Aamit Farkas-Yonas ( he, עמית פרקש; born ) is a Canadian-born Israeli actress and singer. She is best known as the protagonist of the Israeli television series '' Split''.

Biography

Melissa Amit Farkas was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada, to an

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family. At the age of two years, her family moved back with her to Israel, and resided in the cities of Ramat HaSharon and

Caesarea Caesarea () ( he, קֵיסָרְיָה, ), ''Keysariya'' or ''Qesarya'', often simplified to Keisarya, and Qaysaria, is an affluent town in north-central Israel, which inherits its name and much of its territory from the ancient city of Caesare ...

. At thirteen, she began to study singing. She became known in 2006 when she recorded the song ''Millions of Stars'' in memory of her brother, Captain Tom Farkash, who died in a helicopter crash during the

Second Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...

in 2006 while serving in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

. On hearing of his death, Amit asked a friend of Tom to write the song, which she sung for the first time publicly at his funeral. It gained fame on radio and became the song most closely identified with the war. She served as a soldier in the

Israeli Air Force Band The Israeli Air Force Band (IAF Band) ( he, להקת חיל האוויר) is the principal musical ensemble of the Israeli Air Force, a service branch of the Israel Defense Force (IDF). History The Israeli Air Force Band was established in May 1 ...

. From 2007 to 2008 Farkash played a lead role in the Israeli version of

High School Musical ''High School Musical'' is a 2006 American musical television film directed by Kenny Ortega and written by Peter Barsocchini. The 63rd Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) and first installment of the ''High School Musical'' film series, th ...

. She also performed at the Hanukkah Festigal in 2009 and 2011. In 2010 she released the single ''Something New''. In 2009 Farkash got her first big lead role in TV, starring as Ella Rosen in the Israeli fantasy drama series '' Split''. The series was a huge international success and aired in a total of 78 different countries. In 2012 Farkash was a contestant in season seven of the Israeli series

Dancing With the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

. She was partnered with professional dancer ''Oron Dahan'' and won the third place. Since 2014 Farkash has only appeared in a few television roles, refocusing her career on

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

. In recent years has starred in Israeli adaptations of musicals including ''Spring Awakening''https://playstosee.com/spring-awakening-fruhlings-erwachen-%D7%90%D7%91%D7%99%D7%91-%D7%9E%D7%AA%D7%A2%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%A8/ and as Maria in ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. Se ...

''. In 2015 she released another single entitled ''Leyadcha''. In September 2019 Farkash married her partner Yair Yonas and in January 2021 gave birth to the couple's first child, Anna.

Filmography

Film

Television

Discography

* 2006: מיליון כוכבים (A Million Stars, single) * 2010: Something New (single) * 2015: Leyadcha (single)

References

External links

*
Amit Farkash
at Ishim (Israeli film data base) {{DEFAULTSORT:Farkash, Amit 1989 births Living people Actresses from Toronto Canadian emigrants to Israel Canadian people of Romanian-Jewish descent Israeli Ashkenazi Jews Israeli people of Romanian-Jewish descent Israeli television actresses Jewish Canadian actresses Musicians from Toronto People from Ramat HaSharon People from Caesarea, Israel Canadian Ashkenazi Jews