She is an actress born in Beirut and she has lived in Canada since 1975. She studied political science in Toronto and has worked in numerous films with her husband, filmmaker Atom Egoyan. She has appeared in several awarded movies (including The House of Larks and Ararat) and directed her own films and theatre pieces. In 2006 she received the Genie Award for best leading actress for the film Ararat. Guest of honour, one of her last appearances had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival 2019.