Maysoon Zayid
The American-Palestinian comedian and actress uses humour to inspire cultural understanding and education.
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Maysoon Zayid has forged a new path in comedy as the first person to perform stand-up in Palestine and Jordan, and one the first Muslim women comedians from the US to perform around the world.
Born in New Jersey, US, into a Palestinian family, she was taught to embrace her disability of cerebral palsy with strength and determination that would later prove no goal was impossible for her to achieve.
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While growing up she visited Palestine annually with her family, and since then she has established an organisation called ‘Maysoon’s Kids’ to educate and empower young Palestinians also facing the challenges of disabilities.
Her dreams of being an actress began in college where she graduated from Arizona State University with a BFA in acting. Maysoon Zayid pursued roles on-screen before finally deciding that stand-up comedy was her true passion.
Today, the comedian, actress and philanthropist performs worldwide and continues to showcase budding artists as co-founder of the New York Arab-American Comedy Festival.
This episode of One on One can be seen on Saturday, September 17, at 0430GMT.
Published On 17 Sep 2011