Najwa Nimri Urrutikoetxea (Spanish: [ˈnaʝwa ˈnimɾj urutikoeˈtʃea]; born 14 February 1972) is a Spanish actress and singer.

Najwa Nimri
Nimri in 2018
Born
Najwa Nimri Urrutikoetxea

(1972-02-14) 14 February 1972 (age 52)
Pamplona, Navarre, Spain
Occupation(s) Actress, singer
Years active 1995–present
Musical career
Genres
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
Formerly of Najwajean (with Carlos Jean)
Spouse(s)
(m. 1995; div. 2000)

Nimri first appeared in the big screen with a leading role in Jump into the Void (1995).[1] In 1996, she formed musical duo Najwajean along with producer Carlos Jean, launching No Blood, an early instance of a trip-hop album in Spain.[2] Film roles that came after her debut include performances in Passages (1996), Open Your Eyes (1997), Blinded (1997), and Lovers of the Arctic Circle (1998), Sex and Lucia (2001), Fausto 5.0 (2001).

Her television work include villain roles in crime drama series Locked Up and Money Heist.[3]

Early life edit

Nimri's mother is from Pamplona and her father, Karam Nimri, is Jordanian.[4][5] She has a brother, a half-brother and two half-sisters. Najwa also has a cousin who is a singer named Alexander Nimier. When she was a child she moved to Bilbao with her family and was raised in Santutxu.[3] She now lives in Madrid.

Career edit

Her first major film role was in Salto al vacío, the first movie by film director Daniel Calparsoro. Her career as a singer started with small groups. In 1996, she formed the band Najwajean [es] with Carlos Jean.[6] She has also released three solo albums. From 1995 to 2000, she was married to Daniel Calparsoro.[7][8]

Several of her film roles won her praise: as Ana in Lovers of the Arctic Circle,[9] and as Elena in Sex and Lucia.[10] Both films were directed by Julio Medem.[11] She starred next to Eduardo Noriega in Abre los ojos,[12] and El método.[13]

She was nominated to the Goya Award for Best Actress for her performance as amnesiac diva Lila Cassen in Quién te cantará (2018).[14][15]

In 2020, she returned as Zulema in the spin off Vis a vis: El Oasis,[16] starring with Maggie Civantos.[17] She played Alicia Sierra, a policewoman inspector in (Money Heist) La casa de papel.[18] She voiced Kate Laswell in the 2019 video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.[19]

She joined season 2 of religious horror series 30 Coins to portray paranormal hunter and video podcaster Haruka.[20]

Discography edit

 
Nimri during a concert in Sala Bikini, Barcelona (2010)

With Carlos Jean as Najwajean edit

  • No Blood (1998) – No. 80
  • Asfalto (2001) (soundtrack) – No. 175
  • Guerreros (2002) (soundtrack) – No. 88
  • Najwajean Selection (2002) (compilation album) – No. 108
  • Till It Breaks (2008) – No. 20
  • Bonzo (2015)

Najwajean singles edit

  • I'm gonna be (1999)
  • Garota de Ipanema (1999)
  • Crime (2008)
  • Waiting (2015)
  • Bonzo (2015)
  • Drive me (2016)

Solo albums edit

  • Carefully (2001) – No. 76
  • Mayday (2003) – No. 48
  • Walkabout (2006) – No. 10 (50,000 copies sold; Gold)
  • Donde rugen los volcanes (2012)
  • Rat Race (2014)
  • Viene de Largo (2020)
  • AMA (2021)

Solo singles edit

  • That Cyclone (2001) from Carefully – No. 37
  • Following Dolphins (2001) from Carefully – No. 68
  • Go Cain (2003) from Mayday – No. 20
  • Hey Boys, Girls (2003) from Mayday – No. 26
  • Capable (2006) from Walkabout – No. 3
  • Push It (2006) from Walkabout
  • Le Tien, Le Mien (2006) from Walkabout
  • El último primate (2010) from El Ultimo primate
  • Como un animal (2010) from El ultimo primate.
  • Donde rugen los volcanes" (2012) from Donde rugen los volcanes
  • Somos su nuevo invitado (2012) from Donde rugen los volcanes
  • Feed Us (2014) from Rat Race
  • Rat race (2014) from Rat Race
  • Pijama (2014) from Rat Race
  • Lento (2020) from Viene de largo
  • Panpan (2020)
  • Mira Como Van (2020)
  • Santa Claus llego a la cuidad (2020)
  • Contra Quien Luchaba (2022)
  • Aperol (2022)
  • Esquiando (2023)
  • Big Bang (2023)
  • Chia (2023) ·

