Yesterday, the Arab art and culture industry lost one of its iconic figures, Moroccon artist and former minister, Touria Jabrane, who passed away after a long battle with cancer.

Jabrane was born in 1952 in Casablanca. She graduated from the Ministry of Culture’s National Conservatory and later joined the theatre troupe Masrah Nass in 1972, where she debuted her acting career. In 1978, she was casted in the movie Omar Al Mokhtar which marked her first cinematic appearance. Later, she made a series of comic roles in TV, and was able to leave an imprint and achieve unprecedented success as one of the master comedians of early Moroccon TV.

Along her acting career, Jabrane co-founded the theatrical troupe Masrah Alyaoum with her husband, Abdelouahed Ouzri with the goal to revive the Moroccon theatre.

In 2007, she was appointed as the Morocon Minister of Culture, becoming the first Moroccon artist to serve in a political role. During her tenure, she launched reading and music festivals and contributed in the development of agreements between artists and local authorities. She resigned in 2009 after her health deteriorated.

During her rich artistic career, Jabrane received many awards and accolades from national and international institutions such as the National Order of Merit and the Order of the French Republic for Arts and Letters.