Moran Atias

Israeli actress Moran Atias was a smoldering presence on American television and in features, most notably in a string of collaborations with Oscar winner Paul Haggis that included "Crash" (Starz, 2008-09) and "Third Person" (2013), as well as the FX political drama "Tyrant" (2014-2016). Born to Moroccan and Jewish parents in Haifa, Israel, she initially wanted to be a psychiatrist, but a teenaged bout of meningitis set her on a different path. Unable to serve her mandatory stint with the Israeli Defense Forces, Atias moved to Europe to work as a model. Appearances in campaigns for Robert Cavalli and Dolce & Gabbana led to work as a presenter and co-host on several Italian talk and variety programs. But she found the work unrewarding, and on the advice of designer Domenico Dolce, Atias began to explore acting. She divided her time between largely ornamental roles in Israeli and Italian films, including Menahem Golan's "Days of Love" (2005) and the title role in Dario Argento's supernatural thriller "Mother of Tears" (2007), before heading west to try the American market. Almost immediately, she landed a showy role on the television adaptation of Paul Haggis' "Crash" (Starz, 2008-2009), playing a fiery immigrant opposite series lead Dennis Hopper. Her performance on the program led to roles in two features directed by Haggis: "The Next Three Days" (2010), a remake of the French drama "Pour Elle" ("Anything for Her," 2008), and the portmanteau film "Third Person" (2013), which cast her as a Romani woman who attempts to enlist businessman Adrien Brody in a plan to retrieve her kidnapped son. In 2014, Atias finally landed her breakout English-language role as the scheming first lady of a fictitious Middle Eastern country on "Tyrant." When the series ran its course after three seasons, Atias transitioned briefly to a supporting role on "24: Legacy" before that program was canceled after only a single season; she then joined the cast of the Antoine Fuqua-produced medical drama "The Resident" (Fox, 2018-), replacing actress Valerie Cruz as the CEO of a major hospital.