Ayisha Issa is an actress and martial arts practitioner born in
Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She has played a number of roles in both
English- and French-language television series and films, such as Dark
Matter, Unité 9, and Brick Mansions (2014). She is a practitioner of
Brazilian jiu-jitsu who won the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Federation World Championships twice, once in 2010 as a white belt,
and again in 2014 as a blue belt; currently she holds the rank of
brown belt and owns a dojo in Toronto named 4Points. She also did
voice acting for Ubisoft's Far Cry Primal (2016) and The Dark Pictures
Anthology: Man of Medan (2019), which was developed by Supermassive
Games and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment.Issa was born and
raised in Montreal, Quebec, growing up as an Anglophone on Montreal's
West Island. She had a troubled childhood, and at one point lived in a
group home. When she was 15, she was a client with the Batshaw Youth
and Family Centres, a local nonprofit assisting troubled youth. As a
teenager, she suffered from depression, anxiety, and eating disorders,
but despite this, she began working toward a modeling career, which
proved to be unsuccessful, something she attributed to her athletic
build. In her twenties, she worked as the assistant front-desk manager
at a Montreal hotel before being fired. Looking for a new career, she
shifted her focus toward athletics, and after a brief time in
kickboxing, began to practice Brazilian jiu-jitsu. By 2010, she had
won the heavyweight adult female white belt (novice) category at the
International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation World Championships.
Around this time, she landed a breakthrough role in a major picture,
Immortals (2011), through old modeling connections.Her role in
Immortals was followed immediately with a role in L'appât (fr), a
French-language buddy cop action comedy film where she plays a "kind
of Ninja assassin" who pursues the main characters. Her television
debut, in 2011, was a small role on the French-language series 30
vies. This was followed by a number of minor roles in English-language
films like Warm Bodies and Betty and Coretta (both 2013), as well as
Brick Mansions (2014), which was Paul Walker's penultimate film. By
2014, she had landed a major role in the French-language television
series Unité 9 (fr), which is broadcast on Ici Radio-Canada Télé.
Sometimes compared to Orange Is the New Black, the series is also set
in a women's prison. Issa played Bouba, a "mean piece of work who
makes life a living hell for the other female prisoners." This role
raised her profile considerably within Montréal and Québec.Around
this time, Issa won again at the 2014 International Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu Federation World Championships, this time competing as a
heavyweight blue belt. She would later become a brown belt, but would
cease competing due to the expense and time commitment involved, with
a self-stated need to focus on her acting career.
Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She has played a number of roles in both
English- and French-language television series and films, such as Dark
Matter, Unité 9, and Brick Mansions (2014). She is a practitioner of
Brazilian jiu-jitsu who won the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Federation World Championships twice, once in 2010 as a white belt,
and again in 2014 as a blue belt; currently she holds the rank of
brown belt and owns a dojo in Toronto named 4Points. She also did
voice acting for Ubisoft's Far Cry Primal (2016) and The Dark Pictures
Anthology: Man of Medan (2019), which was developed by Supermassive
Games and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment.Issa was born and
raised in Montreal, Quebec, growing up as an Anglophone on Montreal's
West Island. She had a troubled childhood, and at one point lived in a
group home. When she was 15, she was a client with the Batshaw Youth
and Family Centres, a local nonprofit assisting troubled youth. As a
teenager, she suffered from depression, anxiety, and eating disorders,
but despite this, she began working toward a modeling career, which
proved to be unsuccessful, something she attributed to her athletic
build. In her twenties, she worked as the assistant front-desk manager
at a Montreal hotel before being fired. Looking for a new career, she
shifted her focus toward athletics, and after a brief time in
kickboxing, began to practice Brazilian jiu-jitsu. By 2010, she had
won the heavyweight adult female white belt (novice) category at the
International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation World Championships.
Around this time, she landed a breakthrough role in a major picture,
Immortals (2011), through old modeling connections.Her role in
Immortals was followed immediately with a role in L'appât (fr), a
French-language buddy cop action comedy film where she plays a "kind
of Ninja assassin" who pursues the main characters. Her television
debut, in 2011, was a small role on the French-language series 30
vies. This was followed by a number of minor roles in English-language
films like Warm Bodies and Betty and Coretta (both 2013), as well as
Brick Mansions (2014), which was Paul Walker's penultimate film. By
2014, she had landed a major role in the French-language television
series Unité 9 (fr), which is broadcast on Ici Radio-Canada Télé.
Sometimes compared to Orange Is the New Black, the series is also set
in a women's prison. Issa played Bouba, a "mean piece of work who
makes life a living hell for the other female prisoners." This role
raised her profile considerably within Montréal and Québec.Around
this time, Issa won again at the 2014 International Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu Federation World Championships, this time competing as a
heavyweight blue belt. She would later become a brown belt, but would
cease competing due to the expense and time commitment involved, with
a self-stated need to focus on her acting career.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.