Meet Lina El Arabi: The Breakout Star of Netflix’s Furies You Need to Know Now!

Furies, Netflix’s new action series, follows Lyna, a young woman who will do anything to avenge her father’s murder, finding herself entangled in a web bigger than she expected.

On her quest for truth, she becomes entangled in the web of the Fury, the enforcer of order within the Parisian organized crime scene. As she uncovers the truth about her family, she unearths numerous secrets she would have preferred to remain buried.

To embody Lyna, this strong-willed woman, Netflix called on Lina El Arabi, an actress whose face is likely familiar to you, who co-stars with Marina Fois. Let’s revisit her career.

Promising Beginnings

From the age of six, Lina trained in classical dance and the violin. It wasn’t until four years later that she started acting classes. After finishing high school, the promising young woman reassured her parents by pursuing studies in journalism, while also participating in drama workshops.

In 2014, she caught attention for her role in Martin Razy’s short film, Sans les gants, earning her a nomination for young female promise at the Jean Carmet Festival of Moulins. Two years later, she joined the cast of Don’t Leave Me, a television film aired on France 2 in which she played Chama, a radicalized 17-year-old girl who tries by all means to leave for Syria to join a jihadist she married online.

The Start of Fame

In 2017, things accelerated for the actress. Lina El Arabi starred in Noces, by Stephan Streker, as an 18-year-old Belgian-Pakistani woman who fights for her freedom against parents who impose a marriage with a boy from their homeland. The film, well-received by audiences and critics, earned a Cesar nomination, and Lina was awarded the Valois for Best Actress at the Angoulême Francophone Film Festival.

Adding to her trophy collection, the young woman also received a Crystal Globe for her performance as a young Kurdish woman who unintentionally becomes a symbol of resistance, in My Angel, directed by Jérémie Lippmann.

Jonathan Cohen’s Girlfriend in Family Business

In a different vein, she co-starred with Joe Cole in Eye on Juliet and appeared in season 3 of the zany Canal+ comedy, Kabul Kitchen. She played Pissenlit, one of the Afghan Star competitors, the reality TV show in which Habib, the son of Colonel Amanullah (Simon Abkarian), participates.

In 2019, she landed one of the main roles in Philharmonia, a critically acclaimed series. Lina El Arabi then continued with the Netflix series Family Business, in which she portrayed Aïda, the girlfriend of the character played by Jonathan Cohen, for three seasons.

Lyna in Furies

On March 1st, Lina El Arabi headlines Furies, an American-style action series in which she co-stars with Marina Foïs, Jérémy Nadeau, and Mathieu Kassovitz. She takes on the role of Lyna, a young woman seeking revenge for her father’s murder, witnessed by her own eyes.

In her quest, she comes face-to-face with the Fury, a woman tasked with keeping peace among the various Parisian mob families. A complex and physically demanding role which required the actress to undergo several months of physical preparation.

Watch Lina El Arabi in Season 1 of Furies, now available on Netflix.