Filmography edit

Films edit

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1995 Salto al vacío (Jump into the Void) Alex [21]
1996 Pasajes (Passages) Gabi [22]
1997 Abre los ojos (Open Your Eyes) Nuria [23]
A ciegas (Blinded) Marrubi [24]
1998 Los amantes del círculo polar (Lovers of the Arctic Circle) Ana Character also performed by Kristel Díaz and Sara Valiente [25]
9'8 m/s² Ella [26]
2000 Asfalto Lucía [27]
2001 Fausto 5.0 Julia [28]
Before Night Falls Fina Correa [29]
Lucía y el sexo (Sex and Lucia) Elena [30]
2002 Piedras (Stones) Leire [31]
2003 Utopía (Utopia) Ángela [32]
2004 A+ (Amas) (A+) Dam [33]
Agents secrets (Secret Agents) Maria Menendez [34]
2005 El método (The Method) Nieves [35]
20 centímetros (20 Centimeters) La Conejo [36]
2006 Trastorno (Dementia) Natalia [37]
Las vidas de Celia (Celia's Lives) Celia [38][39]
2007 Mataharis Eva [40]
Oviedo Express Bárbara [41]
2010 Todo lo que tú quieras (Anything You Want) Marta [42]
Route Irish Marisol [43]
Habitación en Roma (Room in Rome) Edurne [44]
2011 Verbo Inés [45]
2012 The Wine of Summer Ana
2013 10.000 noches en ninguna parte (10,000 Nights Nowhere) Claudia [46]
2018 Quién te cantará Lila Cassen [47]
El árbol de la sangre (The Tree of Blood) Macarena [48]
La octava dimensión Olga Calderón
TBD Hildegart Aurora [49]

Television edit

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2015–2019 Vis a vis Zulema Zahir Main cast; 40 episodes
2018 Feliz Halloween Zulema Zahir Short special
2019–2021 La casa de papel Alicia Sierra Montes Main cast (season 3-5); 25 episodes
2020 Vis a vis: El Oasis Zulema Zahir Lead role; 8 episodes
2021–2022 Insiders Host 14 episodes
2022–present Sagrada familia Gloria Román Lead role; 8 episodes [50]
2023 30 monedas Haruka Season 2 [51]
2023 Berlin Alicia Sierra Montes 3 episodes
TBA Respira TBA Lead role; filming

Podcast edit

Year Title Role Episodes
2020 Vis a vis: Cara B Zulema Zahir Voice role, 10 episodes

Accolades edit

Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
1998 45th Ondas Awards Best Actress Lovers of the Arctic Circle & Open Your Eyes Won [52]
1999 13th Goya Awards Best Actress Lovers of the Arctic Circle Nominated [53]
2002 16th Goya Awards Best Supporting Actress Sex and Lucia Nominated [53]
2017 4th Feroz Awards Best Main Actress in a Series Locked Up Nominated [54]
2019 6th Feroz Awards Best Main Actress in a Series Nominated [55]
33rd Goya Awards Best Actress Quién te cantará Nominated [53]
69th Fotogramas de Plata Best Film Actress Nominated [56]
Best TV Actress Locked Up Won [57]
6th Platino Awards Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Series Nominated [58]
2021 8th Platino Awards Best Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or TV Series Money Heist Nominated [59]
2022 72nd Fotogramas de Plata Best TV Actress Won [60]
9th Platino Awards Best Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or TV Series Won [61]

