THE FASHION ISSUE STARRING MYRIEM BOUKADIDA
Written By: William Buckley
Myriem Wears Prada.
Paris runs on anticipation. The city is full of people heading somewhere: a meeting, a fitting, a casting, a first date, a train. On any given morning, entire futures seem to be packed into a tote bag and carried onto the Métro before 9am.
It’s a fitting backdrop for Myriem Boukadida.
The Tunisian actress and model has spent much of her life in motion. Born in Sousse, she spent part of her childhood in Germany before returning to Tunisia, later moving to New York as a teenager to study at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. Since then, her career has taken her between fashion capitals, film sets, and campaign shoots, building a body of work that stretches across industries and continents.
Today, Paris is home. It is where she works, where she auditions, where she returns between projects. It is also where we meet her for this story, following her through a day shaped by the familiar rituals of an actor’s life: early starts, hurried wardrobe changes, coffee on the go, scripts in hand, the constant movement between one opportunity and the next.
Dressed in Prada Pre-Fall, Myriem moves through the city with the ease of someone who knows it well. A Bonnie bag sits comfortably on her shoulder. Leather boots strike the pavement. A raffia baseball cap shields her from the summer sun. There is a cinematic quality to the morning, though perhaps that comes naturally when your life revolves around cameras.
Grab your copy of Sorbet Issue 52 // The Fashion Issue: read.sorbetmagazine.com
Myriem wears embroidered canvas mini-dress, Bonnie leather mini bag, open side patent leather pumps, PRADA
We shoot at the Nolinski Paris Hotel. Of course, we love the classic palace hotels; who doesn’t? But we wanted a suite that felt like home. Designed by Jean-Louis Deniot, the hotel balances Haussmannian grandeur with contemporary edge; the kind of space you could spend a morning in without feeling the urge to order up Champagne and caviar on a Tuesday; somewhere to settle in and start the day. It suited the story. Myriem moved between rooms, half-dressed, half-ready, pausing at windows, checking her phone, gathering her things before heading back out into the city.
We hadn’t worked with photographer Elina Kechicheva before (big mistake; huge), but her portfolio fit the brief. Introduced to us by Jiawa Liu, founder of Beige Pill Productions, she turned up to set with the kind of energy and attitude you always hope for when working with someone new: big presence, big vision, big vibes. Her mastery of composition and use of light, evident throughout her work for myriad magazines and fashion houses, including Dior, shaped every frame. Alongside the two smoke machines we hauled through the Parisian streets that morning, she brought the concept fully to life, filling the suite with atmosphere and giving the story the dreamlike, cinematic quality we needed.
And while Myriem served the kind of shapes you’d expect from a consummate model, acting remains the focus, and her ease with the storyboard was testament to her talent. Her recent projects include Netflix’s Al Khallat+, in which she performed in Tunisian dialect, and an upcoming feature from acclaimed Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, one of the region’s most celebrated directors.
Throughout our conversation, Tunisia surfaces repeatedly. Sousse, she tells us, is family, language and memory. It remains the place she returns to whenever she can, and the place she hopes to represent through her work. There is pride in the way she speaks about her country, and a determination to see more Tunisian talent recognized on the international stage.
For now, though, there is a casting to get to. Another train to catch. Another script waiting to be read. Paris keeps moving, and so does Myriem.
Myriem wears embroidered canvas mini-dress, Bonnie leather mini bag, open side patent leather pumps, PRADA
Myriem wears embroidered linen dress, PRADA
WILLIAM BUCKLEY: Do you remember much about those early years, moving between the cultures of Germany and Tunisia?
MYRIEM BOUKADIDA: What I mostly remember is my friends. I have very vivid images about them and about our relationships, and I still cherish those moments. It makes me very nostalgic. I don’t know – I’m so happy that I got to live two different childhoods, each as beautiful as the other.
WB: I read that German was your first language before your family moved back to Tunisia. Do you still feel shaped by that international upbringing?
MB: German was my first language. I still keep an accent from every single language I speak, but it’s very little, so you wouldn’t even hear it if you didn’t know. I even have that in Tunisian – it’s a bit funny because that’s my language, but what can I do?
WB: You originally moved to New York for acting school, and you were scouted. What was that period of your life like?
MB: It was so hectic in the beginning. I loved moving to New York; it made me the woman I am today. Maybe it’s because I had so many challenges. It was very complicated in the beginning, especially for a 16-year-old to be so far from her family at the end of the world. But I made it, and I loved living in New York, and I loved acting and modeling there. It was absolutely one of the most exciting years of my life. It was very overwhelming, but very amazing.
WB: You studied at the Stella Adler Studio in New York, and you recently starred in AlKhallat+. Do you feel like modeling took you away from the acting path and was it always your intention to get back to acting?
MB: I don’t feel like modeling took me away from acting. There have been a lot of moments that took me down different paths, and I’m so grateful for that. I was able to finish school with a diploma in business and marketing, and do modeling at the same time, which taught me so much. The moment when I felt I wanted to go back to acting was the moment I did it, basically. I stepped away for a while, true, but only to get stronger and better, to shape myself in the best way, then to be like, ‘Hello, I’m back!’.
WB: How was that transition?
MB: I don’t feel like it was a transition, because I’ve always done both; I’ve always done a lot of things at the same time. I would say it went in the smoothest way possible. I mean, I’m still doing what I love every single day.
