony Scott's 'Spy Game'. Good-looking and charming, Amidou can easily become frightening and threatening. He is as convincing in the role of a friendly blue collar in 'Smic Smac Smoc' as in that of a dim-witted henchman in 'Fleur d'Oseille'. To be fair, he appeared more often as a dropout or a thug than as positive figure, but this is due to the fact that he started his career in the nineteen sixties, when French cinema was not yet ready to show a North African as just another citizen. Had Amidou debuted later he would have landed more rewarding roles like those now interpreted by Roschdy Zem or Sami Bouajila. Born in 1942 in Rabat, Amidou Ben Messaoud was the son of a justice of the peace and the nephew of the owner of several movie theaters, which gave him the opportunity to see lots of films. On the other hand, the young boy discovered at school that, although he was a bad pupil, he could captivate an audience when, during French lessons, he told and mimicked fables by La Fontaine. Later on, he studied drama at the Conservatoire de Paris and was immediately hired by Jean-Louis Barrault in 1961. Noticed by Jean Genet while he was rehearsing for a bit part, he was given the role of Said instead. At the same time, Claude Lelouch gave him his first part in 'Le Propre de l'Homme' Amidou would then appear in nine other films directed by Lelouch, who also gave him his only starring role in a French movie entitled 'La Vie, l'Amour, la Mort', a pamphlet against the death penalty. Kept busy by the big screen, Amidou was less active in the theatre but played a one man show in the late 1990s ('Le Piston') and held the lead in Mehdi Charef's '1962' in 2005. He also occasionally appeared on TV. Lately Amidou has been honored twice - and quite deservedly so. He was indeed awarded two best actor prizes, one at the Cairo International Festival, for Leila Triquie's 'Poursuite' (2005) and the other at the Tangiers Film Festival for 'Ici et Là' by Rachid Boutounès (2005)- Monique Vermont was born on 17 April 1950 in Casablanca, Morocco. She is an actress, known for The Music Man (1962), Don't Call Me Charlie (1962) and Wagon Train (1957). She was previously married to Henry Frantz.
- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Mimi was born in Morocco, when she was a couple of months old, her parents moved to the Netherlands. In the Netherlands Mimi always knew she wanted to be an actress from a very young age, but living on the safe side she decided to get a college degree first.
She studied Integrated Communication Management at the Hogeschool van Utrecht and she also has a Postgraduate Diploma in Advertising from Westherts College, Watford, part of the Hertfordshire University in the UK.
When she finished that, she decided it was time to follow her childhood dream. She send her photos and resume to a casting agency in Amsterdam and within three days she got an audition and within ten days she had one of the leading parts in a soap opera: 'Onderweg naar Morgen'.
After three and a half years she decided she wanted more and she quit the soap opera to pursue more in-depth parts, which she soon got in several film and television series. She took many acting workshops both in Amsterdam as well as in Los Angeles.
Being from Moroccan origin, having an international appearance and speaking multiple languages, as well as having experience for ten years as an actress, Mimi is a familiar face on Dutch television and theatre in many different roles and nationalities. Next to that, she is also working in Los Angeles on a web series/film, and will soon be working in Moroccan and English productions as well. She speaks fluent Dutch, English, (Moroccan) Arabic, and some French, Spanish and German as well. She loves music and she is also a very good (belly) dancer.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Asmae ElMoudir was born in 1990 in Salé, Morocco. She is a director and writer, known for The Mother of All Lies (2023), The Postcard (2020) and Le Soleil Des Autres.- Actress
- Additional Crew
Soumaya Akaaboune was born on 16 February 1974 in Tangier, Morocco. She is an actress, known for Green Zone (2010), Playing for Keeps (2012) and Lovelace (2013).- Writer
- Director
- Actress
Born in Tangier in 1980, Maryam Touzani spent her childhood in her hometown before pursuing university studies in journalism in London. Passionate about writing, she returned to Morocco after her studies and worked there as a journalist, specializing in Maghreb cinema. Quickly, she felt the need to express herself through her own films.
In 2008, she wrote and directed a documentary for the first National Women's Day in Morocco, an important date for the country. Other documentaries will follow... "When they slept "(2012), her first short fiction film, will be screened and awarded at prestigious festivals around the world, winning a total of seventeen awards.
In 2015, her second short film, "Aya Goes to the Beach" continued on the same path, winning fifteen awards. Thanks to the highly acclaimed "Much Loved" (2015) by director Nabil Ayouch, selected for the Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival, she deepens her experience by collaborating closely with the director, working on the development of the script and participating in the shooting at various levels. Shortly after, she co-wrote with Nabil Ayouch her last feature film, "Razzia", presented in competition at the Toronto International Film Festival and which will represent Morocco at the Oscars. In "Razzia", where she also plays one of the main roles, she finds herself on the other side of the camera for the first time.
"Adam", the first fiction feature film by Maryam Touzani, will make its world premiere in the official selection at the Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section. The film will then be selected at renowned festivals such as the Toronto International Film Festival, The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Rotterdam International Film Festival, Palm Springs International Film Festival, Chicago International Film Festival, American Institute Film Fest, among others, and will win 23 awards to date. It will also be sold in over 20 countries.
In 2019 Maryam becomes a member of the Academy of Oscars. The same year, "Adam" will be the official selection of Morocco for the Oscar race in the category of best foreign film.- Myriem Roussel was born on 26 December 1962 in Rabat, Morocco. She is an actress, known for Hail Mary (1985), The Devils of Monza (1987) and The Venus Trap (1988).
- Loubna Abidar was born on 20 September 1985 in Marrakech, Morocco. She is an actress, known for Much Loved (2015), Sugar and Stars and Amin (2018).
- David L. Ross was born on 24 April 1939 in Morocco. He is an actor, known for Star Trek (1966), Rocky II (1979) and McMillan & Wife (1971). He has been married to Malynda since 12 January 1980. They have four children.
- Farah Hamed was born on 9 July 1981 in Tétouan, Morocco. She is an actress, known for Retorno a Hansala (2008), All the Names of God (2023) and The Last Days (2013).