Who is Masiela Lusha?
Masiela was born in Tirana, Albania, on 23 October 1985 – her zodiac sign is Libra and she now holds American nationality, as she and her parents left Albania as refugees when she was just a toddler. She’s an actress and producer, with close to 30 acting credits to her name, while she’s probably still known best for her portrayal of Carmen Lopez in the hit comedy series “George Lopez”. It was created by Robert Borden and Bruce Helford, starred George Lopez, Constance Marie and Luis Armand Garcia, and follows the lives of a manufacturing plant manager and his family; the series aired from 2002 to 2007, and won 11 awards, including a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Art Direction for a Multi-Camera Series, and was nominated for 32 other awards.
Masiela took a break from acting in 2019, and it’s because she hasn’t appeared in any movies and TV series since then that some of her fans believe that she’s retired; however, it’s known that she’s currently shooting for the upcoming series “Farway Canyon”.
Early life and education
Masiela was raised as an only child by her father Max whose profession remains undisclosed, and her mother Daniela Lusha who’s a former magazine publisher.
The family moved to Budapest, Hungary upon leaving Albania, and after a couple of years there to Vienna, Austria. Masiela was seven years old when the family came to Michigan USA, and she and her mother lived with Masiela’s great-uncle Dr. Joseph H. Alli, who served as a Colonel during Second World War.
She was noticed by a modelling scout when she was 12, and after a couple of modelling jobs, began appearing in theatre plays; Masiela was 13 when she published her book of poetry “Inner Thoughts”.
She continued writing poetry throughout her entire education, and was named amongst the Top Ten Talented Poets of North America while attending Burbank High School. Masiela was only 15 years old when she matriculated, then enrolled at Glendale Community College; she graduated with an Associate’s degree aged 18, and continued at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from which she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing.
Masiela also holds a degree from Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising.
Roles in movies
Masiela made her debut film appearance in the 2000 drama “Father’s Love”, and a couple of her following roles were in the 2001 short horror drama “Summoning”, and in 2002 the music video “Alanis Morissette: Hands Clean” and the thriller “Las Muertas de Juarez”.
She played Kim in the 2004 drama “Cherry Bomb”, but only gained recognition in 2009, when cast to portray Sharon in the action fantasy adventure “Blood: The Last Vampire”. It was directed by Chris Nahon, starred Jun Ji-hyun, Allison Miller and Liam Cunningham, and follows vampire Saya as she’s hunting demons in Japan right after World War II.
Masiela’s also known for her portrayal of the main character Princess Aleya in the action adventure fantasy “Dragonfyre”, written and directed by Kohl Glass, and which also starred Rusty Joiner and Wesley John. It follows a former Special Forces operative who’s retired to a ranch in the American West, while he’s now encountered orcs and an elf princess trespassing on his land; the movie was nominated for a Filmed in Utah Award for Best Director: Feature.
Three of Masiela’s most recent film roles have been in the 2017 mystery western “Branded”, the 2018 action adventure comedy “The Last Sharknado: It’s About Time” and the 2019 romantic drama “My Best Friend’s Christmas”.
Roles in TV series
Masiela made her debut TV series appearance in the 2001 family comedy drama “Lizzie McGuire”, and between 2003 and 2005 she voiced Nina, one of the main characters in the animated family comedy “Clifford’s Puppy Days”. It was created by Norman Bridwell, also starred Lara Jill Miller and Julie-Ann Dean, and follows the adventures of Clifford the Big Red Dog; the series won one of the five awards for which it was nominated.
Masiela’s since appeared in three more TV series: the 2006 episode “Blasters” of the mystery crime drama “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”, the 2014 episode “Charlie and Sean Fight Over a Girl” of the romantic comedy “Anger Management”, and the 2018 episode “George Dates His Daughter” of the comedy “Lopez”.
Other credits
Masiela co-produced the 2010 horror thriller movie “Kill Katie Malone”.
She received special thanks for the 2010 historical documentary sports movie “Under the Boardwalk: The Monopoly Story”.
Masiela’s made a guest appearance in many talk-shows, most recently in “The Domenick Nati Show”, “Home & Family” and “Maximo TV Red Carpet Arrivals”.
Awards and nominations
Masiela won a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) – Leading Young Actress in both 2003 and 2004, for her performance in “George Lopez”.
She was also nominated for a 2004 Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Voice-Over Role – Young Actress, for “Clifford’s Puppy Days”.
Love life and husband
Masiela prefers keeping the details of her love life to herself, but it’s still widely known that she’s today a married woman. She met American businessman and financier Ramzi Habibi in 2012, and they revealed in July 2013 that they had become engaged; the two exchanged vows on Wanaka Peak in Queenstown, New Zealand on 28 December 2013, in a large ceremony attended by many of their friends and family members.
Masiela gave birth to their son in February 2018, and their daughter followed in October 2020.
She hasn’t spoken of any other men whom she’s perhaps been with, and as of July 2022, Masiela’s married to Ramzi Habibi, and they have two children together.
Hobbies and other interests
Masiela enjoys running her Instagram account, and is today followed by close to 100,000 people on the network, while she’s uploaded over 1,100 pictures; most of her newer pictures feature her spending time with her children.
She’s passionate about travelling and has been all around the world, for both work and pleasure, while she travels to her hometown of Tirana at least once a year; her dream travel destination is London, England.
Masiela’s a shopaholic, and goes shopping for clothes multiple times each week.
She’s physically highly active, as she often plays sports with her friends, with tennis being her favorite; she also has several training sessions at the gym every week.
Masiela has her own favorite actor and actress, Leonardo DiCaprio and Julia Roberts, while a couple of her favorite films include “Django Unchained”, “Shutter Island” and “Catch Me If You Can”.
Age, height and net worth
Masiela’s age is 36. She has long brown hair which she usually dyes blonde, her eyes are blue, her height is 5ft 5ins (1.65m), and she weighs around 120lbs (55kgs).
As of July 2022, Masiela’s net worth is estimated at over $2 million.
