Maysoon Zayid (Arabic: ميسون زايد) is an American actress and comedian. Of Palestinian descent, she is known as one of America's first Muslim women comedians.
During her early acting experiences, she found her disability and ethnicity repeatedly limiting to her advancement.[1] Zayid then turned to stand-up and began appearing at New York's top clubs, including Caroline's, Gotham, and Stand Up NY, where she takes on serious topics such as the Israel-Palestine conflict.[5]
In late 2006, Zayid debuted her one-woman show Little American Whore (LAW) at Los Angeles's Comedy Central stage; it was produced and directed by Kathy Najimy. In 2008, LAW's screenplay was chosen for the Sundance Screenwriters Lab. Production began with Zayid as the lead in the fall of 2009.
She usually tours by herself or as a special guest on the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour.[7] She also co-hosts the radio show Fann Majnoon (Arabic: فن مجنون) (Crazy Art) with Obeidallah.
Zayid can be seen in the 2013 documentary The Muslims Are Coming!, which features a group of Muslim American stand-up comedians touring the United States in an effort to counter Islamophobia, as well as various celebrities including Jon Stewart, David Cross, Janeane Garofalo and Rachel Maddow.[8] In December that same year she appeared on the Melissa Harris-Perry show on December 30, 2013, as part of a panel of comedian commentators. She has also presented at the TED annual conference,[9] and her TED Talk has been viewed approximately 1 billion times.[10][citation needed]
In June 2016 it was announced that Zayid would be developing a series about her life with Lindsey Beer.[11]
Zayid spends three months a year in the Palestinian territories, running an arts program for disabled and orphaned children in refugee camps. She helps the children use art to deal with trauma and bridge the gap between disabled and non-disabled children. Eighty percent of the funding for the camps comes from her comedy work.[1]
↑Heydarpour, Roja (November 21, 2006). "The Comic Is Palestinian, the Jokes Bawdy". The New York Times. Retrieved March 22, 2011. Ms. Zayid, who has a home in Cliffside Park, N.J., recently returned from Hollywood, where she lived while working on developing her one-woman show.