References edit

  1. ^ Fuentes, Alberto de las (23 April 2004). "Misteriosa y tímida". El Mundo.
  2. ^ "Resucita el tándem Najwa + Jean". 20minutos. 13 June 2007.
  3. ^ a b Hernández, Nuria (21 October 2021). "Najwa Nimri, la 'villana oficial' de la televisión que dejó todo para estar seis años con su hijo". Vanity Fair.
  4. ^ "Particularísimo de Najwa Nimri". Fotogramas. 14 February 2018.
  5. ^ Diéguez, Antonio (7 June 2016). "Najwa Nimri: "Mi familia es la única cristiana de Jordania"". El Mundo (in Spanish). Unidad Editorial. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  6. ^ "Najwa Nimri y Carlos Jean continúa mañana en Vigo la gira gallega de presentación del álbum 'NajwaJean 10 years after'". Europa Press (in Spanish). Viga. 2 April 2008. Retrieved 14 October 2008.
  7. ^ Reyes, Vicky (16 November 2021). "Najwa Nimri: la icónica actriz detrás de Zulema Zahir y Alicia Sierra". Glamour.
  8. ^ "Calparsoro: Del cine de autor vasco al terror de encargo en USA". Noticine (in Spanish). 8 May 2007. Retrieved 14 October 2008.
  9. ^ "Los mejores papeles de Najwa Nimri, de 'Los amantes del círculo polar' a 'Quién te cantará'". MSN Entertainment. 25 October 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  10. ^ EFE (20 August 2001). "Julio Medem presenta en Madrid 'Lucía y el sexo', su película más complicada". El País (in Spanish). Madrid: Prisa. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  11. ^ "Los amantes del Círculo Polar se reencuentran 20 años después". Academia de Cine (in Spanish). 25 September 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  12. ^ Gómez, Laura (4 February 2014). "Cine de ciencia ficción: Abre los ojos". Hobby Consolas (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  13. ^ Repiso, Isabel (20 August 2015). "Un "Método" de éxito". ABC (in Spanish). Vocento. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  14. ^ "Najwa Nimri: "No esperaba estar nominada a los Goya"". Europa Press. Madrid. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  15. ^ Zas Marcos, Mónica (27 October 2018). "No voy a decir si soy feminista o no porque hay muchos hombres que lo usan como coartada moral". eldiario.es.
  16. ^ "'Vis a vis' vuelve con un 'spin off' con Najwa Nimri y Maggie Civantos como protagonistas". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 23 May 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  17. ^ Europa Press (23 May 2019). "Najwa Nimri y Maggie Civantos protagonizarán el 'spin-off' de 'Vis a Vis'". El Periódico. Grupo Zeta. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  18. ^ Sanz Ezquerro, David (29 May 2019). "Najwa Nimri, una 'poli mala' en La casa de papel". El Mundo (in Spanish). Unidad Editorial Información General, S.L.U. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  19. ^ Tiramillas (21 October 2019). "Najwa Nimri dará voz a Kate Laswell en 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare'". Marca (in Spanish). Unidad Editorial Información Deportiva, S.L.U. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  20. ^ Loftus, Johnny (25 October 2023). "Stream It Or Skip It: '30 Coins' Season 2 on Max, The Return Of This Ambitious Religious Horror Series From Spain (Now With More Paul Giamatti!)". Decider.com.
  21. ^ "'Salto al vacío', el debut de Daniel Calparsoro y Najwa Nimri". Diez Minutos. 12 September 2018.
  22. ^ Darren, Alison (2000). Lesbian Film Guide. Bloomsbury. p. 161. ISBN 0-304-33376-X.
  23. ^ Herbert, Daniel (2006). "Sky's the Limit. Transnationality and Identity in Abre los Ojos and Vanilla Sky". Film Quarterly. 60 (1). University of California Press: 31. doi:10.1525/fq.2006.60.1.28.
  24. ^ Jimeno, Diego (6 September 2019). "'A ciegas', en 'Historia de nuestro cine'". Diez Minutos.
  25. ^ Martínez Expósito, Alfredo (December 2004). "Julio Medem y la poética del compromiso". Alpha (20). doi:10.4067/S0718-22012004000200008.
