Biana G. Tamimi

BIANA TAMIMI

Date of Birth: 1990

Born in Columbus, Ohio but raised in Austin, Texas, Biana Tamimi began horseback riding when she was just four-and-a-half years of age. By the time she was 11, she was an accomplished hunter-jumper rider with her own horse, Buddy. Just at that time, a friend's mother was searching the Internet for filmmaking courses he could take. She came across an audition announcement looking for a girl to star in a new Disney film based on the famous Black Stallion books. Ironically, Biana had just done a book report on The Black Stallion and had written at the end of her report that she would love to be the boy in the book. Her friend, a budding filmmaker who was ten at the time, told Biana about the audition and made a videotape of her on horseback, complete with rolling credits at the end. The producers were looking for an attractive girl 9 to 11 who could not only ride and act, but who was of Palestinian background. They had just about given up when they received the tape of Biana riding her horse, then telling the camera, "My name is Biana Tamimi. I am 11 years old. I am half Palestinian and half Mexican. This is my horse, Buddy, and I would love to be in a Black Stallion movie." They immediately summoned Biana to audition in Los Angeles for studio executives. Two days later, Biana and her mother were on a plane to Cape Town in Namibia, where Young Black Stallion (2003) was being filmed.

Biana not only did most of her own horseback riding including the racing scenes, but she also rode a camel for the first time in the movie. A straight-A student at St. Stephen's private school in Austin, Biana played a role in the school's December 2003 stage version of Medea and is also on the volleyball team.

Filmography:

Young Black Stallion (2003)