Marisa Abela takes on the role of her life as she plays Amy Winehouse in upcoming biopic Back to Black.
The upcoming film, directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, will chronicle the late Grammy winner’s “vibrant early years in London and her intense journey to fame,” according to an Entertainment Weekly press release.
Abela’s role in the film was first reported in July 2022, when Deadline said she was “the first choice” to play the late singer, who died in 2011.
In January 2023, fans got their first glimpse of Abela in her role when Taylor-Johnson posted a photo to Instagram showing Abela wearing Winehouse’s signature beehive hairstyle and large hoop earrings.
While Abela has already garnered attention for her role as Winehouse, it certainly won’t be her first big project.
From her acting background to her auditioning for Back to Black, here’s everything you need to know about Abela.
She is from England
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Like Winehouse, who grew up in Southgate, London, England, Abela is English. She was born on December 7, 1996 in Brighton, East Sussex, England.
Also, like the late singer, Abela is Jewish and told The National in 2022: “[My] Mum and dad come from completely different cultures – my dad is Maltese Arab and my mum comes from a family of Polish-Jewish refugees.”
She compared herself to her role in Industry, adding: “Like Yasmin, my parents are separated and we both grew up in England and went to boarding school. and you feel like you’re being pulled in different directions.”
She originally wanted to be a lawyer before pursuing acting
Before embarking on her acting career, Abela wanted to pursue a career as a human rights lawyer, telling W magazine: ‘I’ve been to a lot of universities in the UK and while I’ve been looking around I was supposed to be doing history with a law conversion but I just wasn’t interested .”
Luckily, her parents supported her decision. “They wanted me to be an actor!” she remembered. “I think being a lawyer would make me rebel. I told them growing up that I wanted to do this because every time I was in a school play or a show, they would both be over the moon and say, ‘She’s going to do it!’ They kind of pushed each other. I think my way of rebelling was just pretending to be a lawyer.
She studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
After attending various universities, Abela finally decided to study at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and received her BA in Acting in 2019. As well as being one of the oldest drama schools in the UK, the school has a roster of notable alumni including Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Cynthia Erivo, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hiddleston and many more.
She already has an impressive acting resume
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While Back to Black is sure to be a big movie role for Abela, she’s already made a name for herself on television. She made her television debut on the British series COBRA in 2020 before being cast as Yasmin Kara-Hanani on the HBO hit series Industry, which was recently renewed for Season 3.
She will star in the upcoming Barbie movie
Abela will also star in Greta Gerwig’s highly anticipated Barbie film, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. Her role was first announced in July 2022, although it’s unclear who she will play.
“If you had told me that when I was 25 I was working with Lena Dunham and Greta Gerwig, I would have freaked out,” she told W Magazine of working with Gerwig and Dunham, who directed the pilot episode Episode Industry. “It’s just inspiring to work with these women who destroyed it in the most ultimate way.”
She is dating actor Jamie Bogyo
David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty
Abela is dating actor and fellow RADA Jamie Bogyo, who plays Chrisitan in the West End production of Moulin Rouge! played. The couple recently celebrated their three year anniversary in January 2023 and regularly post photos of each other on their respective social media profiles.
In December 2021, Bogyo celebrated Abela’s birthday with a sweet tribute, writing: “TODAY IS A VERY SPECIAL DAY!!!! best friend i could ever ask for. I am grateful that you were born! I love you so much.”
She blew everyone away with her Amy Winehouse audition
Though many actresses auditioned for the Amy Winehouse biopic, Abela was reportedly a front-runner from the start. Per Deadline, Abela’s first audition “blew executives and Taylor-Johnson away and put them in the driver’s seat to get the part.”
In addition, Winehouse’s estate gave the seal of approval for the biopic. “We are thrilled that Studiocanal, Focus Features and Monumental are making this film, which celebrates our daughter Amy’s extraordinary musical legacy and showcases her talent in the way it deserves,” an estate representative said in a statement to Deadline.