Leïla Bekhti

Yasmine Leïla Bekhti is a French film and television actress born on 6 March 1984. She is best known for her feature film roles in Tout ce qui brille, Paris, je t'aime, and Sheitan. Across her career, she has performed in numerous French and international film, television, and web productions.

Bekhti was born in Issy-les-Moulineaux to an Algerian family originating from Sidi Bel-Abbes, and she is the youngest of three children. She pursued drama studies in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, followed by training under Stéphane Gildas in Tolbiac and Bérengère Basty at the Art'aire studio. To finance her acting education, she worked odd jobs in telemarketing and clothing retail. She self-identifies as a Muslim and speaks Algerian Arabic, which she learned from her grandmother.

In 2005, Bekhti auditioned for the film Sheitan and was cast as Yasmin, marking her feature film debut upon its release in February 2006. That same year, she portrayed Zarka in the "Quais de Seine" segment of Paris, je t'aime, played Mounia in Mauvaise Foi, and acted opposite Smaïn in Alain Tasma's telefilm Harkis. On television, she also made early appearances in Madame le Proviseur and the series Les Tricheurs.

Bekhti expanded her filmography in 2008 by winning a Best Actress Award at the Silhouette Festival for Choisir d'aimer. She appeared in the telefilm Pour l'amour de Dieu, starred in Ali Baba, and was shortlisted for the César Award for Best Actress for her role as Lya in Des poupées et des anges. Her prominence grew further with supporting roles in Jean-François Richet's Mesrine: Killer Instinct and Jacques Audiard's A Prophet, in which she played the sole female role, Djamila. During this period, she also acted in Conte de la frustration, the web-series Twenty Show, and the 2009 mini-series Le choix de Myriam.

In 2010, Bekhti achieved major critical and commercial success starring as Lila in Géraldine Nakache's debut film Tout ce qui brille, which sold over 1.3 million tickets. Her performance earned her the César Award for Most Promising Actress and a Golden Swan Award at the Cabourg Film Festival. That same year, she worked on the telefilm Vous êtes leur crainte alongside feature projects including Itinéraire bis, Toi, moi, les autres..., and Il reste du jambon?. She subsequently starred in the French-Moroccan co-production The Source, which competed at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, and signed as a face for the cosmetic brand L'Oréal in 2011.

Bekhti's later screen work includes starring as French police officer Kahina Zadi in the 2016 Swedish television series Midnattssol and appearing in a Maria Montessori biopic that secured distribution deals in 2024. In her personal life, Bekhti is married to actor Tahar Rahim, whom she met on the set of A Prophet in 2007. The couple has four children, born in 2017, 2020, 2021, and March 2024. In June 2024, she joined her husband in signing a petition calling on French President Emmanuel Macron to officially recognize the State of Palestine.