Takla Chamoun

Takla Chamoun was born and raised in the mountainous village of Jouar el-Haouz to the east of Beirut. Her father Butros was a priest, and her mother a housewife. Chamoun is the middle child of nine siblings, six girls and three boys. She has said that she suffered from Middle child syndrome, and that she had a very close relationship with her mother. Her family was displaced twice, and she was almost taken out of school at the age of 15 because of the Lebanese Civil War; Chamoun recounted in a 2021 interview that she dissuaded her father from leaving her without an education.

During the early 2000s, Chamoun took roles in poorly produced Lebanese TV series; she also worked in dubbing studios "to make ends meet", as she expressed in a 2007 interview; she also deplored the state of Lebanese theater. Her planned theatrical collaboration with renowned director Chakib Khoury dubbed al-Malja2 (The Shelter) was interrupted by the 2006 Lebanon-Israel conflict.

Chamoun is known to have refused to cancel a showing of Shakib Khoury's play Mawani' al-hanin (Harbors of Nostalgia) after she was informed of her mother's death from complications of surgery in 1999.

At the start of her acting career, Takla played experimental theater roles before making her film debut. Her talent was spotted by producer Waleed al-Husseini during the premiere of Khodor Alaa Eddin's play Akh ya Baladna in the Picaddilly Theater in the Hamra district of Beirut. She was cast in the role of the wife of Palestinian caricaturist Nagi al-Ali in the eponymous 1991 movie, with legendary Egyptian actor Nour El-Sherif. Chamoun landed roles in the 1996 TV series Akher Mashhad (The last scene), and the controversial 1997 TV series Share' el-Kaslik (Kaslik Street), later renamed Share' al-iyyam (Days Street). Her breakout role was Zalfa the midwife in the Lebanese TV series Men Barsoumi (From Barsoumi) a 2001 14-episode historical miniseries, set in French-mandate Lebanon. Following her performance in Men Barsoumi, for which she garnered accolades, the actress continued to make regular appearances in popular films and series.

The reclusive child was fond of journaling and spending the afternoons in the village sports club playing Table Football. It was not until after her participation in an amateur village play that she discovered her flair for acting. In the mid-1980s, Chamoun participated in a play organized by the village Christian Youth club to celebrate the beatification of Rafqa Ar-Rayes. The play was directed by George Oryan and attended by a large crowd, among whom was her future husband, Tony Farjallah.

Takla Chamoun Farjallah (Arabic: تقلا شمعون فرج الله; born 12 September 1966) is a Lebanese actress, drama instructor, producer, and the co-founder and CEO of the Lebanese Film Academy. Chamoun is highly regarded in the Middle East and the Arab World for her acting and her ability to mold into a character.