May el-Calamawy^[2][3] (Arabic: مي القلماوي,^[1] Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [mˤɑjj (el) ʔælæmæːwiː], born October 28, 1986)^[3][4][5] is an Egyptian-Palestinian actress^[5][2][6][7] who has worked and resided in the United States since 2015.^[8][3][5] She is known for her roles in the American television series Ramy as Dena Hassan,^[9] and Moon Knight as Layla El-Faouly.^[6]

Calamawy was born on October 28, 1986, in Bahrain to an Egyptian father who worked as a banker,^[3] and a Palestinian-Jordanian mother.^[3][5] She has an older brother.^[10] Raised mostly in Bahrain, she also spent six years living between Doha, Qatar, and Houston, Texas, before she was twelve years old.^[7][5][3] Calamawy speaks English and Arabic.^[3]

She was inspired to become an actress after watching the 1992 film Death Becomes Her when she was a child.^[5][11]

Calamawy completed high school in Bahrain,^[3] and at 17 she moved to Boston, Massachusetts, to study industrial design,^[12] because her father wanted her to.^[3] She then lived in Dubai for five years before moving back to the United States to pursue an acting career.^[8]

She applied to Emerson College and told her parents, "If I get in, I'm going."^[3] She was accepted and earned a B.A. in theatre studies.^[7] Calamawy has also studied at the William Esper Studio in New York City.^[7]

Calamawy started her career acting in short films and used to be credited with her full name, May El Calamawy.^[3][2] She later changed it to May Calamawy.^[13] After attending college, she participated in the New York Arab American Comedy Festival.^[3] From 2009 to 2014, she was dividing her time between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, acting in shorts and a TV pilot.^[3]

Her first major film role was in Tobe Hooper's 2013 film Djinn, the first horror film to be produced in the United Arab Emirates.^[3]

In 2017, she had a recurring role in the National Geographic miniseries The Long Road Home and guest-starring roles in The Brave and Madam Secretary.^[13] The following year, she guest-starred in the CBS crime drama television series FBI.^[13]

In October 2018, it was announced that she would have a recurring role in the Hulu comedy-drama series Ramy, playing Ramy's sister, Dena Hassan.^[13] In 2020, she had a voice role as Ellie Malik in the video game NBA 2K21.^[14]

In 2021, she appeared in the comedy film Together Together, with Ed Helms and Patti Harrison.^[9] In January of the same year, it was announced she would appear in the Disney+ miniseries Moon Knight, which premiered on March 30, 2022,^[9][15] where Calamawy portrayed Layla El-Faouly, an Egyptian archeologist and estranged wife of Marc Spector (portrayed by Oscar Isaac).^[16] Layla was the first Egyptian and the first Arab character and superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.^{[17] [18]}

In July 2022, it was announced that she would join the voice cast of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur as a guest star. The show premiered on Disney Channel and Disney+ in 2023.^[19] In October 2022, she was announced in the cast of Duke Johnson's upcoming thriller, The Actor.^[20][21][22]

In May 2023, Calamawy joined the cast of Ridley Scott's Gladiator 2.^[23]

Calamawy was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease alopecia areata at the age of 22.^[7] Her alopecia was incorporated into the storyline of her character Dena Hassan in Ramy during the show's second season.^[7][10]

Since 2015, Calamawy has resided in the United States.^[10]