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Actress of Maltese descent in talks to play Amy Winehouse in upcoming biopic
Marisa graduated from RADA.

Emma Galea

The team behind Amy Winehouse biopic ‘Back to Black’ has long been looking for an actress to fulfil and embody the epic woman that was Amy Winehouse.

It now seems like Marisa Abela, an actress of Maltese descent, is in talks to take on this role of a lifetime.

Marisa, whose father has Maltese and Libyan heritage, was born in 1996 in East Sussex. She graduated from one of Britain’s top acting schools, The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and went on to star in BBC and HBO’s ‘Industry’ and Sky One’s ‘Cobra’.

You can soon catch Marisa on the silver screen in Greta Gerwig’s much anticipated ‘Barbie’ film, slated for a July 2023 release.

Marisa never had to sing in any of her on-screen roles, but it goes without saying that with a RADA education in her back pocket she must have the pipes to embody Amy’s.

The biopic is set to be directed by actor-director Sam Taylor-Johnson, who considers the film to be a great passion project, having been very close friend of Amy’s before her untimely death. 

“What we want is somebody to portray Amy in the way that she was…the funny, brilliant, charming and horrible person that she was”, Mitch Winehouse, Amy’s dad told The Sun when asked who he wants to portray his daughter.

Do you think Marisa is a good fit to play Amy?

Instagram/marisaabela & Instagram/amywinehouse


Emma Galea
Written by
Emma Galea
Emma is a Gozitan writer who loves all things related to English literature and history. When not busy studying or writing you will either find her immersed in a fictional book or at the cinema trying to watch as many films as she possibly can!

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