Shoaib, Samia

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SHOAIB, Samia

PERSONAL:

Born in Pakistan, raised in London, England; immigrated to the U.S. Education: Attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (London, England), the University of California, and George Washington University; Columbia University, M.F.A.

CAREER:

Actress and screenwriter. Started film production company. Actress in films, including Chopt, 1982; Love, Lust and Marriage, 1994; (as bar patron) Joseph Potts, 1996; (as Pakeesa) SubUrbia (also known as SubUrbi@), Sony Pictures Classics, 1997; (as Suni) The Object of My Affection, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1998; (as Devi) Pi, Artisan, 1998; (as girl shopping for diamond ring) The Sixth Sense, Buena Vista, 1999; (as Julie) Jump, Arrow, 1999; (as Betsy) The Intern, 2000; (as Nurse Mall) Requiem for a Dream (also known as Delusion over Addiction), 2000; (as chick one) Six Chicks in a Kitchen, 2000; (as Varda Abramowitz) The Next Big Thing, 2002. Actress in stage productions, including Suburbia, Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre, New York, NY, 1994; also appeared in The Tempest; As You Like It; No Exit; and The Women. Recurring guest star on La Femme Nikita (television series), USA Network, 1999.

WRITINGS:

(And director) Camilla (screenplay), Columbia University (New York, NY), 1995.

SIDELIGHTS:

Samia Shoaib, a Pakistani-American who was raised in Britain, started her acting career by performing Shakespeare in London. After studying acting at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, Shoaib came to the United States, where she studied theater and English. She then went on to appear in well-received Hollywood films, including Pit and The Sixth Sense. Shoaib, however, also became interested in making her own films. She received her M.F.A. in film from Columbia and, in 1995, released her first original film, Camilla, which she wrote and directed. This short, black-and-white film is about a young woman who is abandoned by her lover and must confront him when she has to decide what to do about her unplanned pregnancy. Lavina Melwani, writing on the Welcome to Little India Web site, called the film "visually stunning." Melwani added: "It's poetry in celluloid, visuals with hardly any need for dialogue." Shoaib has since founded her own film production company.