Maya Ali

Maya Ali, born Maryam Tanveer Ali, is an actress in Urdu television and film. She started with a brief role in the telenovela Durr-e-Shehwar. She then became widely known as the title character in the romantic comedy Aunn Zara (2013) and as a veiled young woman in the social drama Shanakht (2014).

Her breakthrough was Mann Mayal (2016), which won her the Lux Style Award for Best TV Actress. Before that came two 2015 successes: Mera Naam Yousuf Hai, and Haseeb Hassan's family drama Diyar-e-Dil, where she played Faarah and earned another Lux nomination. She moved into cinema with the romantic comedies Teefa in Trouble (2018) and Parey Hut Love (2019). Both rank among the highest-grossing Pakistani films, and Parey Hut Love brought her two more Lux nominations.

She returned to television after five years with Pehli Si Muhabbat (2021). Her honours include a Lux Style Award and three Hum Awards. Diyar-e-Dil, the drama that brought her together with Osman Khalid Butt and Haseeb Hassan, has a full page on this guide.

In Shanakht she played Qurratulain, a devout woman whose family disapproves of her faith, and the serial was a critical and commercial success. In Mehreen Jabbar's Mera Naam Yousuf Hai, loosely based on the Yusuf and Zulaikha story from Jami's Haft Awrang, she played Zulaikha opposite Imran Abbas. Diyar-e-Dil, based on Farhat Ishtiaq's novel, was the highest-rated serial of 2015 and won her the Hum Award for Best Actress (Popular). Mann Mayal paired her with Hamza Ali Abbasi.

Diyar-e-Dil (2015) aired on HUM TV. Maya Ali plays Faarah; the serial is written by Farhat Ishtiaq and directed by Haseeb Hassan. Also in the cast: Osman Khalid Butt, Mikaal Zulfiqar and Sanam Saeed.