# Najwa Nimri

Najwa Nimri Urrutikoetxea (Spanish:; born 14 February 1972) is a Spanish actress and singer.
In 1996, Nimri formed the musical duo Najwajean along with producer Carlos Jean, launching No Blood, an early instance of a trip-hop album in Spain. She first appeared in a film with a leading role in Jump into the Void (1995), eventually becoming one of the big names of 1990s and 2000s Spanish cinema. Film roles that came after her debut include performances in Passages (1996), Open Your Eyes (1997), Blinded (1997), Lovers of the Arctic Circle (1998), Asfalto (2000), Sex and Lucia (2001), and Fausto 5.0 (2001).
After spending some time on the back burner as an actress, her popularity greatly increased in the streaming era for her television work in villain roles in crime drama series Locked Up and Money Heist.

## Early life

Nimri's mother is from Pamplona and her father, Karam Nimri, is Jordanian. She has a brother, a half-brother and two half-sisters. Najwa also has a cousin who is a singer named Alexander Nimier. When she was a child she moved to Bilbao with her family and was raised in Santutxu. She now lives in Madrid.

## Career

Her first major film role was in Salto al vacío, the first movie by film director Daniel Calparsoro. Her career as a singer started with small groups. In 1996, she formed the band Najwajean [es] with Carlos Jean. She has also released three solo albums. From 1995 to 2000, she was married to Daniel Calparsoro.
Several of her film roles won her praise: as Ana in Lovers of the Arctic Circle, and as Elena in Sex and Lucia. Both films were directed by Julio Medem. She starred next to Eduardo Noriega in Abre los ojos, and El método.
She was nominated to the Goya Award for Best Actress for her performance as amnesiac diva Lila Cassen in Quién te cantará (2018).
In 2020, she returned as Zulema in the spin off Vis a vis: El Oasis, starring with Maggie Civantos. She played Alicia Sierra, a policewoman inspector in (Money Heist) La casa de papel. She voiced Kate Laswell in the 2019 video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
She joined season 2 of religious horror series 30 Coins to portray paranormal hunter and video podcaster Haruka. In 2024, she featured in the hospital-set drama series Breathless, portraying a right-wing President of the Valencian Community set on dismantling the public healthcare system. She also portrayed Aurora Rodríguez in The Red Virgin.

## Discography
### With Carlos Jean as Najwajean

* No Blood (1998) – No. 80
* Asfalto (2001) (soundtrack) – No. 175
* Guerreros (2002) (soundtrack) – No. 88
* Najwajean Selection (2002) (compilation album) – No. 108
* Till It Breaks (2008) – No. 20
* Bonzo (2015)

#### Najwajean singles

* I'm gonna be (1999)
* Garota de Ipanema (1999)
* Crime (2008)
* Waiting (2015)
* Bonzo (2015)
* Drive me (2016)

### Solo albums

* Carefully (2001) – No. 76
* Mayday (2003) – No. 48
* Walkabout (2006) – No. 10 (50,000 copies sold; Gold)
* Donde rugen los volcanes (2012)
* Rat Race (2014)
* Viene de Largo (2020)
* AMA (2021)

#### Solo singles

* That Cyclone (2001) from Carefully – No. 37
* Following Dolphins (2001) from Carefully – No. 68
* Go Cain (2003) from Mayday – No. 20
* Hey Boys, Girls (2003) from Mayday – No. 26
* Capable (2006) from Walkabout – No. 3
* Push It (2006) from Walkabout
* Le Tien, Le Mien (2006) from Walkabout
* El último primate (2010) from El Ultimo primate
* Como un animal (2010) from El ultimo primate.
* Donde rugen los volcanes (2012) from Donde rugen los volcanes
* Somos su nuevo invitado (2012) from Donde rugen los volcanes
* Feed Us (2014) from Rat Race
* Rat race (2014) from Rat Race
* Pijama (2014) from Rat Race
* Lento (2020) from Viene de largo
* Panpan (2020)
* Mira Como Van (2020)
* Santa Claus llego a la cuidad (2020)
* Contra Quien Luchaba (2022)
* Aperol (2022)
* Esquiando (2023)
* Big Bang (2023)
* Chia (2023) ·

