Shira Haas

Haas was born on 11 May 1995[10] in Tel Aviv, Israel,[11][12] to a secular Jewish family. Her parents, both Israeli-born, are of Ashkenazi Jewish (Polish-Jewish, Hungarian-Jewish, and Czech-Jewish) descent. Her grandfather, a Holocaust survivor, had been imprisoned in the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II.[13] As a one year old, she moved with her parents to a home in Hod HaSharon where she spent most of her early years.[14][12] At age two, Haas was diagnosed with kidney cancer and recovered two years later after a series of severe treatments.[15]

At age 14, she began performing in plays at the Cameri Theater, such as Ghetto and Richard III.[16] She made her television debut as the role of Ruchami Weiss in the drama series Shtisel in 2013.[17] Haas studied theater at Thelma Yellin High School of the Arts in Givatayim,[11] before completing a short period of service in the IDF's military theatre.[18] While studying at Thelma Yellin, Haas was approached by a casting director by the name of Esther Kling via Facebook message in 2014.[19][12] She encouraged Haas to audition for the lead role in the film Princess (2014).[20] After getting her debut role at the age of 16, Haas was praised by The New York Times for her "truly remarkable lead performance",[21] and was admired by The Hollywood Reporter for fitting the part of a 12-year-old character with her "petite frame and baby-smooth complexion".[22] The role won her the awards for Best Actress at both the Jerusalem Film Festival[23] and the Peace & Love Film Festival,[24] as well as a nomination for Best Leading Actress at the Israeli Academy Awards (Ophir Awards).[25]

Haas promoting The Zookeeper's Wife at the Warsaw Zoo in 2017

Haas made her first appearance in an international film when she played the role of young Fania in Natalie Portman's directorial-debut, A Tale of Love and Darkness (2015).[26] Haas also appeared alongside Jessica Chastain in Niki Caro's The Zookeeper's Wife (2017), which led to her prime time American talk show debut on The Today Show in 2016.[27][12] Haas auditioned for the role over Skype call.[18] She earned her second Israeli Academy Award (Ophir Award) nomination for Best Supporting Actress in Foxtrot (2017),[28] which made the final shortlist for the 90th Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.[29]

By the start of 2018, Haas had made a name for herself in many prime time Israeli drama television shows: Shtisel (2013–2016), The Jeweler (2015), The Switch Principle (2016), Harem (2017) and The Conductor (2018). At the 2018 Israeli Academy Awards (Ophir Awards), Haas was nominated for both Best Leading Actress for Broken Mirrors (2018) and Best Supporting Actress for Noble Savage (2018), the latter of which she won.[30] In 2018, she appeared as Leah in Mary Magdalene, written by Helen Edmundson and directed by Garth Davis.[31] She made the Israeli Forbes list of 30 under 30 in February 2019,[11] before appearing alongside Harvey Keitel in the second biblical film in her acting career, Esau (2019).[32]

Haas arrived in Berlin two months before the shooting of the 2020 limited Netflix series Unorthodox in order to study the Yiddish language which would be primarily spoken in the series.[33] Besides Yiddish lessons, Haas was required to shave her head and also completed both piano and singing lessons to prepare for the role of Esther "Esty" Shapiro, who runs away from her arranged marriage and Ultra-Orthodox community in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City.[34][35] The series is based on the true life story of Deborah Feldman, who wrote an autobiography of the same name.[36]

James Poniewozik of The New York Times described Haas as "a phenomenon, expressive and captivating."[37] Brigid Delaney of The Guardian described her as "mesmerising" and "outstanding," noting, "physically tiny, like a child, the viewer is immediately protective of her."[38] Sheena Scott of Forbes wrote that Haas "offers an incredible performance as Esty, full of subtlety, delicately revealing her character’s inner struggle and happiness without needing to say a word."[39] Hank Stuever of The Washington Post wrote that she "lends a grave and yet vulnerable luminescence to the role."[40] At the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards, Haas was nominated for Best Lead Actress in a Limited Series for this performance,[41] becoming the first Israeli to be nominated for an acting Primetime Emmy Award.[9]

Haas acted alongside Alena Yiv in the role of a daughter who becomes confined to a wheelchair in the Israeli film Asia (2020), which was premiered online at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[42] The role earned Haas the award for Best International Actress at the festival.[43][44] The jury wrote, "Her face is a never-ending landscape in which even the tiniest expression is heartbreaking; she’s an incredibly honest and present actress who brings depth to everything she does."[43] Her performance in the film also earned her the award for Best Supporting Actress at the 30th Israeli Academy Awards (Ophir Awards).[45] In late April 2020, she joined a virtual ceremony celebrating Israel's 72nd Independence Day with other Israeli stars.[46] Haas was signed to Creative Artists Agency in June 2020.[47]