Background
She was born in New Jersey in 1974.
She was born in New Jersey in 1974.
Zayid earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting from Arizona State University.
Zayid has been a resident of Cliffside Park, New Jersey. Maysoon Zayid started her acting career by appearing on the popular soap opera As the World Turns for two years, as well as guest appearances on Law & Order, National Broadcasting Company Nightly News and American Broadcasting Company"s 20/20. During her early acting experiences, she found her disability and ethnicity repeatedly limiting to her advancement.
She co-founded the New York Arab-American Comedy Festival in 2003 with comedian Dean Obeidallah.
lieutenant is held annually in New York City and showcases Arab-American comics, actors, playwrights and filmmakers. In late 2006, Maysoon debuted her one-woman show Little American Whore (LAW) at Los Angeles"s Comedy Central stage.
lieutenant was produced and directed by Kathy Najimy. In 2008, LAW"s screenplay was chosen for the Sundance Screenwriters Laboratory
Production began with Maysoon as the lead in the fall of 2009.
Zayid had a role in the 2008 Adam Sandler film, You Don"t Mess with the Zohan. She usually tours by herself or as a special guest on the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour. She also co-hosts the radio show Fann Majnoon (Arabic: فن مجنون) (Crazy Art) with Obeidallah.
In December that same year she appeared on the Melissa Harris-Perry on December 30, 2013 as part of a panel of comedian commentators.
She has also presented at the TED annual conference. Arts programs
She helps the children use art to deal with trauma and bridge the gap between disabled and non-disabled children.
Eighty percent of the funding for the camps comes from her comedy work.
Zayid then turned to stand-up and began appearing at New York"s top clubs, including Caroline"s, Gotham, and Stand Up New York, where she takes on serious topics such as terrorism and the Israel-Palestine conflict.