  26. ^ "9'8 M/S2". Festival Cannes. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  27. ^ Fernández Santos, Elsa (26 January 2000). "Daniel Calparsoro estrena 'Asfalto', su película "más luminosa y normal"". El País.
  28. ^ Sánchez, Sergi (29 May 2008). "Fausto 5.0". Fotogramas.
  29. ^ Ebert, Roger (2004). Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2004. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 57. ISBN 0-7407-3834-8.
  30. ^ Infante, Ignacio (2008). "Sex and the Luminous Interface: The Digital Vision Machine in Julio Medem's Lucía y el Sexo". Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies. 9 (1): 79. doi:10.1080/14636200701868027. S2CID 142974792.
  31. ^ Torreiro, Mirito (29 May 2008). "Piedras". Fotogramas.
  32. ^ Holland, Jonathan (14 April 2003). "Utopia". Variety.
  33. ^ Holland, Jonathan (2 June 2004). "A+". Variety.
  34. ^ Frini, Roberto (2006). Monica Bellucci. Rome: Gremese Editore. p. 92. ISBN 88-8440-441-X.
  35. ^ Reszka Maciejewski, David (20 April 2020). "Najwa Nimri: 7 papeles increíbles más allá de 'Vis a Vis' y 'La casa de papel'". Los 40.
  36. ^ Pastor, Custodio (29 April 2005). "Deseos cumplidos: '20 centímetros'". El Mundo.
  37. ^ "Trastorno". Fotogramas. 29 May 2008.
  38. ^ Vidal, Nuria (29 May 2008). "Las vidas de Celia". Fotogramas.
  39. ^ Holland, Jonathan (10 October 2006). "Celia's Lives". Variety.
  40. ^ Costa, Jordi (29 May 2008). "Mataharis". Fotogramas.
  41. ^ Maldivia, Beatriz (21 January 2008). "'Oviedo Express', otra delirio genial de Gonzalo Suárez". Espinof.
  42. ^ Massanet, Adrián (10 September 2010). "Estrenos de cine | 10 de septiembre | La cartelera no levanta cabeza". Espinof.
  43. ^ Goodridge, Mike (19 May 2010). "Route Irish". ScreenDaily.
  44. ^ Murguía, Salvador; Pinar, Alex, eds. (2018). The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Spanish Films. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 188. ISBN 9781442271333.
  45. ^ Holland, Jonathan (21 November 2021). "Verbo". Variety.
  46. ^ Holland, Jonathan (8 June 2014). "'10,000 Nights Nowhere' ('10000 noches en ninguna parte'): Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter.
  47. ^ Jimeno, Diego (20 September 2020). "'Quién te cantará', con Najwa Nimri, en 'Versión española'". Diez Minutos.
  48. ^ Galindo, Alfredo (16 February 2019). "El Árbol de Sangre". Vanguardia.
  49. ^ Pozo, José Carlos (14 June 2023). "Najwa Nimri y Alba Planas protagonizarán Hildegart, la nueva película de Prime Video basada en hechos reales". HobbyConsolas.
  50. ^ "Manolo Caro dirige 'Sagrada familia': "La representación no es una agenda, yo no soy homosexual solo el mes del Orgullo"". Europa Press. 3 October 2022.
  51. ^ Mogrovejo, Xavi (4 March 2022). "'30 monedas' ofrece un primer vistazo al personaje de Najwa Nimri en la temporada 2". Vandal – via El Español.
  52. ^ "Najwa Nimri: la razón por la que podría ir al paro tras La casa de papel". Merca2@date=10 March 2021. 10 March 2021.
  53. ^ a b c "Los actores y actrices con más nominaciones que nunca han ganado un Goya". Fotogramas. 5 March 2021. p. 7.
  54. ^ "Premios Feroz 2017: Listado completo de ganadores". FormulaTV. 23 January 2017.
  55. ^ Prats, Marina (19 January 2019). "La lista completa de ganadores de los Premios Feroz 2019". HuffPost.
  56. ^ Custodio, Nerea (5 March 2019). "Ricardo Gómez e Irene Escolar, entre los ganadores de los Premios Fotogramas de Plata 2018". Bekia.
  57. ^ "Fotogramas de Plata 2018: Najwa Nimri, mejor actriz de televisión". Fotogramas. 4 March 2019.
  58. ^ "Estos son los ganadores de los Premios Platino 2019". Infobae. 13 May 2019.
  59. ^ "Mejor Interpretación Femenina de reparto en Miniserie o Teleseriedate". Infobae (in Spanish). 3 October 2021.
  60. ^ "FOTOGRAMAS DE PLATA 2021: NAJWA NIMRI, MEJOR ACTRIZ DE TELEVISIÓN". fotogramas.es. 4 April 2022.
  61. ^ "'El buen patrón' reina en los Premios Platino del cine iberoamericano". rtve.es. 2 May 2022.

External links edit