Myriem wears pleated silk faille skirt, silk faille blouson jacket, open side patent leather pumps, PRADA
Myriem wears floral print old canvas bra, pants, Bonnie medium printed linen and leather bag, open side patent leather pumps, single-breasted light mohair coat, PRADA
WB: Have you learned things through your work in front of the camera in fashion that help in acting? Have you had to ‘unlearn’ anything?
MB: Yeah, totally. It’s kind of funny because I’ve had to learn and unlearn both. Wow, it’s such a hard question to answer. Actually, I learned how to be in front of a camera, how to take away all that camera shyness. I learned a lot of things – how to speak, how to be with people, how to be professional, how to work, how to read, how to have a good relationship with a camera. And then I kind of unlearned how to be conscious about myself. I had to forget myself to be a character, you know.
WB: So, what made you decide to return your focus to acting?
MB: It wasn’t a decision that I made. I mean, I wasn’t like, ‘Okay, this is my decision to do that.’ It was just like a fire inside me that was burning brighter than ever. And I remember walking in Paris one day on a call with my sister, and I was like, ‘Listen, this is something I really miss doing.’ I just finished school and was doing campaigns and stuff, which is really cool. But there was something, a piece, missing inside me. I had a one-hour call with her, and the only thing I remember was talking about the fire inside me. Then it happened, slowly but surely.
WB: You mentioned the project with filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania. How did that come about?
MB: We worked together. We just wrapped up filming her next feature, which is so exciting, and I’m really proud of this project. I can’t wait for everyone to see it. I think that’s the most I can tell you, but exciting things are coming soon.
WB: You’ve spoken about Sousse keeping you grounded. What parts of Tunisia still feel most present in your day-to-day life now?
MB: Tunisia is my roots. Sousse is my family, it’s where I grew up, where I became who I am. That part of Tunisia that is always going to be a part of me, and I love coming back. I love being surrounded by the people that I love most, the food that I love most, the language that I love most – everything, basically. Tunisia is everything for me. I don’t think that would change for anything. It’s true that I love other parts of the world, but Tunisia is where everything started.
Myriem wears polka-dot Marocain dress, Bonnie leather mini bag, vintage- effect leather boots, PRADA
WB: You moved to Paris, the center of the fashion world. Would you consider moving to Hollywood or is Paris home now?
MB: Before moving to Paris, I didn’t even think in the beginning, but now I feel like it’s home. It’s where my work is, it’s very central, so you know, it’s very easy to move around the world, and I have my space, my routine. It’s kind of my base, something I go back to. I think Paris is home now, but it could change – you never know where life can take you. But for now, I feel like Paris is where I want to be. My gut is telling me that.
WB: Do you think your Tunisian heritage has affected your career?
MB: I think it has affected my career in the best way possible. I feel like we’re unique and I love that, especially in the modelling and acting industries. I love representing my Tunisian culture wherever I can.
WB: Do you feel compelled to represent Tunisia and North Africa through your work? Do you feel like Tunisia is underrepresented?
MB: I feel Tunisia is underrepresented because we have so much talent in our country, and the global centers of so many creative industries are elsewhere, so we need to export to the world.
I absolutely represent Tunisia and North Africa through my work everywhere and every time I can. I mean, it’s my roots, and it’s always going to be that. So in whatever work I do, I always try to put Tunisia in the spotlight, and I want to do so even more. It could be in shoots, maybe to shoot something in Tunisia to show my country. In AlKhallat+ I was actually speaking Tunisian, which is really cool to have in a Netflix show. In small ways, I try to do the best I can to represent Tunisia the most I can.
Myriem wears embroidered Marocain dress, nappa leather blouson jacket, Bonnie medium printed linen and leather bag, vintage-effect leather boots, raffia baseball cap, PRADA
WB: What have been your biggest milestones so far?
MB: I’m so grateful for every single little win that keeps me going, pushes me further and makes me work harder. So, I can’t really tell you one single thing, I guess it’s a lot of different things.
WB: What kind of roles are you hoping you might explore next?
MB: I would love to do stories about revenge in action, which is something that I haven’t done so far, but I would love to do something that had a lot of depth. I’m ready to explore different genres of films in different parts of the world.
WB: Are there any movie or TV stars inspiring you right now?
MB: I guess anyone that works hard – they don’t have to be a TV or film star. Any actor that is working hard every single day to be the best part of themselves is inspiring. I take a bit from every actor I work with and I learn different things from my experiences, too.
WB: What else are you excited for in the foreseeable future?
MB: I’m actually filming a movie right now. We’re filming in Tunisia, in beautiful places, and I’m excited about that. Then I have a few projects that are coming out that we’re preparing, but I can’t say much because I want to keep it as a surprise.
Myriem wears light mohair blouson jacket, floral print old linen shorts, Route large leather tote bag, PRADA
Myriem wears embroidered linen dress, PRADA
Grab your copy of Sorbet Issue 52 // The Fashion Issue: read.sorbetmagazine.com
Starring Myriem Boukadida | Creative Concept Studio Sorbet | Photographer Elina Kechicheva | Video Director & Creative Direction Jiawa Liu | Editorial Direction William Buckley | Styling Emmanuelle Ramos | Production Beige Pill | Production Manager Leocadio Monteiro | Makeup Clémence Helfman | Hair Vasiliki Stathopoulou | Set Design Emma Colmart | Production Assistants Mylene Tcherkezov, Daniela Maya Sarria | Styling Assistants Ana Lazaro, Ines El Banan, Valery Cardona | Photo Assistant Frédéric Troehler | Fashion Prada Days of Summer 2026 | City Paris
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