Mouna Noureddine (
Arabic: منى نور الدين, born Saadia Oueslati, 23 January 1937), is a Tunisian actress.[1]
The pseudonym of Mouna Noureddine was suggested by Mohamed Hedi Remnissi, an artist working in the theater of
Bizerte.
Biography
Early life
Mouna Noureddine studied in the elementary school of Muslim girls in
Hammam-Lif. During this period, she was part of a local theatre troupe called "Ennahdha ettamthilia" (the student rise). She got her degree in 1952 and enrolled in the schoolteachers college of
Tunis. Two years later, she switched to the Arabic theatre school of Tunis.
At the age of fifteen, Mouna, while still a student, meets during the rehearsals of
The merchant of Venice by
William Shakespeare the young comedian Noureddine Kasbaoui to whom she gets married later. Mouna Noureddine gave birth to two boys and four girls[2] In 1954, she worked in the municipal Arabic theatre troupe directed by Zeki Touleïmat.
The year after,
Mohamed Agrebi, the director of the Tunis Municipality troupe, selects her to join his team, and by the time she became the one to choose for the leading roles in most of the plays.
Career: theater, cinema and television
Mouna Noureddine has played in around 150 plays, part of which was directed by
Aly Ben Ayed :
In the cinema, she plays in a large number of Tunisian films including Khlifa the Tigneux,
Sejnane, Fatma 75,
Aziza, And tomorrow...?, The Man of Ashes or
The Season of Men. Each of his interpretations, as well in
Tunisia as in
Maghreb and in
Europe, made her earn recognition, critical praise and public appreciation. She plays in the troup of
Tunis city at the
Théâtre de la Ville, at the
Théâtre Récamier, at the
Théâtre de l'Odéon, at the
Beethoven Festival, in
Iran and even in
Egypt.
In television, she participated in several TV serials including El Khottab Al Bab (Suitors at the door), Mnamet Aroussia (The Dream of Aroussia),
Choufli Hal (find Me a Solution) and Nsibti Laaziza (My Dear Beloved Mother-in-Law), all of it directed by Slaheddine Essid.
After half a century of activities, in parallel with her status as director of the troup of
Tunis City since
2002 - For the first time, since the creation of this company -, she continues to participate in
Tunisian and international productions.
Rewards
For her entire career, in
1985 she received the Honorary Prize from the
Ministry of Culture. She has also been honored several times in numerous theater festivals in
Tunisia and abroad.
Decorations
Commander of the Order of the Tunisian Republic (
2006);
Grand officer of the Tunisian Order of Merit (
2001).
1954 : One Thousand and One Night, directed by Abderrazek Hammami and Abdelmajid Belakhel, written by Mahfoudh Abderrahman and adapted for the theater by
Noureddine Kasbaooui
1975 : Atshan Ya Sabaya directed by
Moncef Souissi, and written by
Samir Ayadi, with the participation of Khadija Souissi, Issa Harrath,
Slim Mahfoudh, Halima Daoued, Aziza Boulabiar, Ahmed Mouaouia and Hedi Zoghlami
1988 : Que Le Bonheur Dure, written and with the direction of
Abdelaziz Meherzi and with the participation of Hamadi Arafa