the backstory.
Naïma was born in France to Beninese singer Angélique Kidjo and composer Jean Hébrail. Through the years of moving back and forth between France and America, her passion for theatre remained constant. Now based between Paris and Los Angeles, she is developing her careers in acting, writing, and producing.
She received a BA in Theatre Studies from Yale University. There, her roles ranged from student written plays (Eat, Sleep, Drink, Die; Angels), musicals (Spring Awakening), and contemporary plays (Circle Mirror Transformation), to Shakespeare (The Tempest; Antony and Cleopatra). Outside of Yale she appeared in Dracula and Poof! by Lynn Nottage at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Her thesis, Pixel Souls, was the recipient of the Berkeley College Arts Prize.
In Chicago, Naïma worked with Dog & Pony Theatre Company, The Hypocrites, Pegasus Theatre Company, Lifeline Theatre, Teatro Vista, and Victory Gardens. Her favorite role was as Abigail Williams in The Crucible with Steppenwolf for Young Adults directed by Jonathan Berry.
Since moving to LA she has performed at Thymele Arts in the Pussygabber Plays, read in two "Square Circle" series which took place at Murmurs LA and the MOCA Geffen; she played Iseult
in Pia Wilson's Iseult & Tristan both with IAMA Theatre Co in LA and LaMama Experimental Theatre Co. in NY. She even did a live virtual play, Fort Huachuca, with SheArts LA during the pandemic lockdown. Naïma also does voiceover work–her credits include the Illinois Lottery, and McDonald's.
In 2022, Yemandja, a musical play that Naïma wrote the book and lyrics for premiered in the US and in Europe. It premiered at MassMoca and was performed on stages across the country, including at the Kennedy Center in DC, and the Broad Stage in Santa Monica. The show had its European premiere at the Holland Festival in June 2022.
In 2024, you will be able to see Naïma in two movies - Dogman durected by Luc Besson, starring Caleb Landry-Jones and Au Fil des Saisons, directed by Hannah Ladoul & Marco Lavia, starring Catherine Deneuve, Andrea Riseborogh, and Morgan Saylor, executive produced by Martin Scorcese.
Naïma also developped & co-produced a short film project on Jeanne Duval premiering in 2024. Produced by Iman Perez at Buffalo Films, directed by Antoine Paley, and co-starring Paul Spéra, Naïma wrote the script and played the titular character, Jeanne.
Currently, Naïma is developing two film/TV projects and a musical theatre piece slated to premiere in 2025, along with co-producing two short films - one which she wrote and directed.
She has trained all over the world, at the Cours Florent in Paris, at RADA in London; she's worked with famed acting teachers Larry Moss and Sharon Chatten among others. When she is not acting, auditioning, she loves to cook and does lots of yoga!
Naïma is managed by Margrit Polak Management & Brittney McDade and represented by Time Art in France.