Clara Khoury

Clara Khoury — Biography

Born into a Palestinian family in Haifa, Clara Khoury is the daughter of the award-winning actor Makram Khoury and sister of actor-composer Jamil Khoury and curator Roula Khoury. She studied cinema at the Open University in Tel Aviv and drama at the Beit Zvi Acting School, and now lives in California.

Working across film, television and theatre in Arabic, Hebrew, English and French, Khoury made her screen debut in the 2002 Cannes selection Rana's Wedding, directed by Hany Abu-Assad, winning the Best Actress award at the Marrakech International Film Festival for the role. She gained wider international recognition through Eran Riklis's The Syrian Bride (2004), and appeared in Ridley Scott's Body of Lies as well as Lipstikka, The Inheritance and Laila in Haifa; her television credits include Homeland and Baghdad Central. She has twice won the Israeli Academy of Film and Television award for her role in Arab Labor.