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There’s something truly cinematic and wondrous about Lake Como, yet at the same time, there’s a stillness and an unhurried rhythm to this postcard destination. It was a fitting location for GRAZIA to meet Egyptian-Montenegrin actress Tara Emad just a few months ago, wrapped in the elegance of Chanel Cruise 2026. It’s evident the camera loves her and she loves it back – the kind of reciprocal chemistry you can’t fake. She has, after all, been in front of the lens since her teens.
“I’m friends with the camera,” she tells me later, not as a boast but a fact learned over the last couple of decades. “I know my angles…there’s so much confidence I gained from modelling that I put into my shoots – especially with Chanel.”
It’s no surprise Tara was destined for a life in front of the camera. After all, her ease in front of the lens isn’t accidental or a simple stroke of luck; it was always the plan. “I always wanted to be an actress,” she recalls as we catch up over Zoom – she in Paris, me in Dubai. “I always wanted to appear on TV, in cinemas, on stage, in any form. It’s something my mum recognised from a very young age.”
By 11 years old, she was already on set. “My first TV ad – I wasn’t even visible,” she laughs. “There were hundreds of us, and I was just a tiny person in a field, but it felt amazing. I thought, ‘This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.’”
While Tara had her sights firmly set on acting, she also immersed herself in the modelling world, which saw her intertwine both careers throughout her teens and early twenties.
“I did my first TV series when I was 15,” she reflects. “It took two years to film – it was a small role, but it made a great impact.” Another at 17 followed – “a teeny, tiny role, maybe seven scenes in 60 episodes” – but it was enough to keep her hooked.
Still, progress was anything but linear, and it seemed the universe had other plans for the budding starlet. “From 17 to 21, I did thousands of auditions, but nothing was coming up. I was doing workshops in Egypt and online, but acting just wasn’t working out.” It was when she was offered a substantial six-month-long modelling contract in Paris that Tara mused that “maybe this whole acting thing isn’t for me”.
Then came a twist of fate that sounds scripted, ironically.
“My mom called me and said, ‘Tara, this big actor’s son just called me’,” she remembers. “I said, ‘What?’ And she said, ‘Adel Emam’s son, Mohamed Emam – they want you.” The Egyptian actor then called her directly. “He said, ‘Hey Tara, we want to meet you.’ I told him I was in Paris, and he said, ‘That’s fine. Book the first flight. We already cast you. You’ll love it. We start filming tomorrow.’”
Given that she was set to start a six-month modelling contract the next day, it must’ve been a really confronting decision to make, I wondered.
“Not at all,” she responds. “It was like a two-second decision. It was not even like, ‘Oh, let me sleep on it.’ I booked the flight [back to Cairo] that night. The next day, I flew back to Egyp,t and the day after that, we started filming.”
That series, Saheb El Saa’da, which aired during Ramadan 2014, changed everything, as Tara recalls.
“I always say that this was the birth of my acting career,” Tara explains. “Everything happened overnight. “My Instagram went from 800 or 1,000 followers to over 10,000 – overnight. I remember I couldn’t go outside for a week because people were waiting downstairs. It was surreal.” But for someone who was naturally shy, the adjustment to being thrust into the spotlight was no small feat. “Through school and university, I was really introverted, so to have all of those eyes on me, it was a shock,” she admits.
And while finally finding the break she had been craving so long in the world of cinema, navigating publicity from such a young age wasn’t easy.
“Growing up in front of the camera can be exhausting,” she says. “People want you to stay a little girl, then suddenly they want you to be a woman, then they tell you you’re too much of a woman. You can’t please everyone.” But it’s something she now speaks of with acceptance, reflecting on the years of self-critique she endured.
Now in her thirties, it feels different. “My twenties were chaos,” she laughs. “I was all over the place, mentally and physically. But in my thirties, I’m so much more comfortable in my own body, more in touch with what I like and don’t like. I hear my own voice. I’m more attuned to my own wishes. It’s made all the difference.”
That self-awareness grew from what she describes as a “crazy burnout” in 2024. “There was a time when I wanted to work constantly – more, more, more,” the now 32-year-old recalls. “Now I care about quality. I want to have fun. I had a crazy burnout where I felt so disconnected from my craft and from myself.”
Tara’s beloved mother had passed away in February of that year and by the end of 2024, she needed a pause. “I told myself, no one’s pushing me to do this. So, why am I doing it if I’m not feeling it anymore?” the actress muses. “It was incredibly hard,” she adds, reflecting on her mother’s death. You don’t get past it; you grow around it.” But she believes her mother is still near and guiding her. “I ask her for signs all the time… I believe she hears me.”
