Yaël Naïm

Actor / Actress

Yaël Naïm

Born Paris, France 25 credits available

Biography

Yael Naim (Hebrew: יעל נעים, born 6 February 1978) is a French-born Israeli singer and actress. She rose to fame in 2008 in the US after her hit single "New Soul" was used by Apple in an advertising campaign for its MacBook Air. The song peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2013, the French government made her a knight of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Yael Naim was born in Paris, France to Maghrebi Jewish immigrants from Tunisia. At the age of four, she moved with her family to Ramat HaSharon, Israel, where she spent the rest of her childhood. She served in the Israel Defense Forces as a soloist in the Israeli Air Force Orchestra. She began her singing career with a part in the musical Les Dix Commandements and her first solo album, In a Man's Womb (recorded in Los Angeles with Kamil Rustam), was released in 2001. She also sang the song "You Disappear" by Bruno Coulais for the film Harrison's Flowers. In her early work, she was credited simply as Yael. She also performed a duet with Din Din Aviv titled "Mashmauyot". Her version of the Britney Spears song "Toxic" also garnered significant attention. Naim joined with percussionist David Donatien and, over a period of two years, they arranged and recorded thirteen of Naim's songs in a studio in her apartment in Paris. These were released as her second album, Yael Naim, on 22 October 2007, on the Tôt ou tard label. The songs are in French, English, and Hebrew and received critical acclaim. The album entered the French album chart at No. 11 the week after its release. Her style has been described as having a touch of folk and a touch of jazz, with mysterious and evocative words sung with a delicate and intentionally husky voice. In January 2008, Apple featured her song "New Soul" in its debut commercial for the MacBook Air laptop. Steve Jobs himself picked the song for the launch of the laptop line. Owing to high U.S. digital sales, the song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 for the chart week of 16 February 2008, at No. 9, becoming Naim's first U.S. top ten single, and making her the first Israeli solo artist to ever have a top ten hit in the United States. "New Soul" moved up to No. 7 the following week. The song was also featured on the soundtrack of the movies The House Bunny and Wild Target. Her third album was released in November 2010. The first single from this new record was "Go to the River". In 2016, she won her second Female Artist of the Year award at Victoires de la Musique, the French equivalent of the Grammys. She previously won the award in 2011. She is married to David Donatien, a Martiniquais musician, with whom she has two children. Source: Article "Yael Naim" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Yaël Naïm is known for work in acting across film and television. New Release currently presents 25 verified screen credits connected to this profile. Selected work includes Yael Naim - Une nouvelle âme (2025), The Simpsons (1989), LIVE with Kelly and Mark (1988), Victoires de la musique (1985), Star Academy (2001), The Early Show (1999), Yael Naim - Alcaline le Concert (2016), The Songs of Joni Mitchell - with Yaël Naïm, Charlie Winston, Delgrés… (2025). The recorded credits span 1985 to 2026, including 20 movies and 5 TV shows. The filmography below lists available titles, release years and known roles. This profile is updated as additional verified information becomes available.

Profile details

Known forActing
Movies20
TV shows5
Active years represented1985–2026
Place of birthParis, France

Also known as

Yael Naim

Known for

25 titles