A rebel like Amy! Industry star Marisa Abela who's been cast as the troubled singer ditched posh school pals who mocked her 'small' house, spent weekends drinking in a local park and gave up a law career for acting
- Marisa Abela has been cast as Amy Winehouse in the new Back to Black biopic
- Actress, 26, is the spitting image of the late singer as filming began this week
- FEMAIL explores Marisa's rise to fame - from roles in Industry to Barbie movie
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As filming for the new Amy Winehouse biopic got underway in London this week, Marisa Abela was the spitting image of the late singer with her brown beehive, chunky gold jewellery and trademark mini skirts.
But it turns out Marisa has much more in common with Amy than just their obvious resemblance.
In a recent interview with Soho House's magazine, the actress, 26, confessed that she ditched her posh school friends as a teenager to spend her weekends drinking in a local park near her Brighton home.
After years of trying to fit in with her peers at a private girls school, Marisa said: '‘I was either trying to be like them or extremely not like them. I was like, if you can’t beat them, join them. And if you can’t join them, f**k ‘em!’
Marisa Abela and Eddie Marsan filming the new Amy Winehouse inspired movie 'Back to Black' in Soho this week
On top of this career-defining role, Marisa is also set to star in Greta Gerwig's new Barbie movie, which comes out this July.
But while 2023 is set to have big things in store for Marisa, the up-and-coming star didn't always have her hopes and dreams pinned on acting.
Here FEMAIL takes a look back at Marisa's incredible rise to fame - from starting out in school productions to her aspirations of becoming a lawyer.
Growing up in the village of Rottingdean, on the outskirts of Brighton, Marisa was raised by her actress mother Caroline Gruber, who played Miss Washington in the long-running TV series Grange Hill. Her father Angelo Abela was also a director.
Marisa pictured as a schoolgirl. The up-and-coming actress grew up in the small village of Rottingdean on the outskirts of Brighton
Marisa's mother Caroline Gruber (right) was a theatre and television actress. Pictured in a 2020 production of Leopoldstadt
When she reached secondary school age, Marisa was awarded a scholarship to Roedean School.
In an interview with Soho House last year, the star explained how she felt out of place during her time at the school - and was always being corrected by her peers for mispronouncing words.
She recalled one upsetting occasion when she invited four school friends round for dinner at her family's demi-detached bungalow.
Marisa said: 'They all joined hands and touched one end of the hallway to the other. They were like, “how funny – we can touch the end”. It was mortifying.'
Later on, she explained how a friend's father paid for them to be chauffeured to Harrod's in a Bentley to pick out toys to celebrate his daughter's birthday.
Attempting to fit in with her peers, Marisa says she would save up all her money to spend on branded Jack Wills clothing and found herself putting on a 'posh accent' at school.
Marisa is a rising star who watched her mother act on television and on stage throughout her childhood
Marisa bared all in the first series of BBC Two's Industry as she filmed steamy scenes between her character Yasmin and boyfriend Seb
The star, who graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in 2019, is best known for playing Yasmin Kara-Hanani in BBC Two's Industry
However as she got older, Marisa says she began rebelling this mould at school.
She continued: 'I went the complete opposite way. Like, 'ello!' I didn't brush my hair. I'd spend Fridays and Saturdays with girls from the local area, drinking a two-litre bottle of Strongbow in the park. My poor mum.'
But despite her parents' passion for the theatre, Marisa says she originally set her sights on becoming a lawyer.
'I think I rebelled against it because I could see it took a lot of gumption and it scared me quite a bit,' she previously told Air Mail. 'I was going to be a human-rights lawyer.'
Marisa is a rising star in the world of showbiz (pictured at the British Vogue Self-Portrait Summer Party with Jamie Bogyo)
Marisa Abela (pictured) shot to fame in 2020 thanks to her role as Yasmin in hit BBC drama Industry
Marisa Abela, 25, from Brighton, has just been cast in Greta Gerwig's Barbie movie which is set for release in July 2023
In English and Drama lessons, she took an avid interest in the plays she studied and she appeared in several school show - including playing Juliet in a Shakespeare production.
Speaking to The Cut last year, Marisa explained how her drama teacher invited boys from another school to take part in their final year play - meaning she got to kiss one on stage.
She joked: 'I think the boys clinched it for me. Is that terrible?'
