Maisa Abd Elhadi

Maisa Abd Elhadi was born in 1985 in Nazareth

Maisa Abd Elhadi was born in Nazareth in 1985 to a Muslim Arab family. Her father is a family doctor and her mother is a beautician. She is the second of 4 children.

After high school she worked as a waitress and married young, then divorced. She earned a degree in hydrotherapy at the Wingate Institute and performed with an amateur group in Nazareth. She later graduated from the Academy of Performing Arts in Tel Aviv.

Director Elia Suleiman met her in a restaurant and cast her in The Time That Remains in 2009. She won Best Actress at the Dubai International Film Festival for Habibi Rasak Kharban in 2011. Her later films include 3000 Nights, The Reports on Sarah and Saleem, Tel Aviv on Fire and Huda's Salon.

On Israeli television she appeared in series such as 30 Shekels an Hour and Dead for a Moment. In Britain she acted in The State in 2017 and in Baghdad Central in 2020. She made her London stage debut in 2016.

In May 2021 she was shot in the leg by Israeli forces during a protest in Haifa. In October 2023 she was put on trial over social media posts. In November 2024 she was released from house arrest under restrictions on social media use.