Najla Said

Najla Said
نجلاء سعيد
Born (1974-04-04) 4 April 1974 (age 50)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma materPrinceton University
Occupations
Years active2011–present
WorksFull list
Parents
RelativesWadad Makdisi Cortas (grandmother)
Rosemarie Said Zahlan (aunt)
Jean Said Makdisi (aunt)
Saree Makdisi (cousin)
Writing career
LanguageEnglish
PeriodContemporary
GenreNon-fiction, memoir
Notable worksLooking for Palestine: Growing Up Confused in An Arab-American Family
Websitenajlasaid.com

Najla Said (Arabic: نجلاء سعيد; born 4 April 1974) is a Arab–American author, actress, playwright, and activist. Said's literary and academic work addresses racism, stereotyping, social and economic inequality, with a particular focus on the challenges that face immigrant and second-generation Americans.

Life

Said grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.[1] Her father was the noted postcolonial scholar and public intellectual Edward Said and her mother is the writer and activist Mariam C. Said.[2] She graduated from Trinity School in 1992 and Princeton University and trained in acting at The Shakespeare Lab of the Public Theatre.

In 2013, Said discussed Arab identity politics with Salon magazine and her approaching of the subject in her book Looking for Palestine.[3]

Acting career

In 2010, Said featured in a one-woman off-Broadway play, Palestine.[4]

Said has appeared in films including My Love Affair with Marriage, as well as several US TV shows including New Girl, NCIS: New Orleans and New Amsterdam.[5]

Works

  • Looking for Palestine: Growing Up Confused in an Arab-American Family. Penguin Group US. August 1, 2013. ISBN 978-1-101-63215-4.
  • "Najla Said: An Open Letter to Shakira: We Are Not All Israel". Guernica. June 24, 2011.

References

  1. ^ "From the Upper West Side to the Middle East: Najla Said on Her New Memoir, Looking for Palestine". Vogue. July 31, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2013.
  2. ^ Anam, Nasia (March 31, 2014). "He Said, She Said: Najla Said's "Looking for Palestine"". Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  3. ^ Dickson, Ej (July 28, 2013). "Najla Said: "My Arab-American story is not typical in any way"". Salon.
  4. ^ Felicia R. Lee (February 8, 2010). "Identity Found: On West Side via West Bank". The New York Times. "Najla's play is important because it adds a personal dimension to the difficulties of communication in a life that has many different reference points," Mr. Barenboim said...
  5. ^ IMDB website, Retrieved 2023-05-17


Stub icon

This article about an American actor is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.