The Role Ahead: Valérie Abou Chacra Is The Harper’s Bazaar Arabia July/August 2026 Cover Star

For years, others have defined Valérie Abou Chacra by the titles she’s worn. Now, with a career-defining role and a clear sense of purpose, she’s writing her own story

It’s hard to grasp the sheer scale of what Valérie Abou Chacra is working on when she shifts her schedule to make time for Bazaar Arabia’s call. She is currently filming a 90-episode series, in one go. That’s like shooting 35 movies back-to-back. And the fact that Endless Love (Hob Aama) is an Arabic remake of the very famous, International Emmy Award-winning Turkish show Kara Sevda only heightens the pressure on the 34-year-old who plays the lead role of Nihan.

It is the kind of production that would test even the most established of actors, yet for Valérie, it arrives at a career defining moment. The Lebanese actress has, in many ways, already lived several professional lives: stepping into the spotlight through the pageant world in 2015, breaking into reality television thanks to Dancing with the Stars: Raqs el Noujoum, then transitioning into presenting with Project Runway. Now she is firmly establishing herself as an actress working across some of the region’s most ambitious productions.

Given the profile of this role, it seems a given that she has cemented her place within Middle Eastern entertainment circles. Yet Valérie is disarmingly honest, and still feels as though she has something to prove. Luckily for her, it seems this latest series, due to hit screens in September, may finally silence any lingering sceptics.

“Acting is the thing that I love most,” she says emphatically. “It is what defines me, I think. I’m proud of what I have achieved. Miss Lebanon was about my looks, it was a beauty title. But this is what I have worked hard towards, it is a big achievement.”

She does not dismiss her previous careers, but instead reframes them as necessary stages. “I was evolving through the different phases. They are all me, but different stages of me. Different levels of maturity, different levels of thinking and different kinds of expression.”

There is a sense that Valérie’s career has unfolded through a series of serendipitous openings rather than rigid plans. One thing led to another, but what stands out most is her determination to cross the threshold of each opened door with verve. “Whatever opportunity I was offered, I was really working hard to prove myself in it. I wouldn’t do anything differently. I was really aware and conscious of every step I took. It taught me a lot.”

Still, the move into acting brought with it a different kind of challenge altogether. Unlike presenting or performance work rooted in reality, acting required a deliberate stepping away from herself. “Being an actress was the most challenging. It’s about creating a new character. Showing a new person, someone that is not me. It requires a lot of work, concentration…”

She reflects on how previous roles allowed her to remain within her comfort zone. “When I sing, it is my voice, it is me. When I dance, they are my moves. The way I like to do it. But as an actress, I have to show someone else and have people fall in love with that character, have the audience relate to that role.”

For Valérie, this ongoing shift between showcasing aspects of herself and becoming a character remains the most important part of her job. Yet she is also candid about the fact that she has not yet been offered the kind of transformative role she ultimately desires. “Honestly, there hasn’t been that kind of character yet, which I hope I will get soon,” she admits. “But I think that the roles that have been offered to me haven’t been very different from my personality. I really work hard to make these characters into something more special, more defined. But having a role that’s really, really challenging, very different from me as being me, Valérie – this hasn’t happened yet.”

It is a sentiment that runs through much of our conversation: the desire not to be defined too narrowly, and the quiet frustration of being typecast, not fully understood or appreciated. It is clear that winning Miss Lebanon brought visibility, but also introduced labels that she continues to work against over a decade later.

When it comes to casting, she feels there is a prevailing mindset that results in her being offered similar roles: “When they first think about me, it’s like, ‘Okay, we will have Valérie. She’s pretty, she has a good look, so she can do that role. We’ll have her mainly for her looks or she will have this role because people like to see this on TV.’” Remarkably, she isn’t bitter about this, but does say, “I want to do more. I have more to give. I have more to create.”

