Jackie Sawiris

Jackie Sawiris is a difficult woman to pin down. Born in Libya to Jordanian and Egyptian parents, she was raised in the United States, got her screen break in Britain, and has played a significant role in raising the profile of cinema in Jordan. She also hopes to live on a beach in India one day. Having graduated in journalism from New York University, Sawiris studied acting in the same city with Robert Modica and Shauna Kanter. But it was her work as the wisecracking genie Majida in the ITV children's fantasy game show "Knightmare" between 1993 and 1994 that got her noticed and she landed weightier roles in the popular soaps "Emmerdale" and "The Bill," as well as minor parts in the 1994 horror "Death Machine," the tough 1997 drama "Table 5," and the 1998 marital merry-go-round saga "The Big Swap." Stanley Kubrick was sufficiently impressed to cast Sawiris as Roz the babysitter in his 1999 swan song, "Eyes Wide Shut," but acting wasn't her sole preoccupation and she worked as an assistant director on "The Mummy Returns" and took production jobs on "The Wire" and "Good Morning America." She has also directed a trio of experimental shorts: "Bits and Pieces" (with Ben Mandell), "Word," and "Alienation" (with Nicole Bracy). Although returning to acting in the 2006 teleplay "The Holy Family" and the 2011 sibling secrets drama "Kelling Brae," Sawiris has also written several scripts, some supporting her objecDEFY campaign to promote respect for women in the Middle East.