Raya Abirached
British Lebanese public figure Raya Abirached is one of the most successful TV personalities in the Arab world, famous for her big genuine smile. For over 20 years, she endured in this challenging and demanding industry with sheer persistence and an abundance of talent.
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 believes that hard work and perseverance are the keys to success. She learned from her profession that it's necessary for people to go through the hard days to enjoy the good ones - a belief that tempered her patience. She also believes that the best advice she can give to women is to "believe in what you do, and never ever try to be someone else."
TV PERSONALITY: Raya not only hosts but also produces her own TV program Scoop With Raya. The flagship celebrity movie show has been on the air for over two decades on MBC channels. Raya has interviewed the biggest Hollywood stars (Tom Cruise, The Rock, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio, and everyone in between). She is also regularly invited to attend & cover the biggest events in the movie world from the Cannes, Venice & Toronto film festivals to the Oscars, Baftas & Golden Globes. Besides Scoop, Raya is famous for being the co-host of the first six seasons of the hit TV talent show Arabs Got Talent with Saudi artist Qusai. The blockbuster program will soon start production of its seventh season with both set to return as hosts. She also hosted World Business on CNBC Europe & AlArabiya.
HOST OF THE BIG REGIONAL EVENTS: Raya has presented the opening & closing ceremonies of the biggest regional cinema events, including the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia, Dubai Film Festival in the UAE, and El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt. Most recently, in 2023, she hosted the Time 100 Impact Awards in Dubai. And among other many prestigious events, she was asked to host the Disney launch of Dubai Expo2020, the IWC Filmmaker Awards, the EFFIE Awards, Tropfest Arabia, the Aladdin movie premiere in Jordan with Will Smith, and the Ferdinand movie premiere in Dubai with John Cena.
VOICE ACTOR: Abirached is also often asked to perform regional voice-acting for big animation films, voicing the role of Matilda in The Angry Birds Movies 1 & 2, Erica in Hotel Transylvania 3, Lola Bunny in Space Jam: A New Legacy, Smurf Willow in Smurfs: The Lost Village, and had a cameo in Spies in Disguise.
BRAND AMBASSADORSHIPS & CAMPAIGNS: Raya is a brand ambassador for Bvlgari High Jewelry in the MENA Region. Throughout the years she was also chosen as the face of several brands, including IWC Watches & Tiffany's, Giorgio Armani, Burberry, Banana Republic, Himalaya, Head and Shoulders, Sony, and Sunbites. She has also collaborated with many other brands like Aigner, Carolina Herrera perfumes, Bose, Charlotte Tilbury, Dyson, Nescafé Gold, and Foreo. Moreover, Raya has been on the cover of the most prestigious publications, featuring in the likes of Vogue Arabia, Harpers Bazaar Arabia, Marie Claire Arabia, Zahrat El Khaleej, Laha & Sayidati. Forbes also listed her as one of the 100 most powerful public figures in the region.
PHILANTHROPY: Aside from her work in television, she is also a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador in the MENA region. As part of her ongoing work with the UNHCR, Raya hosted a live fundraising winter telethon for the UNHCR's winter appeal on her Facebook page and visited refugee camps in Jordan (Za'atari camp), and informal settlements in Tripoli and the Bekaa in Lebanon. In 2020, she launched another fundraising call during Ramadan and interviewed a refugee family live on her Instagram for World Refugee Day. She also hosted the NANSSEN Awards in 2022. In 2023 she will be asked to focus her UNHCR activities on Climate change conversations leading up to the COP28.
AWARDS: In 2019, Abirached won the Arab Women of the Year Award for Achievement in Television in London, as well as the Nickelodeon Arabia Award for Favorite TV Personality of the Year.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Raya has reached a combined following of 12.25m people on her social media accounts, including 5.4m followers on Facebook, 5.1m on Instagram, 1.2m on Twitter, and 550k on Tiktok, with most followers coming from Egypt, KSA, UAE, the Levant, and Morrocco.
TV PERSONALITY: Raya not only hosts but also produces her own TV program Scoop With Raya. The flagship celebrity movie show has been on the air for over two decades on MBC channels. Raya has interviewed the biggest Hollywood stars (Tom Cruise, The Rock, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio, and everyone in between). She is also regularly invited to attend & cover the biggest events in the movie world from the Cannes, Venice & Toronto film festivals to the Oscars, Baftas & Golden Globes. Besides Scoop, Raya is famous for being the co-host of the first six seasons of the hit TV talent show Arabs Got Talent with Saudi artist Qusai. The blockbuster program will soon start production of its seventh season with both set to return as hosts. She also hosted World Business on CNBC Europe & AlArabiya.
HOST OF THE BIG REGIONAL EVENTS: Raya has presented the opening & closing ceremonies of the biggest regional cinema events, including the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia, Dubai Film Festival in the UAE, and El Gouna Film Festival in Egypt. Most recently, in 2023, she hosted the Time 100 Impact Awards in Dubai. And among other many prestigious events, she was asked to host the Disney launch of Dubai Expo2020, the IWC Filmmaker Awards, the EFFIE Awards, Tropfest Arabia, the Aladdin movie premiere in Jordan with Will Smith, and the Ferdinand movie premiere in Dubai with John Cena.
VOICE ACTOR: Abirached is also often asked to perform regional voice-acting for big animation films, voicing the role of Matilda in The Angry Birds Movies 1 & 2, Erica in Hotel Transylvania 3, Lola Bunny in Space Jam: A New Legacy, Smurf Willow in Smurfs: The Lost Village, and had a cameo in Spies in Disguise.
BRAND AMBASSADORSHIPS & CAMPAIGNS: Raya is a brand ambassador for Bvlgari High Jewelry in the MENA Region. Throughout the years she was also chosen as the face of several brands, including IWC Watches & Tiffany's, Giorgio Armani, Burberry, Banana Republic, Himalaya, Head and Shoulders, Sony, and Sunbites. She has also collaborated with many other brands like Aigner, Carolina Herrera perfumes, Bose, Charlotte Tilbury, Dyson, Nescafé Gold, and Foreo. Moreover, Raya has been on the cover of the most prestigious publications, featuring in the likes of Vogue Arabia, Harpers Bazaar Arabia, Marie Claire Arabia, Zahrat El Khaleej, Laha & Sayidati. Forbes also listed her as one of the 100 most powerful public figures in the region.
PHILANTHROPY: Aside from her work in television, she is also a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador in the MENA region. As part of her ongoing work with the UNHCR, Raya hosted a live fundraising winter telethon for the UNHCR's winter appeal on her Facebook page and visited refugee camps in Jordan (Za'atari camp), and informal settlements in Tripoli and the Bekaa in Lebanon. In 2020, she launched another fundraising call during Ramadan and interviewed a refugee family live on her Instagram for World Refugee Day. She also hosted the NANSSEN Awards in 2022. In 2023 she will be asked to focus her UNHCR activities on Climate change conversations leading up to the COP28.
AWARDS: In 2019, Abirached won the Arab Women of the Year Award for Achievement in Television in London, as well as the Nickelodeon Arabia Award for Favorite TV Personality of the Year.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Raya has reached a combined following of 12.25m people on her social media accounts, including 5.4m followers on Facebook, 5.1m on Instagram, 1.2m on Twitter, and 550k on Tiktok, with most followers coming from Egypt, KSA, UAE, the Levant, and Morrocco.
