Background

Ayelet Zurer was born and raised in Tel Aviv, Israel. Her parents were Jewish immigrants to Tel Aviv, and her mother spent World War II hiding in a convent in Czechoslovakia. After completing her military service in the Israel Defense Forces, Zurer moved to the United States to pursue a Hollywood career.

Zurer lives in California.

Television career

Zurer moved back to Israel in 1991. In 1992, she starred in the television series Inyan Shel Zman, and in 1993, she played Debbie in the Israeli film Nikmato Shel Itzik Finkelstein. During this time she also participated in the cable television show Yetziat Hirum. In 1997, Zurer played the role of Shira Steinberg in the television show Florentin on the Israeli Channel 2. In 2000, Zurer participated in the Israeli television series Zinzana, and in 2002, she participated in the Israeli television series Shalva and Ha'Block.

In 2005, Zurer starred in the Israeli television series Betipul, a drama about a psychologist and his patients' therapy process. She plays Na'ama Lerner, a patient who starts a romance with the doctor (portrayed by Assi Dayan). The series won her a Best Actress award from the Israeli Television Academy and was remade as the award-winning HBO series In Treatment. The following year Zurer participated in an Israeli sketch comedy television show called Gomrot Holchot that deals with the world of young women; relationships, marriage, sex, and career. The show is based on the British sketch comedy show Smack the Pony.

Zurer stars in the 2015 Netflix series Marvel's Daredevil as Vanessa Marianna - the love interest of Wilson Fisk (played by Vincent D'Onofrio). The series is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in common with other films in this universe-based series.

Film career

In 1998 she played the lead in the film Ahava Asura (aka The Dybbuk of the Holy Apple Field) starring Moshe Ivgy. In 2001, she starred in the movies Laila Lelo Lola and Kikar Ha'Halomot. In 2003, Zurer starred in Nina's Tragedies, portraying the title character, Nina, a young woman who has to rebuild her life after the death of her husband. She won an Israeli Academy Award for Best Actress for this role.

Zurer appeared in Steven Spielberg's Munich, where she played Avner Kaufman's wife. She played a terrorist in the American thriller Vantage Point, appearing alongside Dennis Quaid, William Hurt, and Sigourney Weaver. In 2007, Zurer starred in Fugitive Pieces, in which a troubled young Holocaust survivor falls in love with her character. She played a nurse who falls in love with the title character in Adam Resurrected (2008).

In April 2008, Zurer was cast as the female lead, Vittoria Vetra, in the The Da Vinci Code sequel, Angels & Demons, Zurer's character is the research partner of a CERN physicist/Catholic priest who is murdered during the theft of a canister of unstable antimatter from their lab in Geneva. She is paired by the Vatican Police with Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks).

Zurer plays the lead role in Chris Eyre's 2011 film Hide Away (aka "A Year in Mooring"). The cast includes Josh Lucas.

Zurer played Superman's mother, Lara Lor-Van, in the reboot of the Superman franchise, Man of Steel (2013).

Theatre and modeling career

Zurer had appeared in Israeli plays such as Ha'Yoreshet, Madrich Nashim Le'Tohu Va'Vohu, Bigdei Ha'Melech, Bo'u Lo Nedaber Al Ze, Ohavim Et Ophal, and Monologim Me'Ha'Vaginah. In the United States, she has appeared in plays such as A Midsummer Night's Dream and Richard III.

Zurer has modelled for fashion companies such as Honigman and Golf.

Zurer has also illustrated the pictures for the 1999 fantasy book Badulina by Gabi Nitzan, an Israeli author.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1991	Pour Sacha (aka For Sasha)	Shoshana	French Drama
1993	Nikmato Shel Itzik Finkelstein (aka The Revenge of Itzik Finkelstein)	Debbie
1998	Ahava Asura (Forbidden Love, aka The Dybbuk of the Holy Apple Field)	Lea
2001	Laila Lelo Lola (aka A Night Without Lola)	Oshrit	TV movie
2001	Kikar Ha'Halomot (aka Desperado Square)	Gila (the waitress)
2003	Ha'Asonot Shel Nina (Nina's Tragedies)	Nina
2003	Ish Ha'Hashmal (aka Rutenberg)	Becki
2004	Maktub	Michal	TV movie
2004	Mashehu Matok (Something Sweet)	Tamar
2005	Munich	Daphna Kaufman
2007	Fugitive Pieces	Michaela
2007	Rak Klavim Ratzim Hofshi (aka Wild Dogs)	Telma
2008	Vantage Point	Veronica
2008	Adam Resurrected	Gina Grey
2009	Ingenious	Gina
2009	Angels & Demons	Vittoria Vetra
2011	Hide Away	The Waitress
2012	Darling Companion	Carmen
2012	Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn	Colonel Mehaffey	Web series
2013	Man of Steel	Lara Lor-Van
2013	Shtisel	Elisheva	TV series
2013	Hostages	Dr. Yael Danon	TV series
2015	Last Knights	Naomi
2015	Last Days in the Desert	Mother
2015	Daredevil	Vanessa Marianna	Netflix series
2016	Ben-Hur	Naomi	Filming

Awards

Year	Group	Award	Result	Film/Show
1997	Israeli Film Academy Awards	Best Actress	Nominated	Ahava Asura
2000	Israeli Film Academy Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Nominated	Kikar Ha'Halomot
2001	Israeli Film Academy Awards	Best Actress	Nominated	Ish Ha'Hashmal
2003	Israeli Film Academy Awards	Best Actress	Won	Ha'Asonot Shel Nina
	Jerusalem Film Festival	Best Actress	Won	Ha'Asonot Shel Nina
2006	Israeli Film Academy Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Nominated	Rak Klavim Ratzim Hofshi
	Israeli Television Academy Awards	Best Actress	Won	Betipul
2013	Israeli Television Academy Awards	Best Actress in a Drama Series	Nominated	Shtisel
			Won	Hostages

[ Source: Wikipedia ]