Hafsia Herzi, a French actress and director, was born in Manosque and grew up in Marseille, surrounded by her Tunisian father and Algerian mother, who were among the four siblings, including two brothers and a sister, Dalila.
As a young girl, Hafsia Herzi began her acting career at the age of 13, landing a minor role in the TV movie "Notes sur le rire" for France 3, adapted from Marcel Pagnol's novel. She then appeared in a few extra roles, auditioning for series such as "Plus belle la vie" and "Sous le soleil", but was not selected.
However, in 2005, Hafsia Herzi's luck changed when she met Abdellatif Kechiche, who offered her the lead role in "La Graine et le mulet", in which she played the character of Rym. Her performance earned her the Marcello Mastroianni Prize at the 64th Venice Film Festival in 2007 and the César for Best Female Hopeful in 2008.
Despite never having taken acting classes, Hafsia Herzi left Marseille and moved to Paris, enrolling in law at the university, taking acting classes at the conservatory, and even taking diction classes to soften her Mediterranean accent. She eventually devoted herself exclusively to the cinema, quickly landing main roles in "Française" and "L'Aube du monde", in which she learned Iraqi.
In 2009, Hafsia Herzi played under the direction of Francis Huster in "Un homme et son chien", alongside Jean-Paul Belmondo, and shared the star with Jacques Dutronc for Xavier De Choudens' fourth film, "Joseph et la fille".
The year 2011 marked a significant turning point for the young actress, as she appeared in the posters of four films, including "Teddy Lussi-Modeste", "Le Chat du rabbin", "L' Apollonide - souvenirs de la maison" by Bertrand Bonello, and "La Source des femmes" by Radu Mihaileanu, alongside Leïla Bekhti.
Hafsia Herzi continued to grow as an actress, taking on more prominent roles in films such as "Fugues marocaines", "Le Sac de farine", "Certifiée halal", "Sex Doll", and collaborating again with Abdellatif Kechiche on the two controversial films "Mektoub, my love".
In addition to her acting career, Hafsia Herzi also ventured into directing, releasing her first feature film, "Tu mérites un amour", in 2019, in which she also played the lead role.
