Writer, actress, and playwright Jalila Baccar studied at L'Ecole Normale Supérieure in Tunis. She is co-founder of the first Tunisian independent theatre company Nouveau Théâtre (1976) and Familia Productions (1994). Since 1973, she has been a noticeable presence in the Tunisian and Arab theatre world with her distinctive writing and roles. In 2003 she won the Prix SACD de la Francophonie for Araberlin and in 2012 the Mahmoud Darwich Award.