At 18 she was encouraged by her drama teacher to take up classes with a local youth theatre school, The Theatre Workshop, which allowed her to explore a more 'serious' side of acting outside of musical theatre.
The actress has been cast alongside huge names including Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in the new Barbie movie
After going to visit University College London after being offered a place to study history and law, Marisa was lured in by RADA which was just down the road - and she graduated from the prestigious drama school in 2019
Marisa said she was 'incredibly excited' to be cast in the new Barbie movie, which is due for release next summer
Marisa initially intended to study history and law at University college London to pursue her big dream of becoming a human rights lawyer.
But when she went to visit UCL, Marisa was lured in by the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) which was just down the road.
Explaining how her mother convinced her to take the plunge, Marisa said in a 2021 interview with Gold Derby: 'Every time I was in a school play or a show, [my parents] were both like over the moon and like, "She's going to do it!"
'They were sort of nudging each other. So, I think my way of rebelling was just pretending I was going to be a lawyer.'
Within weeks, she deferred her place at the university and enrolled at the presticious drama school, for which she had to undertake four rounds of auditions that culminate in a full day workshop.
Marisa Abela pictured on the red carpet at The Fashion Awards 2022 at Royal Albert Hall on December 5, 2022
Earlier this year, StudioCanal shared a first look at the Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black biopic starring Marisa Abela
Amy Winehouse pictured entering the VIP area at the Blender Sessions Lollapalooza afterparty in 2007. A biopic of the late singer's life is currently being filmed in London
In an interview with The Theatre Workshop, she said: 'For some reason, I always did my best work at RADA and Guildhall. Something about the environment both schools create… I found it easier to connect with myself and produce truthful work.'
'I have always had a passion for acting and the theatre… I've always been so interested by human beings and the way we interact with each other.'
When she moved to the capital to study, Marisa admitted she was a home-bird and was going to miss her mother's cooking.
She said: 'All that's stressing me out right now is how does my mum make her mashed potatoes so smooth because I can't go without mash for too long.'
Marisa Abela pictured attendung the inaugural Soho House Awards in September 2022. She told the private members club's publication that she always felt out of place during her time at the school
Yasmin pictured with her Industry co-stars in a second two promotional image for the hit BBC series
In the second episode of Industry, Marisa's character Yasmin was involved in a steamy sex scene with boyfriend Seb - before going on to dump him for being unable to meet her needs.
Speaking to Soho House, Marisa says she found it refreshing for a woman's sexuality to be portrayed in this way on screen.
She continued: 'I grew up watching TV where like, you know, the wife is lying in bed reading and is saying, “Stop it, no, no, no” to her husband. It becomes ingrained, this idea that you’ll get married and your husband will want to always have sex with you. Like, it’s cool to play this character who is intensely confident in her body and sexuality and is explorative. It’s a good thing.'
As for her personal life, Marisa is currently in a relationship with fellow actor Jamie Bogyo - who is starring in Moulin Rouge in London's West End.
Although the couple have never publicly spoken about their relationship, the pair were pictured exchanging a quick kiss while on a walk in the capital in December 2020.
Marisa's role in the new Barbie movie has not yet been revealed, and she has remained tight-lipped about what viewers can expect
Marisa is the daughter of Grange Hill actress Caroline Gruber, who played Miss Washington in the long-running British TV series
The young actress grew up watching her mother on TV and in theatre, and decided she herself didn't have the nerves to go into the world of showbusiness
It is thought romance blossomed between Marisa and Jamie after they met while studying at London’s prestigious drama school Rada.
Although details of the Amy Winehouse bio-pic have been kept under wraps, Marisa reportedly 'blew away' director Sam Taylor-Johnson when she auditioned for the role.
With her big Hollywood break coming up starring alongside Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in the new Barbie film, set for release in 2023, Marisa already has some impressive credits under her belt.
She is best known for her role as Yasmin Kara-Hanani in the HBO and BBC Two series Industry – a role she landed before she had even graduated from RADA.
Details of Marisa's exact role in Barbie are still under wraps but she'll have stars in her eyes as she acts alongside huge names like Ugly Betty star America Ferrera, Sex Education's Emma Mackey and Ncuti Gatwa, and comedy actress Kate McKinnon.
The film is currently scheduled for release on 23 July 2023.
Also coming up for the starlet is Jamie Adams film She is Love, about an estranged divorced couple coming back together to revisit the past, where Marisa will star alongside Haley Bennett and Sam Riley.
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