Israeli actress Shira Haas was nominated on Tuesday for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for her performance in Netflix’s “Unorthodox.”
The 25-year-old Haas won acclaim for her role as Esty, a young haredi woman from Brooklyn who flees to Berlin to escape an unhappy arranged marriage and embraces a secular lifestyle there.
The four-episode series was inspired by the 2012 memoir “Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots,” by Deborah Feldman.
Haas wrote on Instagram in response to her nomination: “Thank you for all the beautiful messages today. I’m still processing it and trying to find the right words. I am so happy and so lucky to have had the privilege of portraying this character and to be nominated for it. Thank you to everyone who took part in the show and made this happen. Thank you to everyone who shared their love. I feel it all. I’m truly grateful.”
Haas was nominated in the category of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or TV movie, alongside Cate Blanchett (“Mrs. America”), Regina King (“Watchmen”), Octavia Spencer (“Self Made”) and Kerry Washington (“Little Fires Everywhere”).
“The fact that this show managed to touch so many people’s hearts and to get to so many people, with the fact that 50 percent is in Yiddish, it just shows that it [transcends boundaries],” Haas told Entertainment Tonight after the nominations. “For example, when I read the script, I felt attached. It’s a different culture and a very different person than me, and I still see myself in this character. And people, maybe they’re getting tired of seeing only themselves. I think people want to see someone that looks different from them and still manage to see themselves.”
Haas won the award for Best Actress at the Tribeca Film Festival in April for her role in the film Asia.
This article first appeared in Israel Hayom.