Itzik Cohen

Itzik Cohen was born in 1968 in Tel Aviv

Cohen was born in Tel Aviv in 1968, the eldest child of Naomi and Meir, and was named after his grandfather. He grew up in the Tzahala neighborhood and later moved with his family to Jaffa. He attended the Herzliya Gymnasium.

He joined the IDF in 1987. He later studied at the Department of Theater at Tel Aviv University and earned a BA with honors in 1993.

In 1996 he founded the drag band Bnot Pesia with fellow students. On stage he worked with Rina Yerushalmi and then at the Cameri Theater, with roles in Rabbi Kamea, Father's Braid, The Producers, Fiddler on the Roof, Sallah Shabati and Kazablan. In 2017 he played Edna Turnblad in Hairspray and starred in The Who & The What at the Haifa Theatre.

In 2002 he co-created the Channel 2 series Johnny and played the title character's Iraqi mother. In 2009 he starred in the film A Matter of Size. Since 2015 he has played Captain Gabi Ayub, a Shin Bet interrogator, in Fauda.

In 1998 he married Michal Kirschenbaum, and they have a daughter. He came out as gay in 2002, and the couple divorced in 2005. In 2012 they had a son, Raphael.