Sarah Taibah is trying to live in the moment

Sarah Taibah has never known what to do with labels. When people pin them on her, she feels inauthentic. When she pushes back, she feels pretentious. So she aims for something in between – an insistence on honesty, even when it’s messy, even when it’s misunderstood.

“I know I can’t bring everything – some things are too personal, of course – but I try to bring as much of myself on screen as I can,” she says.

It can unsettle people who expect polish, but the ones who stay become loyal. Over time, that honesty has built a small, committed cult of viewers who see themselves in what Taibah makes.

That connection began with Jameel Jeddan – the 2022 MBC series she created and starred in, about a young woman who wakes from a five-year coma and has to finish high school in a Saudi Arabia she barely recognises. What began as a stylised, offbeat comedy built an unexpectedly intimate fan base, especially among young women who wrote to her as if they already knew her – exactly as she intended.

Cotton polo shirt; embellished pinstripe wool midi skirt; and Galleria leather bag, all from Prada

“I want girls to look at me on screen and feel like I’m their cousin,” she says. “Someone familiar.”

Before she ever acted, Taibah was an illustrator. She studied fine art and spent years creating children’s books – more than 15 of them – long before she imagined herself in front of or behind a camera. Even now, she still carries a notebook everywhere – a mix of diary pages, loose drawings and half-formed ideas. It’s where she goes when things feel loud, a place to steady the rush in her head.

And things often feel a bit too loud. From afar, Taibah can look like the life of the party, but crowded rooms overwhelm her, and it takes careful self-management to tap into the collective joy she feels with her fellow creatives.

“A lot of people think I’m an extrovert,” says Taibah. “But I’m really a high-functioning introvert.”

More than anything, she tries to stay grounded. Her notebook is full of affirmations, as are the walls and mirrors at home or whatever hotel room she happens to be staying in. “I make magic. I am balanced. Replace anger with passion. Things like that,” she says.

elvet top; washed denim jeans; Petit Sac Noir mini nappa leather bucket bag; and suede pumps, all from Prada

Her hands are often covered in smudged ink from the notes she writes on them – usually reminders or grocery lists.