Samia Maxine Longchambon (''née'' Ghadie, previously Smith; born 13 July 1982) is an English actress. She has played the role of

Maria Connor Maria Connor (also Sutherland) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', portrayed by Samia Longchambon. The character made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 19 May 2000. During her time ...

in the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

'' since 2000.

Early life

Samia Ghadie was born in Eccles,

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

to Joseph, a French- Lebanese shop owner and Patsy, an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

actress whom he met whilst working in

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

. Samia lived there for a period as a child. She has a brother named Tariq.

Career

Longchambon first appeared as an extra in ''

'' at the age of eight and 10 years later she became a regular on the show. She made her first credited TV appearance when she was 11 years old, appearing in an episode of '' Cracker'' ("The Big Crunch"). She also made appearances in ''

Children's Ward ''Children's Ward'' (retitled ''The Ward'' from 1995 to 1998) is a British children's television drama series produced by Granada Television and broadcast on the ITV network as part of its '' Children's ITV'' strand on weekday afternoons. The p ...

'', '' Heartbeat'', ''

Doctors Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

'', ''

There's Only One Jimmy Grimble ''There's Only One Jimmy Grimble'', also known as ''Jimmy Grimble'', is a 2000 British drama film directed by John Hay (director), John Hay. It is centred on one young boy's dream to play for Manchester City F.C. The film is set around Oldham, ...

'' (feature film) and the children's series '' Life Force''. In 2000, she beat both

Suzanne Shaw Suzanne Christine Crowshaw (born 29 September 1981), known as Suzanne Shaw, is an English actress, singer and television personality, who rose to fame after winning the talent contest ''Popstars'' and subsequently being a member of the band Hear' ...

and

Kimberley Walsh Kimberley Jane Scott (née Walsh; born 20 November 1981) is an English singer, fashion designer, model, variety performer, television presenter, actress and dancer. She rose to fame in late 2002 when she auditioned for the reality series '' Po ...

to get the role of

Maria Sutherland Maria Connor (also Sutherland) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera '' Coronation Street'', portrayed by Samia Longchambon. The character made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 19 May 2000. During her tim ...

in the

soap opera ''

''. In Autumn 2009, she took a short break from her role as Maria in ''

'' on maternity leave and resumed her role in the show in May 2010. She won an episode of ''

Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes ''Stars in Their Eyes'' is a British television talent series, based on Joop van den Ende's Dutch format ''Soundmixshow''. It featured a singing contest in which members of the public impersonate showbiz stars. The show premiered on 21 July 1 ...

'' impersonating

Holly Valance Holly Rachel Candy (; born 11 May 1983), known professionally as Holly Valance, is an Australian actress and singer. Valance began her acting career on the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', as Felicity Scully (1999–2002, 2005, 2022). Sh ...

. She also made an appearance in ''

Bo' Selecta! ''Bo' Selecta!'' is a British television sketch show written and performed by Leigh Francis. It was broadcast on Channel 4 from 2002 until 2009 and lampooned popular culture, becoming known for its often surreal, abstract toilet humour. Seas ...

'' in 2004 as part of a ''Coronation Street'' sketch along with co-star

Suranne Jones Sarah Anne Akers (née Jones; born 27 August 1978), known professionally as Suranne Jones, is an English actress and producer. She rose to prominence as Karen McDonald in ''Coronation Street'' between 2000 to 2004. Upon leaving, she furthered h ...

. In January 2013, Longchambon was a competitor in the eighth series of ''

Dancing on Ice ''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series presented by Phillip Schofield alongside Holly Willoughby from 2006 to 2011, who then returned in 2018, and Christine Bleakley from 2012 to 2014. The series features celebrities and their profe ...

'', partnered with French professional ice skater Sylvain Longchambon. However, she was concussed a few days into the pre-series training and unfortunately eliminated in week eight of the competition, losing out in a skate-off to Luke Campbell.

Personal life

Samia married Matt Smith, a

property developer Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to others. R ...

, at St Philip's Church in

Alderley Edge Alderley Edge is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England. In 2011, it had a population of 4,780. Alderley Edge is northwest of Macclesfield and south of Manchester, at the base of a steep and thickly wooded sandstone escarpment, Alder ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

on 10 September 2005 after a seven-month engagement. On 19 October 2009, she gave birth to a baby girl, Freya, following which she left ''

'' temporarily on maternity leave. On 4 January 2011, she and her husband announced that they had separated by mutual agreement. On 4 November 2011, she revealed that she had reverted to her maiden surname of Ghadie following a

decree absolute A decree nisi or rule nisi () is a court order that will come into force at a future date unless a particular condition is met. Unless the condition is met, the ruling becomes a decree absolute (rule absolute), and is binding. Typically, the condi ...

which had been granted the same day. In May 2015, she announced her engagement to French professional ice skater Sylvain Longchambon. They married in August 2016. Their son, Yves Joseph Longchambon, was born on 24 September 2015. Samia's father Joseph died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

on 14 April 2009.

Filmography

Film

Television

Guest appearances

Samia has appeared twice on the

game show, ''

All Star Family Fortunes ''Family Fortunes'' is a British television game show based on the American game show ''Family Feud''. The programme ran on ITV (TV network), ITV from 6 January 1980 to 30 December 2002. A celebrity version, ''#All Star Family Fortunes, All St ...

''. Her first appearance was in a Christmas special in December 2006, when she appeared as part of the ''Battersby-Brown'' family. Her second appearance was in May 2012, when she appeared with her own family. In 2008, by then known as Samia Smith, she appeared as a guest on ''

Keith Lemon's Very Brilliant World Tour ''Keith Lemon's Very Brilliant World Tour'' is a travel-style comedy series hosted by Keith Lemon, a character portrayed by comedian Leigh Francis. The series was first announced during an appearance by Lemon on the ''Big Brother (UK), Big Brother ...

'' when the show visited

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. On 20 September 2014, Samia appeared as a contestant on the primetime game show, '' The Chase: Celebrity Special''.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Longchambon, Samia 1982 births Living people English people of Lebanese descent English people of French descent English child actresses English film actresses English soap opera actresses English television actresses People from Eccles, Greater Manchester 20th-century English actresses 21st-century English actresses Actresses from Salford