Rotem Sela ( he, רותם סלע) is an Israeli model, actress and television presenter best-known for playing Noa Hollander on the hit TV-show ''

Beauty and the Baker ''The Beauty and the Baker'' () is an Israeli romantic-comedy TV series that follows the love story between a simple baker and an international supermodel. It ranks as one of the highest-rated scripted series ever in Israel.

Early life

Sela was born in

Kiryat Haim Kiryat Haim ( he, קריית חיים , ar, كريات حاييم) is a neighborhood of Haifa, Israel. It is considered part of the Krayot cluster in the northern part of metropolitan Haifa. In 2008, Kiryat Haim had a population of just un ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, to Jewish parents. Her mother Liora ( Shaulsky) is

i-born and of

Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

(

Polish-Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lon ...

) descent, and her father Avraham Sela is a fourth-generation

Sabra Sabra may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Sabra (comics), a fictional Israeli female superhero in the Marvel Comics universe * Sabra (magazine), a Japanese magazine for men * ''Sabra Command'' the original title of the film ''Warhead'' * "Sabr ...

(Israeli-born Jew). She moved with her family to the affluent city of

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 ...

, Israel, when Sela was 17. Her common Hebrew first name is a derivative of the biblical desert shrub

Retama ''Retama'' (also known as ''rotem'', he, רותם) is a genus of flowering bushes in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the broom tribe, Genisteae. ''Retama'' broom bushes are found natively in North Africa, the Levant and some parts of ...

, while her surname means "a rock" in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

. She was enlisted to 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 ...

, serving as a clerk for the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

headquarters at

HaKirya HaKirya, or The Kirya ( he, הַקִּרְיָה, ''lit.'' The Campus), is an area in central Tel Aviv, consisting of an urban military base north of Kaplan Street, and a civilian area south of it. HaKirya contains the Tel Aviv District's govern ...

base. She graduated in 2011 with a degree in

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

and

business administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

from the

IDC Herzliya Reichman University ( he, אוניברסיטת רייכמן) is Israel's only private university, located in Herzliya, Tel Aviv District. It was founded in 1994 as the IDC Herzliya private college, before being rebranded in 2021. It receives no ...

college in

Herzliya Herzliya ( ; he, הֶרְצְלִיָּה ; ar, هرتسليا, Hirtsiliyā) is an affluent city in the central coast of Israel, at the northern part of the Tel Aviv District, known for its robust start-up and entrepreneurial culture. In it h ...

, Israel, and passed the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

.Meet Rotem Sela, The Israeli Actress Who Provoked Netanyahu By Calling Arabs ‘Human Beings’
The Forward. 11 March 2019

Career

Sela has said that she prioritises having a career in Israel instead of pursuing opportunities elsewhere; “

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

cannot be replaced by any city in the world. It’s always surprising to people, but it’s really not my dream to succeed in

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, I want to succeed here, to work here, to do Israeli work…it was important to me to stay here.” As a model she currently fronts the ''

Castro Castro is a Romance language word that originally derived from Latin ''castrum'', a pre-Roman military camp or fortification (cf: Greek: ''kastron''; Proto-Celtic:''*Kassrik;'' br, kaer, *kastro). The English-language equivalent is '' chester''. ...

'' campaigns alongside

Aviv Alush Avraham Aviv Alush ( he, אברהם אביב אלוש; born ) is an Israeli actor, musician, model, and television host. best known as Amos Dahari "The Baker" in the Israeli series ''Beauty and the Baker'', and as Jesus in the American film '' T ...

. In 2013 she was cast as the female lead in ''

'' alongside Alush after

Bar Refaeli Bar Refaeli ( he, בר רפאלי; born ) is an Israeli model, television host, businesswoman and actress. She is among the most internationally successful models to come from Israel, appearing on the cover of the 2009 ''Sports Illustrated'' Sw ...

exited the role. Sela plays Noa Hollander a privileged

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

model and heiress that falls in love with a working-class Yemenite baker Amos Dahari (Alush). The series was positively reviewed by ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...

'' newspaper. In 2017

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

acquired global rights of the first two seasons of the show to stream them worldwide on

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...