Beyond acting, Valérie’s perspective has been shaped by a devastating experience. Her charitable organisation, Just Care, which supports patients suffering from traumatic brain injuries, emerged from a personal crisis that changed the course of her family life. Her younger sister suffered a severe accident and spent three months in a coma when Valérie was just 22. It became a turning point. It shifted how she viewed the idea of success and having purpose. And this turned out to be the catalyst for her entering her first pageant; her family – in particular her father – urged her to participate, wanting something to cheer about in this difficult period.

Today, that sense of purpose extends into entrepreneurship too. Another personal experience influenced one of her most meaningful projects away from the screen. During her pregnancy, the now mother of three found herself constantly searching for trusted baby products and essentials. What should have been a joyful preparation period often felt overwhelming. She quickly realised there was a gap in the Lebanese market for a single destination where parents could find all newborn and children’s necessities in one place. That insight led to the creation one-stop online children’s shop Bubbleeboo.

Talk of this venture inevitably leads to a wider reflection on ambition and balance. Valérie is firm in her belief that the two are not opposites: “If you don’t have ambition in your life, if you don’t work to evolve and do the things that you love, I think you will lose it,” she says. “I think having ambition is number one. You have to be ambitious to have a happy life and then you create the balance that you want.”

That philosophy is currently being tested. While filming one of the most demanding projects of her career, Valérie is also raising three young children; her twin daughters are five, and her son is two and a half. During filming, her family remains based in Dubai while she shuttles to Istanbul. “I travel every two weeks, back and forth to see them for four or five days and then go back to shoot.” The production itself has stretched over seven months. “We started in December,” she says. “We will finish next month, hopefully.”

Despite the intensity of the experience, she speaks about it with a huge sense of pride. “To be honest, I was really scared when I took the project because people are expecting a lot from this series.” But when asked what she is most proud of, her answer is immediate. “Being a mum, of course. Having my husband [businessman Ziad Ammar who she married in 2019] on my side, and my mum, helped me a lot. I took four years off just to care for my family. It was the most wonderful time of my life. I was so into being at home with my kids that I wasn’t sure if I would come back [to acting]. But then I realised, there’s still something I want to give. Unfinished business.”

Professionally, this project holds a different kind of importance. “Being a mum and doing this long series – and really doing it from my heart – I really think that I have achieved something really big.” There is pride when she reflects on the past year and how far she’s come. “I look back and I’m like, ‘Wow, I did it.’ I’ve done this.”

People have always been trying to put labels on Valérie, but perhaps that is the problem. She hasn’t had a singular path, but has accumulated many accolades, ticked off many goals. She freely admits that she has been navigating opportunities that have come her way; but it seems clear after our conversation that something has now shifted and she wants to shape what comes next. She is focussed, and it is only a matter of time before that special role, the one that she knows will put an end to naysayers, is scripted for her. “I believe that I deserve to show what I really can give,” she tells us. “I think that chance will come. And I believe that I can – and will – do it.”

Lead Image Credit: Denim Shirt in Blue; Denim Trousers in Blue; Double O Ankle Boots; Baguette Bag in Black Suede with Embroidery, POA, all Fendi

Photography by Emre Doğru. Styling by Ceylan Atinç. Group Editor in Chief: Natasha Faruque. Fashion Editor: Charlotte Marsh-Williams. Make-Up: Ece Birsen. Hair: Burhan Çılgın. Executive Producer: Steff Hawker. Production: C/Unique. Producer: Begüm Saruhan. Production Coordinator: İlayda Kurtulan. Photography Producer: Erdem Ataç. Photographer’s Assistants: Utku Doğa Sucu, Müçteba Muhammed Cihan & Furkan Irmak. Styling Assistant: Ekin Ulusoy. Make-Up Assistant: Özlem Sarp. Hair Assistant: Mehmetcan Yılmaz. Talent Management: MAD Solutions. Location: 212 Studio

From the Harper’s Bazaar Arabia July/August 2026 issue