Raya Abirached

Raya Abirached is one of the most important and successful TV personalities in the Arab world. She is the only Arab TV presenter to interview weighty Hollywood stars. She is also a regular at the world's most prestigious film festivals. Besides, Abirached is the producer, writer and researcher of her own TV programs, which makes her an inspiration to many women and girls around the world with her successful career of more than 15 years. Raya believes that hard work and perseverance are the keys to success. From her profession, she learned that it's necessary for people to go through hard days as well as good ones, which made her more patient. Abirached sees that the best advice she can give to women is "Believe in what you do, and never ever try to be someone else." Raya started her career as a journalist in Beirut before moving to the UK in 1999. She holds a BA in economics, a Master's in Cinema from Lebanon, and a Master's in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Westminster in London. She is fluent in Arabic, English, French, and Italian. Raya hosted several TV shows, including the weekly business show World Business, airing on CNBC Europe and Asia. She is also the researcher and presenter of her popular TV program Scoop With Raya, which airs on MBC 2 every Sunday, where she interviews Hollywood stars and enters behind-the-scenes worlds of films and TV series. She also co-hosts the hit TV talent show Arabs Got Talent with Qusai. She covers important film events like the Academy Awards, BAFTA, and Golden Globes ceremonies, along with international film festivals, such as the Cannes Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival and the Venice International Film Festival. Raya hosted the opening ceremony of the 2nd El Gouna Film Festival in 2018, and the opening and closing ceremony of the 10th edition of Dubai International Film Festival. Abirached lent her voice to the Arabic versions of some of the most famous animation films, such as The Angry Birds Movie and Smurfs: The Lost Village. In 2019, she joined the cast of the animation films Angry Birds 2 and Spies in Disguise. Moreover, Raya is the brand ambassador of Sony Mobile, and the face of many international brands, including IWC Schaffhausen luxury watches and Banana Republic, the American fashion house. Most recently, Abirached won the Arab Women of the Year Award for Achievement in Television at the 2019's Arab Women of the Year Awards in London and she also won the award of Nickelodeon Arabia Favorite TV Personality of the Year in 2019.