Noa Cohen

{{Infobox person

| name = Noa Cohen

| image = Noa_Cohen_2024.jpg

| caption = Cohen in 2024

| native_name = נֹועָה כֹּהֵן

| native_name_lang = he

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|2002|8|3}}

| birth_place =

| nationality = Israeli

| education =

| occupation = Actress, model, television host

| years_active = 2018–present

| works =

| spouse =

| children =

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| awards =

}}

Noa Cohen ({{langx|he|נֹועָה כֹּהֵן}}; born {{birth date|df=yes|2002|8|3}}) is an Israeli actress and model who is known for her portrayal of the Virgin Mary in the 2024 film Mary.

Early and personal life

Cohen was raised in a Jewish-Israeli family.{{Cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/j-spot/article-829205|title='A disgusting Jew': Uproar after Netflix casts Jewish-Israeli actress to play Mary, Jesus's mom|date=November 14, 2024|website=The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com|access-date=November 15, 2024|archive-date=November 16, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241116020948/https://www.jpost.com/j-spot/article-829205|url-status=live}}

She partnered with Starting Over Sanctuary, an Israeli non-profit-organization focused on pets and animal safety.

Career

File:Isaac and Michal Herzog receiving the annual report of Elam Association, May 2022 (GPOABG 8291).jpg, Noa Cohen, President of Israel Isaac Herzog, and Ravid Ronen in 2022]]

Cohen modeled for various fashion and cosmetic brands, such as Veet, Jennyunique, Bar Refaeli's hoodies brand, Smashbox Cosmetics (by Estée Lauder), Essence Cosmetics and BananHot.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sportskeeda.com/us/movies/who-noa-cohen-meet-protagonist-netflix-s-upcoming-faith-based-thriller-mary|title=Who is Noa Cohen? Meet the protagonist of Netflix's upcoming faith-based thriller Mary|date=13 November 2024 }}

She began her media career working for Channel Reshet 13.{{Cite web|url=https://thedirect.com/article/noa-cohen-mary-netflix-actress-wiki-bio-details|title=Meet Noa Cohen, Netflix's New Mother Mary Actress|first=Klein|last=Felt|date=November 14, 2024|website=The Direct}} She began acting professionally in 2018, landing her first television role in the sitcom My Sister Skipped A Grade. She went on to appear in various Israeli television shows including My Nephew From Hell (2021), Infinity (2022) and 8200 (2024). In 2022, she made her film debut in the spy thriller Silent Game.

In 2024, Cohen was cast as the Virgin Mary in D. J. Caruso's epic Christian biblical film Mary, starring alongside Ido Tako and Sir Anthony Hopkins.{{Cite web|url=https://forward.com/culture/675538/netflix-mary-israeli-palestinian-noa-cohen-eugenics/|title=An Israeli woman in playing Mary in a Netflix movie — and the outcry is getting weird|first=Mira|last=Fox|date=November 15, 2024|website=The Forward}} In what was described as an example of antisemitism, there was a flurry of criticism on social media for the casting of a Jewish-Israeli woman, some arguing that, despite Mary being Jewish, the role should have been given to a Palestinian actress.{{Cite web |date=2024-11-14 |title='Jesus was Palestinian': Netflix's 'Mary' ignites storm over casting of Israelis |url=https://www.israelhayom.com/2024/11/14/jesus-was-palestinian-netflixs-mary-ignites-storm-over-casting-of-israelis/ |access-date=2024-11-16 |website=www.israelhayom.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://news.abplive.com/entertainment/ott/mary-controversy-netflix-under-fire-for-casting-noa-cohen-in-anthony-hopkins-starrer-1731493|title='Mary' Controversy: Why Netflix Is Under Fire For Casting Noa Cohen In Anthony Hopkins Starrer|first=|last=|date=November 15, 2024|website=news.abplive.com|access-date=November 15, 2024|archive-date=November 15, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241115135855/https://news.abplive.com/entertainment/ott/mary-controversy-netflix-under-fire-for-casting-noa-cohen-in-anthony-hopkins-starrer-1731493|url-status=live}} Caruso stated, "It was important to us that Mary, along with most of our primary cast, be selected from Israel to ensure authenticity."{{cite magazine |last=Brathwaite |first=Lester Fabian |title=The mother of Jesus Christ goes on the run in 'Mary' first-look photos |url=https://ew.com/mary-first-look-biblical-coming-age-film-mother-jesus-christ-8726830 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=16 October 2024 |date=15 October 2024 |archive-date=12 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241112221318/https://ew.com/mary-first-look-biblical-coming-age-film-mother-jesus-christ-8726830 |url-status=live }}