CULTURE

What to Expect from Bella Hadid's Acting Debut in Ramy

by Carolyn Twersky

Bella Hadid (L) and Ramy Youssef walking in New York City
Gotham/GC Images/Getty Images

These days, it seems that everyone is a multi-hyphenate. They’re all actress-singer-beauty moguls or a designer-wellness coach-content creators. It’s no longer enough to wear just one hat anymore, to excel at one thing, now, we expect our celebrities (or maybe they expect themselves) to conquer multiple industries at once. So, when it was announced back in March that top model Bella Hadid would be dipping her toe into acting by appearing in season three of the hit Hulu series, Ramy, it wasn’t too surprising. Back in 2017, she teased that she one day wanted to win an Oscar after all.

The Emmy-nominated Hulu comedy’s star and co-creator, Ramy Youseff, initially reached out to Hadid over email, asking her if she’d be interested in appearing on the show, according to GQ. While the two had never met at that point, it wasn’t exactly a cold email, as they had many friends in common, including Hadid’s brother, Anwar, who is close with Youseff. “We hadn’t even met before, but I had a feeling it was gonna be kismet,” Hadid told the magazine, and she was right. The pair hit it off immediately and are now close friends on their own.

For Hadid, being a part of a show that centers around Muslim identity was a perfect first acting job. The model, who is half-Palestinian, is very in touch with her Muslim roots. That doesn’t mean she’ll necessarily be playing a religious character on Ramy, however. In fact, her role has been described as “a weirdo girlfriend.”

“People probably thought that my first acting job would be something super sensual and sexy,” Hadid said. Who Hadid will be dating is unclear, though assumedly she’ll be linked to Youseff’s character. Either way, Youseff promised that in a show known for it’s boundary-pushing storylines, the plot written for Hadid is going to top them all. “It’s probably one of the weirdest scripts we’ve ever written,” he said. “And that says a lot.”