Zaraah Abrahams

Abrahams was born in a hospital in Lambeth, London of Iraqi and Barbadian descent on her mother's side and of Jamaican descent on her father's side. She grew up in Brixton, South London and is the eldest of three siblings.^[1] She attended the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts for her secondary education, landing the role of Magda in the TV Adaptation of Jacqueline Wilson's Girls in Love while still a pupil there.^[1] At the age of 17, she left London to pursue a career in acting in Manchester after landing the role of Joanne Jackson in Coronation Street.^[1]

Abrahams starred as Magda in the CITV show Girls in Love from 2003 to 2005 and as Joanne Jackson in the ITV soap Coronation Street from 2005 to 2007.^[2] In 2008, Abrahams participated in the third series of ITV's celebrity skating series Dancing on Ice, joining the series late in week 3, as a replacement for the injured Michael Underwood who had been forced to withdraw. Her partner was skater Fred Palascak. The pair landed in the skate-off four times, ultimately winning them all and reached the final, before finishing in third place. The same year, she joined the cast of Waterloo Road in a recurring role as student Michaela White, which she played until 2010.^[3] The character became part of the core cast for the fourth series in 2009 and remained with the show until her exit at the end of the fifth series in 2010.^[1] She starred in the 2013 short film Black Girl in Paris on HBO which was nominated for short film of the year, and where she was seen by Spike Lee.^[1] In 2014, Lee cast her as the female lead, Ganja Hightower in the Ganja & Hess homage Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, in her first Hollywood film debut.^[4][1]

In 2014, she returned for the "All Stars" series of Dancing on Ice, this time paired with Andy Buchanan and was sixth to be eliminated in week 4.^[5][1] In 2015, she joined the cast of the Cinemax series The Knick, a medical drama directed by Steven Soderbergh, set around a New York hospital in the early 20th century. She portrayed the role of Opal.^[6] In October 2020, it was announced that Abrahams would be taking over from Tiana Benjamin in the role of Chelsea Fox in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Her first episode as the character was broadcast on 25 December 2020.^[7]