Marie-Lou Nahhas ( ar, ماري لو نحاس;) (born September 7, 1989) is a Lebanese American actress, model, and activist best known for playing

Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...

-born inmate Shani Abboud on Season 7 of ''

Orange Is the New Black ''Orange Is the New Black'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''OITNB'') is an American comedy-drama streaming television series created by Jenji Kohan for Netflix. The series is based on Piper Kerman's memoir '' Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Wo ...

''. Season 7 aired on Netflix in July 2019. She was a finalist for Miss Lebanon 2012. In August 2020, Nahhas appeared on the cover of ''

Marie Claire ''Marie Claire'' is a French international monthly magazine first published in France in 1937, followed by the United Kingdom in 1941. Since then various editions are published in many countries and languages. The feature editions focus on wo ...

Arabia''.

Activism

After earning her master's degree, Nahhas moved to New York City to pursue her acting career professionally in theatre and film. *In 2019, it was announced that Nahhas would be participating in Dubai's STEP Conference 2020, a tech festival for start-ups, finance, and entrepreneurship. She is set to speak as part of the conference's speakers line-up. *Nahhas is vocal about ending

female genital mutilation Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision, is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. The practice is found ...

, visiting with victims in Africa, particularly in Ethiopia’s Afar region, with the United Nations Population Fund and posting regularly on her social media about positive progress made to eliminate the practice. Nahhas's character on ''

'', Shani, was a victim of female genital mutilation.

Personal life

Nahhas speaks English,

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, Spanish, and Arabic.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nahhas, Marie-Lou 1980s births Living people Lebanese television actresses Actresses from Beirut University of Pittsburgh alumni Duquesne University alumni Lebanese emigrants to the United States 21st-century Lebanese actresses