Etti Ankri

Etti Ankri was born in 1963 in Lod

Esther "Etti" Ankri was born in 1963 in Lod and grew up there. She was the third of 5 children of a Jewish family of Tunisian origin. Her father Andre was a policeman, and her mother Hanna was a homemaker.

As a teenager she was mentored by the actress Miriam Nevo at the Lod community center. After her army service she studied at the Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music.

She began acting in the TV drama Lehem and appeared in Israeli and American films such as Deadline and Steal the Sky. In 1987 she competed in the Israeli Eurovision preselection. Her debut album came out in 1990 and sold over 100,000 copies.

She released more albums, performed with David D'Or, and acted in the series Shabatot VeHagim from 1999 to 2001. In 2001 she became religiously observant, and her album Yam from that year reflected this change. She later set poems of Yehuda Halevi to music.

She is married to the theater actor Doron Linik and has 3 children. She received the ACUM lifetime achievement award.