Marisa Abela plays Amy Winehouse in the biopic “Back to Black”. Where have you seen the actress before?
In Back to Black, the biopic dedicated to Amy Winehouse, the young British actress Marisa Abela lends her features to the icon with the jazzy voice who tragically passed away on July 23, 2011, from the ages of 17 to 27.
Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, the feature film traces the life of the “Rehab” singer through the creation of one of the most iconic albums of our time, inspired by his passionate and tormented love story with Blake Fielder-Civil, played on screen by Jack O’Connell.
In order to be up to the task, the actress took singing lessons for 4 months and did not hesitate to lose a lot of weight to play Amy Winehouse towards the end of her life.
Aged 27, Marisa Abela is a British actress whose career is just beginning. The young woman is best known to series fans for her roles in the series Cobra and Industry. A look back at Marisa Abela’s journey.
Who is Marisa Abela?
Born in 1996 in Brighton, Marisa has been immersed in the world of cinema since she was very young, being the daughter of actress Caroline Gruber and director Angelo Abela. Very early on, she developed a passion for theater and played in several plays, alongside her schooling. Once she completes her secondary education, she aims to become a human rights lawyer. But, caught up in her lifelong passion, she decided to devote herself to comedy and multiplied the castings. In 2019, she graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
StudioCanal UK Marisa Abela
The following year, Marisa Abela found her first significant role in the series Cobra, showing the backstage of British power through a committee responsible for managing emergency situations. She plays Ellie Sutherland for six episodes.
That same year, she played one of the main characters in Industry. In this series centered on a group of young financial wolves wishing to make a place on the international scene, she plays Yasmin Kara-Hanani, who seeks to prove that she is a savvy businesswoman.
From Barbie to Amy
On the cinema side, we see her in the thriller Rogue Agent (2022), the romantic drama She Is Love (id.) and the global hit Barbie (2023), in which she briefly plays the Barbie I’m talking to you alongside Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.
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Marisa Abela
The same year she landed the role of Amy Winehouse in Back To Black. When her agent told her about the auditions for the feature film, Marisa Abela took the time to think before going to the castings. The young woman wanted to be sure she had something to bring.
She confides to our microphone: “I took this time because I wanted to read the script first to understand the story we were going to tell. Then I wanted to do more research on Amy to see if I could contribute anything, if there were things I understood about her that I could channel in a way that made my story make sense. Once I found those connections and that feeling that kept growing within me, I started to understand her and agreed to audition.”
Marisa Abela will return in the third season of Industry and will then join Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender and Regé-Jean Pageau in the cast of Black Bag by Steven Soderbergh.
