Who Is May Calamawy? Get to Know 'Moon Knight' Star Who Suffers the Same Condition as Jada Pinkett Smith

"Moon Knight" star May Calamawy is scared and overwhelmed about how popular she is expected to become thanks to the Disney+ TV series. She didn't know anything about the superhero, though.

Born in Bahrain on October 28, 1986, May Calamawy's life has been extraordinary. She lived in her home country for 17 years before moving to Boston to study industrial design.

However, she spent five years in Dubai before returning to America. She completed her undergrad in Acting at Emerson College and continued studying at the William Esper Studio in New York City.

Calamawy admitted she always wanted to work in America and abroad because of the freedom to address any topic. Her foray into the entertainment industry dates back to 2006 when she had a small role in "Thursday."

However, she earned the status of an up-and-coming actress in 2013 after working in Tobe Hooper's supernatural horror film "Djinn." Her big break came in 2019 when she was cast as Dena Hassan in "Ramy."

Now, May Calamawy is achieving worldwide fame for her portrayal of Layla El-Faouly in Marvel's "Moon Knight." The actress confessed that increasing her profile across the globe was scary and overwhelming. She added:

"It's one of those things where you're like, 'I don't know what to imagine, because I haven't experienced anything remotely close'. So I have to just wait and see."

Layla is the first Arab character in a Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) project, and Calamawy hopes that her inclusion in the MCU opens the door for others.

While some actors are Marvel fans – a few even read the comic books and have vast knowledge about the superheroes' main storylines – Calamawy didn't know anything about Moon Knight when she first auditioned for her role.

Calamawy explained that the mental impact alopecia had on her was "taxing."

She knew that had to change, so she started reading comic books to learn more about the world she was about to immerse herself in.

Calamawy impressed director Mohamed Diab and the show writers so much that everyone wanted to give her more scenes after her first audition with Oscar Isaac, who plays the main character Spector/Moon Knight.

Unfortunately, Calamawy revealed in 2020 that she had been struggling with alopecia since she was 22.

Calamawy explained that the mental impact alopecia had on her was "taxing" mainly because of how much today's society determines a woman's value based on their appearance.

Fortunately, sharing her ordeal with the condition helped her set new expectations for herself instead of living to meet others' expectations. May Calamawy is not the only celebrity dealing with alopecia, though.

Jada Pinkett-Smith has been vocal about her struggles with it, and the Oscar scandal she, her husband Will Smith, and comedian Chris Rock got involved in shone light on her challenges with hair loss.

Following the controversial joke Rock made about Pinkett-Smith's alopecia (and Smith's response), people took to social media to call her an inspiration for other people dealing with the same problem.

Pinkett-Smith opened up about her condition in 2018 on the "Red Table Talk" series. She admitted dealing with it was "terrifying," but after a while, she could "only laugh." You can watch May Calamawy on "Moon Knight" on Disney+ (new episodes every Wednesday).