Bernadette Houdeib

Bernadette Hodeib holds a postgraduate diploma in acting and theatrical directing from the Lebanese University Institute of Fine Arts. An accomplished actress working across theatre, cinema, and television, she has built a distinguished career marked by collaborations with prominent directors. Her theatrical work includes partnerships with Wajdi Muwad, Roger Assaf, Ewa Bergman, Duraid Lahham, and Issam Bou Khaled. In film, she has worked with Bahij Hojeij, Hassan Karbakhsh, and Asaad Fouladkar, and in television with Hatem Ali, Mamoun Al-Banni, and Samir Habchi, among others. Her performances have been presented at major Lebanese, Arab, and European theatres, as well as in the United States, Australia, Canada, and Japan. She won two awards for Best Theatrical Actress in Cairo and Tunis for the plays Archipelago and Trio, both directed by Issam Bou Khaled. She also received five awards for Best Film Actress for the film When Miriam Told Me at festivals in Paris, the Sultanate of Oman, Alexandria, Tunis, and Lebanon. The Lebanese Ministry of Culture and numerous official and private institutions have honoured her in recognition of her artistic and cultural contributions to theatre, cinema, and cultural and social work. She is a founding member of the cultural cooperative association Shams (established 1999) and has served as its president since 2022. She has been a member of the jury committee for the Beautiful Time Festival since 2019 and has participated on juries for several film festivals in Lebanon and internationally. In academia, she has taught acting, body expression, and dance at the Lebanese University Faculty of Education, Saint Joseph University, Al-Kafaat University, and the Islamic Orphanage House. She has also led numerous theatre and art workshops with various communities throughout Lebanon and has worked with participants at the Leila Shoucair Foundation–Al-Kafaat.