. In 2018 she was cast as a series regular in ''The Psychologist'', an

Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC; he, תאגיד השידור הישראלי, translit=Ta'agid HaShidur HaYisra'eli, lit=Israeli Broadcasting Corporation; ar, هيئة البث الإسرائيلي, translit=Hayyat al-Bathi al- ...

show that follows a similar format to the

Lisa Kudrow Lisa Valerie Kudrow ( ; born July 30, 1963) is an American actress, producer, and screenwriter. She rose to fame for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004), which has since been named one of the greatest television cha ...

series, ''

Web Therapy ''Web Therapy'' is an improvised online series starring Lisa Kudrow as Fiona Wallice, a therapist who has conceived of a new form of therapy, the titular "web therapy". The series debuted on LStudio.com on September 22, 2008. Synopsis Fiona Wal ...

''. In the same year Sela appeared alongside

Assi Cohen Assi Cohen ( he, אסי כהן; born October 10, 1974) is an Israeli comedian and actor. He is best known for his appearances in the feature film '' Colombian Love'' (alongside Mili Avital), as well as for television performances in ''Love Hurts' ...

as a

Haredi Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...

housewife in ''

Autonomies Autonomies ( he, אוטונומיות) is an Israeli dystopian drama miniseries created by Ori Elon and Yehonatan Indursky. The story is set in an alternate reality of present day Israel, a nation torn and divided by a wall into the secular “St ...

''. ''Autonomies'' is a dystopian drama about an Israel divided into two entities; the Haredi Autonomy in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

and a secular State of Israel in

Personal life

In 2010 she married Israeli businessman Ariel Rotter, with whom she has three children. Sela became a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

in 2007 and then began to approach veganism as well. In an interview with the

Pnai Plus ''Pnai Plus'' ( he, פנאי פלוס, lit. ''Leisure Plus''), or ''Pplus'', is one of the major Israeli magazines published weekly that covers the world of entertainment and television worldwide as well as the local Israeli television and celebri ...

newspaper in November 2015, she defined herself as "90% vegan". In 2014, she participated in a broadcast by the Vegan Friendly organization, which opposes the harm to cows in the dairy industry and calls for avoiding the consumption of dairy products. In March 2019, Sela criticized culture minister

Miri Regev Miriam "Miri" Regev ( he, מִרְיָם "מִירִי" רֶגֶב; born Miriam Siboni on 26 May 1965) is an Israeli politician and a former brigadier-general in the Israel Defense Forces, in which she served as IDF Spokeswoman. She currently s ...

's reaction to Arab political parties in Israel. Sela wrote that Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...

then responded directly to Sela's post and brought attention to the Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People. Sela was publicly supported by several Israeli figures, including Hollywood actress

Gal Gadot Gal Gadot-Varsano ( he, גל גדות ; born 30 April 1985) is an Israeli actress and model. At age 18, she was crowned Miss Israel 2004. She then served in the Israel Defense Forces for two years as a combat fitness instructor, whereafter sh ...

, model

Shlomit Malka Shlomit Malka ( he, שלומית מלכה-לוי; born December 23, 1993) is an Israeli fashion model and television host. Earlier in her career she was credited as Shiloh Malka, but she has since been credited as her birth name. She has appeared ...

, and

Arab-Israeli The Arab citizens of Israel are the largest ethnic minority in the country. They comprise a hybrid community of Israeli citizens with a heritage of Palestinian citizenship, mixed religions (Muslim, Christian or Druze), bilingual in Arabic an ...

newscaster

Lucy Aharish Lucy Aharish ( ar, لوسي هريش, he, לוסי אהריש; born 18 September 1981) is an Arab-Israeli news anchor, reporter, television host and actress. She was the first Muslim Arab news presenter on mainstream Hebrew-language Israeli tel ...

.Lucy Aharish, Arab-Israeli news anchor speaks out in Rotem Sela firestorm
The Jerusalem Post. 12 March 2019 Sela has supported

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

rights, telling

Ynet Ynet (stylized as ynet) is one of the major Israeli news and general-content websites, and is the online outlet for the '' Yedioth Ahronot'' newspaper. However, most of Ynet's content is original work, published exclusively on the website and wri ...

in 2015 that "I would give Nora Grinberg a torch, she's among the first

penly Penly is a former commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Petit-Caux.#MeToo movement had become too extreme she replied that "The situation before the #MeToo movement was extreme, this world in which men allowed themselves to talk and behave to women in an uninhibited way. The campaign is very important, and even if at the moment it feels to some people too extreme, it is okay and eventually the middle will be found."

Filmography

References

External links

*
Rotem Sela
at the

Fashion Model Directory The Fashion Model Directory (FMD) is an online database of information about fashion models, modelling agencies, fashion labels, fashion magazines, fashion designers, and fashion editorials. FMD has been described as "the IMDb of the fashion ind ...