Ronit Elkabetz (1964-2016) is considered one of the most highly-esteemed actresses in Israeli film history. Alongside her onscreen body of work, Elkabetz was also a prolific screenwriter and director, as well as a staunch social advocate for women’s rights. Born in the southern Israeli city of Be’er Sheva to Moroccan parents, in 1974 when Elkabetz was 10, the family moved up north to Kiryat Yam. During the 1990s, Elkabetz appeared in numerous films (The Appointed, Eddie King, Sh’Chur, and others,) however her big break came in 2001 with the release of director Dover Kosashvili’s Late Marriage – where her trailblazing performance went on to win her multiple awards, both in Israel and internationally. In 2004, she starred in Keren Yedaya’s My Treasure (Or) which won that year’s Caméra d’Or award at the Cannes Film Festival and in 2007, she was the lead in Eran Kolirin’s box-office hit, The Band’s Visit.
Along with her brother, Shlomi, Elkabetz made a film trilogy in which she played Viviane Amsalem, a working-class, ethnic Israeli woman in a loveless marriage who is fighting for her freedom. The trilogy included To Take a Wife (2004), 7 Days (2008), and Gett (2014). All three films have won scores of awards and critical acclaim (the last two even took home the Jerusalem Film Festival’s Wolgin Prize.) In her career, Elkabetz was nominated for an Ophir Award a whopping 16 times and to date, is the only actress to have ever won the Best Lead Actress category three times. In addition to her film work, Elkabetz was also a regular fixture both on television and on stage.
In 2014, Elkabetz’s reputation and acclaim even won her the French Legion of Honour decoration. On 19 April 2016, Ronit Elkabetz passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer. She was 51.
