Marisa Abela

Marisa Gabrielle Abela (born 7 December 1996) is an English actress. She is known for her roles in the BBC Two and HBO series Industry (2020–present) and the Sky One series COBRA (2020). She portrayed Amy Winehouse in the biographical drama film Back to Black (2024).

Marisa Abela
Abela in 2024
Born	Marisa Gabrielle Abela (1996-12-07) 7 December 1996 (age 28) Brighton, East Sussex, England
Alma mater	Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2008–present
Partner	Jamie Bogyo (engaged)

Abela was named a 2023 Screen International Star of Tomorrow.^[1]

Early life and education

Marisa Gabrielle Abela was born on 7 December 1996 in Brighton to actress Caroline Gruber and director Angelo Abela and grew up in Rottingdean with her older brother Jack.^[2]

Her father is of Maltese-Libyan descent, and her mother is of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry.^[3][4]

She attended Roedean School and took drama classes with the Theatre Workshop.^[5][6] She initially intended to study History and Law at UCL and become a human rights lawyer, but changed her mind last minute and decided to pursue acting instead.^[7][8] She went on to graduate from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in 2019.^[9][10]

Career

Abela first appeared aged 11 as the character Alice in the thriller Man in a Box (2008).

After graduating from RADA, Abela made her television debut in 2020 with main roles in the Sky One political thriller COBRA as Ellie Sutherland and the BBC Two and HBO office drama Industry as Yasmin Kara-Hanani.^[11] She appeared in the 2022 films She Is Love and Rogue Agent.^[12]

In July 2022, Abela joined the cast of Greta Gerwig's Barbie (2023).^[13] She next starred as Amy Winehouse in Back to Black (2024), a biopic about the late singer by Sam Taylor-Johnson.^{[14] [15]}

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2008	Man in a Box	Alice
2022	Rogue Agent	Sophie Jones
	She Is Love	Louise
2023	Barbie	Teen Talk Barbie
2024	Back to Black	Amy Winehouse
2025	Black Bag †		Filming[16]

Key

†	Denotes films that have not yet been released

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2020	COBRA	Ellie Sutherland	Recurring role
2020–present	Industry	Yasmin Kara-Hanani	Main role[17]

Video games

Year	Title	Voice role
2020	Five Dates	Maya

Accolades

Award	Year	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
BAFTA Film Awards	2025	Rising Star Award	—	Nominated	[18]
London Film Critics' Circle	2025	Breakthrough Performer	Back to Black	Nominated	[19]
Savannah Film Festival	2024	Next Gen Award	—	Won	[20]

References

1. Salisbury, Mark (28 June 2023). "Stars of Tomorrow 2023: Marisa Abela (actor)". Retrieved 29 June 2023.
2. Ruffner, Zoe (2 September 2020). "Meet Marisa Abela, the Breakout Star of the New HBO Series Industry". Vogue. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
3. Russell, Scarlett (26 December 2020). "Industry stars Myha'la Herrold and Marisa Abela on the truth about those sex scenes". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
4. Newbould, Chris (25 July 2022). "Marisa Abela on playing a Lebanese character in HBO's 'Industry'". The National. Archived from the original on 27 July 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
5. "Head's Weekly Review". Roedean School. 16 May 2016. p. 3. Archived from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
6. "Spotlight On… Marisa Abela!". The Theatre Workshop. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
7. Manelis, Michele (1 January 2021). "Marisa Abela on "Industry"". Golden Globe Awards. Archived from the original on 13 January 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
8. Arsenault, Bridget (17 April 2021). "An interview with Marisa Abela of Industry". Air Mail. Archived from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
9. "Marisa Abela". RADA. Archived from the original on 6 April 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
10. del Rosario, Alexandria (17 December 2020). "'Industry' Star Marisa Abela Signs With WME". Deadline. Archived from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
11. Bownass, Helan. "Industry star Marisa Abela on series two of the thrilling BBC drama and the power of female desire". Stylist. Archived from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
12. Lang, Brent (22 April 2021). "Haley Bennett, Sam Riley Starring in Improvisational Romance 'She Is Love' (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
13. Grobar, Matt (5 July 2022). "Greta Gerwig's 'Barbie' Adds 'Industry' Actor Marisa Abela". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 16 July 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
14. Ravindran, Manori (28 July 2022). "Amy Winehouse Movie Heats Up as 'Industry' Star Marisa Abela Emerges as Frontrunner to Play Singer". Variety. Archived from the original on 28 July 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
15. D'Souza, Shaad (13 January 2023). "Amy Winehouse biopic: first photo released of Marisa Abela as late singer". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 13 January 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
16. Kroll, Justin (7 March 2024). "Back To Black Star Marisa Abela Reunites With Focus On Steven Soderbergh Thriller Black Bag". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
17. "Yasmin played by Marisa Abela". HBO. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
18. Ritman, Alex (7 January 2025). "Mikey Madison, Marisa Abela and David Jonsson Among BAFTA Rising Star Award Nominees". Variety. Archived from the original on 8 January 2025. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
19. Ford, Lily (19 December 2024). "'The Brutalist', 'Anora' Set the Pace With 7 London Critics' Circle Film Awards Noms Each". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 8 January 2025. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
20. Buenahora, Andrés (7 January 2025). "'The Wild Robot' Wins SCAD Savannah Film Festival Audience Award". Variety. Archived from the original on 8 January 2025. Retrieved 8 January 2025.

External links

• Marisa Abela at IMDb