Mili Avital

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Mili Avital
Avital in Beyond the Sea in 1991
Born	(1972-03-30) 30 March 1972 (age 49) Jerusalem, Israel
Nationality	Israeli
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1992–present
Spouse(s)	Charles Randolph ​ (m. 2004)​
Children	2

Mili Avital (Hebrew: מילי אביטל‎; born 30 March 1972) is an Israeli actress, writer and director. Avital built an international career, starting 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 theater 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, Israel, the daughter of graphic designers Noni and Iko Avital. Both her parents are Sephardic Jews; Avital's father was born in Morocco, whereas her mother is Israeli-born and of Turkish-Jewish descent.^[1][2] She was raised in Tel Aviv and Ra'anana.^[3] She attended the Thelma Yellin High School of Arts in Givatayim.

American career[]

In 1993 she 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, she was cast as the female lead in the 1994 science fiction film Stargate,^[4] for which she received a 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. 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 recently appeared in the 2012 ABC television series 666 Park Avenue.^[5]

In theater, Avital played Cordelia in King Lear at the Electric Lodge (Venice, California) in a 2006 production directed by Patsy Rodenburg.

Her directorial debut, the short documentary I Think Myself I am All the Time Younger, received its world premiere at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival in New York.

Israeli career[]

Avital began her professional career on stage during her senior year in high school, in Dangerous Liaisons at the Cameri Theater in Tel Aviv.

She was first introduced to Israeli audiences in the title role of Yael's Friends, a television film. She won the 1992 Israeli Film Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her first feature film role, in Me'ever Layam. Her work in Israel includes the cult comedy Ahava Colombianit (Colombian Love), as well as Noodle, for which she received the 2007 Israel's Critics' Circle Award for Best Actress, the Israeli Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, and Israel's Person of the Year nomination for 2006. Avital stars in Prisoners of War, a Keshet prime-time Israeli TV series, on which the American television series Homeland is based. Avital was nominated for Best Actress in a Drama Series (first season) for her work. The show won Best Drama Series in the Israeli TV Awards.

Avital took part in a comedy series, Landing on Their Feet, for Keshet, alongside Shani Cohen (Eretz Nehederet).

Personal life[]

She moved to New York in 1994, and continues to reside there with her husband, screenwriter Charles Randolph, and their two children, Benjamin and Fanny.

Avital served as a member of the Board of Governors of the University of Haifa from 2009 to 2013.

Filmography[]

Film[]

Television[]

References[]

External links[]

• Mili Avital at IMDb