Najwa Nimri

Najwa Nimri is a Spanish actress and singer who became one of the most distinctive faces of Spanish cinema and, more recently, of Spanish television exported worldwide by Netflix. Born on 14 February 1972 in Pamplona to a Spanish mother and a Jordanian father, she grew up in Bilbao before moving to Madrid at the age of seventeen to pursue performing.

She made her film debut in Daniel Calparsoro’s “Salto al vacío” (1995) and quickly became a fixture of 1990s and 2000s Spanish auteur cinema. Among her best-known films are Julio Medem’s “Lovers of the Arctic Circle” (1998), Alejandro Amenábar’s “Open Your Eyes” (1997) and “Sex and Lucía” (2001), as well as “The Method” (2005). Her performance in “Quién te cantará” (2018) earned her a Goya Award nomination.

For international audiences she is best known for two roles: the manipulative inmate Zulema Zahir in the prison drama “Locked Up” (“Vis a vis,” 2015–2020), and the relentless police inspector Alicia Sierra in the global hit “Money Heist” (“La Casa de Papel,” 2019–2021).

Alongside acting, Nimri has sustained a parallel music career. In 1996 she formed the duo Najwajean with producer Carlos Jean, whose album “No Blood” was an early example of trip-hop in Spain, and she has since released several solo records that lean towards electronic and alternative pop.

Her work has brought a string of honours, including two Fotogramas de Plata awards for best television actress and a Platino Award for best supporting actress in a miniseries in 2022, alongside multiple nominations for the Goya, Feroz and Forqué awards. Across three decades she has remained one of the most recognisable and versatile performers in the Spanish-speaking world, moving fluidly between art-house film, mainstream television and music.

Her most recent screen work includes the historical drama “The Red Virgin” (2024) and the series “Breathless,” confirming her continued presence at the centre of the Spanish industry. Admired for the cool intensity she brings to complex, often morally ambiguous women, Nimri has built a body of work that bridges the worlds of cinema, television and music with unusual consistency.