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Mili Avital (Hebrew: מילי אביטל; born March 30, 1972) is an Israeli actress. She is the first Israeli actor to establish a career in Hollywood. Her international career began in her native Israel, starring on stage, film and television. She won the Israeli Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1991, moved to New York in 1993 to study theatre in English, was discovered by an agent while working in a restaurant, and started acting in Hollywood almost immediately. She has maintained her career in both countries since.

Early life

Avital was born in Jerusalem while her parents, Iko and Noni Avital, attended Bezalel Academy of Art and Design. Avital's father was born in Morocco, whereas her mother was born in Egypt and of Turkish-Jewish descent. She was raised in Tel Aviv, Israel, and in Ra'anana, Israel. She attended the Thelma Yellin High School of Arts in Givatayim, Israel, majoring in Theater. During her senior year in High School she starred in Christopher Hampton's Dangerous Liaisons at The Cameri Theater of Tel-Aviv.

International Career

In 1993, Avital arrived in New York City to study acting at the Circle in the Square Theatre School. The following year, discovered by an agent while working as a waitress, and was immediately cast as the female lead in the 1994 science fiction film Stargate, for which she received a Sci-fi Universe award. She has appeared in films such as Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man opposite Johnny Depp, Doug Ellin's Kissing a Fool opposite David Schwimmer, Polish Wedding opposite Claire Danes, and Robert Benton's The Human Stain opposite Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman. In 1999, she portrayed a Bosnian rape victim in the pilot episode of the long-running NBC legal drama, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Avital appeared in three other episodes of the series: "Parasites", "Manhattan Vigil", and "Depravity Standard". She also appeared in the Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode "Palimpsest". Her television work includes Scheherazade in the Emmy-nominated ABC miniseries Arabian Nights to rave reviews, Jon Avnet's Uprising, and After the Storm . In 2009–2010, Avital appeared in the FX TV show Damages, in a recurring role as the mistress to the husband of Patty Hewes (Glenn Close). She appeared in the 2012 ABC television series 666 Park Avenue.

She starred in the Israeli Cult film "Columbian Love" (2004), and in the Chinese-Israeli story "Noodle", for which she was nominated for the Israeli Academy Award for Best Actress, as well as "Person of the Year" (2008).

Avital has starred in Prisoners of War (aka Hatufim) (2009-2012) which the New York Times listed number one in its "Thirty Best International TV Shows of the Decade" (2019); it was later adapted to series Homeland (Showtime).

As a director, her short documentary film, I Think Myself I Am All the Time Younger, was part of the Tribeca Film Festival in 2004.

Avital directed, co-wrote, co-produced Next Stop - A Comedy of Misconnections, at the Broadway Comedy Club (2017-2018), showing briefly in Los Angeles and Palo-Alto, and in 2024 opening at the Habima National Theater in Israel, the only play to ever perform there in the English language.

In 2023 Avital co-wrote "I Hear You" with Shiri Artzi, which she co-produced with Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel, for the Theater for the Youth (Sami Levi's Artzi theater), which won Play of the Year, and Best Writers (2024).

For 2024, Avital has completed "Mary" opposite Anthony Hopkins, which will open on Netflix in December, "Kugel" opposite Sasson Gabai ("The Band's Visit), a spin off of the hit series Shtisel, as well as an Italian film based on Meir Shalev's award-winning novel, are both scheduled for release next year.

Personal Life

Avital is married to Academy Award winning screenwriter Charles Randolph (The Big Short, Bombshell), they have two kids, Benjamin and Fanya. The live in both London and New York.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

1. "Mili Avital". Times of India. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
2. Cashman, Greer Fay (3 March 2016). "Grapevine: 'I love you' in Hebrew". The Jerusalem Post.
3. "Israeli actress Mili Avital is back on Hollywood's radar". Haaretz.
4. "Noodle: Mili Avital interview: A strong connection". SBS Movies. 16 June 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
5. Kaplan, Don (25 April 2000). "SCHWIMMER'S ALI BABE; HER STARRING ROLE IN 'ARABIAN NIGHTS' WILL TEST THE FRIENDSHIP". New York Post. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
6. "Hollywood Now: Oscar Winners & New Show Bride and Prejudice". 18Doors. 9 March 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
7. Keck, William (8 August 2012). "Keck's Exclusives: New Bodies Check in to ABC's 666 Park Avenue". TV Guide. Retrieved 13 August 2012.

External links

• Mili Avital at IMDb

• 20th-century Israeli actresses
• 21st-century Israeli actresses
• Actresses from Jerusalem
• Circle in the Square Theatre School alumni
• Israeli emigrants to the United States
• Israeli film actresses
• Israeli people of Moroccan-Jewish descent
• Israeli people of Turkish-Jewish descent
• Israeli stage actresses
• Jewish Israeli actresses
• Living people
• Ophir Award Winners
• Thelma Yellin High School of Arts alumni
• 1972 births