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Romi Aboulafia
Aboulafia in 2010
Born
NationalityIsraeli
EducationLondon Film School
OccupationActress
Years active1990–present
Spouse
(m. 2016)
Children1
RelativesOrly Adelson (aunt)
Andrew Adelson (uncle)
Hana Laszlo (mother-in-law)

Romi Aboulafia (Hebrew: רומי אבולעפיה) is an Israeli actress, screenwriter and filmmaker.

Early life[edit]

Aboulafia was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, to a Sephardic Jewish family. She started acting at the age of six and was cast for a lead role in the award-winning Israel drama Shabatot VeHagim.[1][2]

She was enlisted as a soldier in the IDF Spokesperson's Unit.

Career[edit]

Acting[edit]

In 2010, she starred in John Madden’s The Debt alongside Helen Mirren, Jessica Chastain, and Sam Worthington.[3] The film was released by Fox Searchlight Pictures in 2011. That year, she also starred in the Israeli LGBTQ cult indie Joe + Bell by director Veronica Kedar.[4] In 2012, she starred in Nony Geffen's Not in Tel Aviv,[5] which won the Jury Award at Locarno Film Festival, as well as in Endemol Shine’s strip-club-thriller Allenby. In 2014, she participated in the television series Very Important Man alongside Yehuda Levi, as well as starring in the German film Anywhere Else [de] alongside her mother-in-law Hana Laszlo. In 2018, she starred in Endemol Shine’s Harem alongside Alon Abutbul.

Filmmaking[edit]

After her two years of mandatory army service, Aboulafia moved to the UK to study film. She earned a MFA from the London Film School and directed her thesis film Eyes, which was shot in Israel. Throughout her acting career she's also worked as a film editor.

In 2019, she began developing a television series for Endeavour Content with her husband Ben Giladi and Hagai Levi.[6][7][8]

Modeling[edit]

At the age of eighteen, Aboulafia became the first spokesmodel for Israeli fashion brand Castro. Aboulafia presented the company for one season before deciding to leave the country to study film.[9][10][11] Castro spokesmodels that followed include Gal Gadot and Bar Refaeli.

Personal life[edit]

Aboulafia married Israeli film and television producer Ben Giladi in 2016.[12][13] The two have a child together and live in London.[14] She is the daughter-in-law of Israeli actress and comedian Hana Laszlo, sister-in-law of actor Mark Ivanir and the niece of television executive Orly Adelson.[15][citation needed]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "אימפריית רומי". israelhayom.co.il. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  2. ^ Shabatot VeHagim, retrieved 20 December 2019
  3. ^ Taylor, Ella (31 August 2011). "'The Debt': History's Burden, And A Moral Calculus". NPR. NPR. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  4. ^ Koehler, Robert (1 August 2011). "Joe + Belle". Variety. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  5. ^ "Not in Tel Aviv: AFI Fest Review". The Hollywood Reporter. 6 November 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  6. ^ White, Peter (11 April 2019). "'Fauda' Writer Michal Aviram, 'Harem' Star Romi Aboulafia & 'The Affair' Co-Creator Hagai Levi Team On Female Detective Thriller 'The Public'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  7. ^ "Hagai Levi to produce new thriller series". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  8. ^ "'Fauda' Writer Michal Aviram, 'Harem' Star Romi Aboulafia & 'The Affair' Co-Creator Hagai Levi Team On Female Detective Thriller 'The Public'". Flipboard. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  9. ^ "קסטרו: רומי אבולעפיה יוצאת, בקי גריפין נכנסת". ynet (in Hebrew). 21 December 2003. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  10. ^ ביין, ענת (1 September 2003). "קסטרו בודקת אפשרות להחלפת הדוגמנית רומי אבולעפיה בבקי גריפין". Globes (in Hebrew). Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  11. ^ "קסטרו מחפשת מחליפה לרומי אבולעפיה". וואלה! תרבות (in Hebrew). 26 November 2003. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  12. ^ "רומי אבולעפיה התחתנה עם בן גלעדי באיביזה". mako. 27 June 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  13. ^ "רומי אבולעפיה חושפת בטן הריונית של חודש שביעי | TMI". tmi.maariv.co.il. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  14. ^ "בלונדון התנהג כרומי". עלונדון (in Hebrew). 7 March 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  15. ^ Kupfer, Ruta (6 September 2012). "Hollywood's Israeli-born Woman of Impact". Haaretz. Retrieved 5 December 2021.

External links[edit]

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