Aïssa Maïga

Aïssa Maïga is a Senegalsese actress working in France. She was born in Dakar, Senegal, in 1975 to a Senegalese-Gambian mother and Malian father, an acclaimed journalist. She moved with her family to France when she was 4. She discovered her vocation as an actress in middle school, and won various professional roles while studying theater in high school. Her big screen début was in Saraka bô (1997), directed by Denis Amar. Since then, Aïssa has worked with a number of internationally renowned directors, including Michel Gondry (in L'écume des jours (2013), Abderrahmane Sissako (in Bamako (2006)), and Michael Haneke (in Code inconnu: Récit incomplet de divers voyages (2000) and Caché (2005)). Throughout, Aïssa has continued to perform onstage in celebrated plays such as "Brooklyn Boy" (2004), "Les Grandes Personnes" (2011), and the French production of David Lindsay-Abaire's "Good People" (2015). Aïssa is at ease in a wide range of film roles, from African to young parishioner, aided by her fluency in multiple languages. She has won or been nominated for a number of prestigious prizes, including a Best Newcomer César (French Oscar) nomination in 2007 for Bamako (2006) and the Best Actress Prize in 2009 at the Bastia Film Festival for Bianco e nero (2008) by Italian director Cristina Comencini. She also won the Best Actress Prize in 2013 at the Luchon Film festival for her role in Denis Malleval's Mortel été (2013), as well as the Crystal Globe for Best Actress in 2016 for her role in Prêt à tout (2014). From comedic and dramatic roles to genre and action movies, from popular to art house films, Aïssa Maïga has become one of the unforgettable faces of international cinema.