Fawzia Mirza

Fawzia Mirza is a Pakistani-Canadian film and television actress, writer, producer and comedian. She is known for her works such as web series Kam Kardashian, Brown Girl Problems and the film Signature Move (2017).[1][2]

Fawzia Mirza
Fawzia Mirza in a sexual assault prevention course at United States Marine Corps Reserve Headquarters in 2011
Born
Fawzia Mirza
NationalityCanadian
EducationNorthfield Junior-Senior High School
Indiana University Bloomington
Occupationactress, writer, producer, comedian
Years active2006-present

Early life and education

Mirza grew up in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Her parents migrated from Pakistan when she a teenager.[3][4][5]

She majored in English and political science in college and then went to law school.[6]

Career

After two years of working as a litigator, Mirza changed professions to become an actor at age 29.[7] Her father's death in 2006 precipitated both a change in career and also led to her coming out as gay.[5] She has focused on projects relating to the LGBT community, particularly relating to being a queer Muslim woman,[6][8] "to gain visibility for women and brown performers, and find space for queer stories".[9]

Her one-woman show Me, My Mom and Sharmila explores growing up queer and South Asian;[10][11] in 2015 she performed it at the International Theatre Festival at the National College of Arts in Lahore.[8][12] Also in 2015, she appeared in Emmy-nominated Her Story,[13] a six-part series on the lives of trans and queer women.[14]

Mirza plays Ayesha Ali Trump, a fictional Muslim daughter of Donald Trump, in the mockumentary The Muslim Trump Documentary.[15][16]

In 2016, she announced her film Signature Move (2017) alongside Shabana Azmi and also introduced herself as a lesbian on Twitter. Fawzia co-wrote, co-produced and starred in the movie and won many awards, including Best Narrative Film at Columbus International, Best Director and Best Actress at Out San Diego, Audience Award for Best Narrative in Connecticut, and the Jury prize at the Canadian South Asian Mosaic Film Festival.[17]

Personal life

In a tweet, Mirza identified as "a lesbian, Muslim, Pakistani, actor, activist, writer, producer, lawyer & creature of passion." This drew mixed reactions, with many people criticizing her on the basis that homosexuality is incompatible with Islam and some choosing to support her, including Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, who then responded with an affirmative tweet.[18]

Filmography
Year Film/Series Notes
2014 Brown Girl Problems (TV Series)
2015 The First Session Short
2016 Spunkle Short
2017 Signature Move

Podcasts
Year Series Episode
Nov. 4, 2019 To L and Back: An L Word Podcast "3.01 Labia Majora"
Aug. 20, 2019 Just Between Us "Asking For Nudes, Queer Muslims, and Day to Day Mental Illness with Fawzia Mirza"
May 22, 2019 The Red Line "Fawzia Mirza"
April 28, 2019 Queery 84
May 6, 2018 The L Word Made Me Gay "Minisode #9: Fawzia Mirza talks Signature Move"
March 20, 2018 Queering Desi "Comedy and Artivism with Fawzia Mirza"
May 22, 2019 The Red Line "Fawzia Mirza"
May 29, 2015 Don't Tell My Mother "Fawzia Mirza is a Good Pakistani Woman"
gollark: *buys two, duct tapes one to each eye*
gollark: *duct-tapes high-res smartphone screen to face*
gollark: Nope!
gollark: Installed potatOS yet?
gollark: It's not potato os.

References
  1. "Kam Kardashian web series worth watching". Chicago Tribune. 2013-04-25. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  2. Wicklund, Joel. "Newcity Pushes Its Indie Cred Into Filmmaking". Chicagoist. Archived from the original on 2016-01-03. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  3. "Terms of Endearment". The Indian Express. 2017-05-09. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
  4. "Coming Out in Religion: Queer Actress-Writer Fawzia Mirza on Embracing 'Muslimness'". 2017-11-14. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
  5. Yasmin, Seema (2020). Muslim women are everything : stereotype-shattering stories of courage, inspiration, and adventure. Azim, Fahmida,. New York, NY: Harper Design - HarperCollins. pp. 31–33. ISBN 978-0-06-294703-1. OCLC 1135224567.CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  6. Lubischer, Alex (2012-03-07). "Fawzia Mirza shows strength on and off screen". Windy City Times. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  7. Braswell, Mary (2019-10-24). "A 'New Day' for Asian American Women in Arts and Media". UCLA Luskin. Retrieved 2019-12-04.
  8. "Life as a performance - TNS - The News on Sunday". TNS - The News on Sunday. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  9. Munir, Sarah (2015-04-06). "Unveiled: 'Nobody expects Muslim women to be comedians'". The Guardian.
  10. "Artist to perform solo play at Mathers Museum". Indiana Daily Student. Indiana University Bloomington. 2016-02-28.
  11. "Fawzia Mirza: My mom represents Sharmila Tagore s era". mid-day. 2017-10-18. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
  12. Ahmed, Shoaib (2015-04-01). "US artiste enthralls audience with Me, My Mom and Sharmila". www.dawn.com. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  13. "Her Story: What It's Like to Date for Trans Women | Advocate.com". The Advocate. 2016-01-19. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  14. Talusan, Meredith (2016-01-21). "'Her Story' Is The Groundbreaking Trans And Queer Web Series You've Been Waiting For". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  15. "What if Donald Trump had a Muslim daughter?". CBC radio. 2016-03-17.
  16. "Fawzia Mirza: Comedian Behind Donald Trump's Muslim Daughter". Marie Claire. 2016-03-21. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
  17. Franich, Sanya. "Fawzia Mirza: Making Her Signature Move". Retrieved 2018-03-19.
  18. K Jha, Subhash (15 August 2016). "Shabana Azmi's next? A lesbian film!". Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 1 September 2016.


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