On the first anniversary of her mother’s death, while she was still on her hiatus, a long-dreamed-of film offer arrived, which felt like divine timing. “I cried so much,” she admits. “It felt like a gift from her. I’d told my management I wasn’t working until April, but I went to Saudi Arabia for two months to shoot. Since then, everything’s changed. “I’ve done four or five projects this year. I feel so much more present, more dedicated, more connected to my work. I was doing amazing things before, but I wasn’t really in my body, and now I am.”
That shift has also extended into her personal life. “When my mum passed, it put everything into perspective,” she says. “It made me realise the importance of boundaries. I used to let people cross lines, and I never said anything. Now, I protect my energy. I started cleansing my palate in a healthy way.”
The Lam’i El Ott star also ensures to keep her mother’s lessons close to her daily. “She taught me to always have a book with me,” Tara says. “She’d say, ‘You’ll never please everyone and that’s OK. You just have to please yourself.’ And she always told me to give back – to help others the way someone once helped me.”
And it’s because of this grounded presence that she treats visibility and her celebrity as something to be utilised, not just enjoyed.
“I don’t take it lightly. I use it to advocate for causes I believe in – education for girls, equal opportunities for women in the Arab region and, of course, Palestine. If one woman succeeds, it creates a domino effect for all women,” Tara affirms.
“What touches me most is when mothers come up to me and say, ‘I hope my daughter grows up to be like you.’ It’s not about being an actress, it’s about not giving up on their dreams.”
It’s evident that her mother has been a vital support throughout her life and her career – something she still holds close, including her Montenegrin heritage from her mother’s side. She describes growing up in a mixed Egyptian and Montenegrin household as a “blessing”.
“I love both countries so much, but I grew up in Egypt; my first language was Arabic, then English, then Montenegrin. When I was four, I went to Montenegro and came back with no Arabic or English,” Tara laughs. “My grandmother and aunt taught me their language so well that I forgot the others. But both cultures shaped me – through family, food, and nature. In Egypt, I miss Montenegro; in Montenegro, I miss Egypt.”
Her home life reflects her “unique” upbringing, as she describes it – a fusion of plants, art, animals and warmth. “I’m always redecorating,” she smiles. “I love collecting vintage pieces, finding art, and creating cosy spaces. My mum and I both loved the cosiness of our home. It still brings me close to her.” Gardening is also another home ritual the mother-daughter duo shared. “My mom loved gardening. She used to talk to plants. I had one that was dying, and she came and spoke to it a month before she passed – now it’s thriving. I do the same now. Every week, I spend time gardening and replanting. It keeps me connected to her and teaches me patience.”
The pair also shared a love of fashion, and she describes her mother as a “truly chic, timeless woman”. So, when Chanel first contacted her to work with the Maison, it “felt fitting”, she affirms.
That brings us back to the picturesque location of Villa d’Este on the edge of Lake Como. The storied and historic hotel has long been a glamorous spot for artists, actors and the upper crust. “It was my first time in Como,” she reflects on the trip. “I remember the moment I stepped out of the car – postcard, postcard, postcard. Everything was just so picturesque. The show at Villa d’Este was gorgeous.” What followed was the marrying of two worlds Tara has long inhabited: cinema and fashion. “It feels natural to be in front of the camera. It’s easy for me to pose, to be there, to be present. I know myself in that space.”
Our Zoom call is somewhat of a full-circle moment, as we’re speaking a mere 12 hours after Matthieu Blazy’s official debut for Chanel as artistic director. Tara describes the show as “a whole universe.” “I always advocate for change,” she says. “I loved that he kept Chanel’s timeless pieces but added new touches. I was so happy to witness it myself. I’m excited for this new era.”
Perhaps the same could be said for herself, too. After nearly 20 years in front of the camera, she’s learned the art of pace. “I guess I’ve always proven that no matter how much I plan, and how much I plan it well, God has a different plan,” she asserts. No trace of frustration, just humble acceptance. This is possibly what defines Tara best now – not in the celebrity, fashion or filmography, but in the quiet conviction of a woman who has learned, through loss and rediscovery, what it means to be fully present.
DISCOVER GRAZIA’S FULL PHOTO SHOOT WITH TARA EMAD HERE.
CREATIVE DIRECTION: DANÉ STOJANOVIC & MARNE SCHWARTZ. PHOTOGRAPHY: STEFANO SCIUTO. FASHION STYLIST: CHRISTIAN MARCHESICH. HAIR: CHIARA MARINOSCI. MAKEUP: FRANCESCA VINCIGUERRA. SENIOR PRODUCER: STEFF HAWKER. TALENT: TARA EMAD. WORDS: OLIVIA MORRIS
THIS FEATURE IS PUBLISHED IN THE 16th EDITION OF GRAZIA middle east. ORDER YOUR COPY HERE.