## Filmography
### Films

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1995 | Salto al vacío (Jump into the Void) | Alex | |
| 1996 | Pasajes (Passages) | Gabi | |
| 1997 | Abre los ojos (Open Your Eyes) | Nuria | |
| 1997 | A ciegas (Blinded) | Marrubi | |
| 1998 | Los amantes del círculo polar (Lovers of the Arctic Circle) | Ana | Character also performed by Kristel Díaz and Sara Valiente |
| 1998 | 9'8 m/s² | Ella | |
| 2000 | Asfalto | Lucía | |
| 2001 | Fausto 5.0 | Julia | |
| 2001 | Before Night Falls | Fina Correa | |
| 2001 | Lucía y el sexo (Sex and Lucia) | Elena | |
| 2002 | Piedras (Stones) | Leire | |
| 2003 | Utopía (Utopia) | Ángela | |
| 2004 | A+ (Amas) (A+) | Dam | |
| 2004 | Agents secrets (Secret Agents) | Maria Menendez | |
| 2005 | El método (The Method) | Nieves | |
| 2005 | 20 centímetros (20 Centimeters) | La Conejo | |
| 2006 | Trastorno (Dementia) | Natalia | |
| 2006 | Las vidas de Celia (Celia's Lives) | Celia | |
| 2007 | Mataharis | Eva | |
| 2007 | Oviedo Express | Bárbara | |
| 2010 | Todo lo que tú quieras (Anything You Want) | Marta | |
| 2010 | Route Irish | Marisol | |
| 2010 | Habitación en Roma (Room in Rome) | Edurne | |
| 2011 | Verbo | Inés | |
| 2012 | The Wine of Summer | Ana | |
| 2013 | 10.000 noches en ninguna parte (10,000 Nights Nowhere) | Claudia | |
| 2018 | Quién te cantará | Lila Cassen | |
| 2018 | El árbol de la sangre (The Tree of Blood) | Macarena | |
| 2024 | La virgen roja (The Red Virgin) | Aurora Rodríguez | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2015–2019 | Vis a Vis | Zulema Zahir | Main cast; 40 episodes |
| 2018 | Feliz Halloween | Zulema Zahir | Special short |
| 2019–2021 | La casa de papel | Alicia Sierra Montes | Main cast (season 3-5); 25 episodes |
| 2020 | Vis a vis: El Oasis | Zulema Zahir | Lead role; 8 episodes |
| 2021–2022 | Insiders | Host | 14 episodes |
| 2022–23 | Sagrada familia | Gloria Román / Julia Santos | Lead role; Seasons 1–2 |
| 2023 | 30 monedas | Haruka | Season 2 |
| 2023 | Berlin | Alicia Sierra Montes | 3 episodes |
| 2024 | Respira (Breathless) | Patricia Segura | |

### Podcast

| Year | Title | Role | Episodes |
| 2020 | Vis a vis: Cara B | Zulema Zahir | Voice role, 10 episodes |

## Accolades

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 1998 | 45th Ondas Awards | Best Actress | Lovers of the Arctic Circle & Open Your Eyes | Won |
| 1999 | 13th Goya Awards | Best Actress | Lovers of the Arctic Circle | Nominated |
| 2002 | 16th Goya Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Sex and Lucia | Nominated |
| 2017 | 4th Feroz Awards | Best Main Actress in a Series | Locked Up | Nominated |
| 2019 | 6th Feroz Awards | Best Main Actress in a Series | Locked Up | Nominated |
| 2019 | 33rd Goya Awards | Best Actress | Quién te cantará | Nominated |
| 2019 | 69th Fotogramas de Plata | Best Film Actress | Quién te cantará | Nominated |
| 2019 | 69th Fotogramas de Plata | Best TV Actress | Locked Up | Won |
| 2019 | 6th Platino Awards | Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Series | Locked Up | Nominated |
| 2021 | 8th Platino Awards | Best Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or TV Series | Money Heist | Nominated |
| 2022 | 72nd Fotogramas de Plata | Best TV Actress | Money Heist | Won |
| 2022 | 9th Platino Awards | Best Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or TV Series | Money Heist | Won |
| 2024 | 30th Forqué Awards | Best Actress in a Film | The Red Virgin | Nominated |
| 2025 | 12th Feroz Awards | Best Main Actress in a Film | The Red Virgin | Nominated |
| 2025 | 33rd Actors and Actresses Union Awards | Best Film Actress in a Leading Role | The Red Virgin | Nominated |