During last Friday’s episode of General Hospital , Shiloh and his new lawyer started their battle in the courtroom against Diane and Willow. Fans immediately started buzzing about this lawyer, a new character to the show and someone Diane had described as incredibly fierce. It turns out that the lawyer is played by Maysoon Zayid, a comedian and actress who happens to also have cerebral palsy.
Zayid’s website details that when she was born, doctors told Maysoon’s parents that she would never walk. However, her father was determined to prove them wrong and by the time she attended kindergarten, she was walking on her own. Later, her father took her to dance classes and at the age of 12, she noted during a dance conference in New York City that she hoped to tap dance on Broadway.
Sadly, the instructor heard Maysoon’s answer and crushed it in one cruel response. Zayid then wrote in a post dated April 16, 2018, that she shifted her focus to another dream. Maysoon decided that she would someday be on General Hospital . She is now getting her chance to do that very thing.
The Pacific Standard details that the Palestinian-American comedian was born in New Jersey. Last fall, ABC revealed that it was giving the green light to a pilot for a show Zayid co-created called Can Can .
“Outside the court, Diane runs into Shiloh’s lawyer, Zara Amir, (played by Maysoon Zayid).” https://t.co/ykwKvCR9Dk via @soapoperafan #GH
— Maysoon (@maysoonzayid) June 21, 2019
The show would feature Maysoon as a Muslim woman who has cerebral palsy. The title comes from Zayid’s father’s mantra of insisting that she “can can” do what she decides to do and it’s about her character defying the odds.
At this point, Can Can has yet to hit the air. The pilot was slated to film this past March and it seems it’s still possible it could debut at some point in the months ahead.
Maysoon has also been featured on one of the most-watched TED talks ever. Medium details that Zayid’s TED talk , released in December of 2013, has accrued more than 15 million views.
WATCH: Alexis spars with Shiloh … and it’s good. ??? @NancyLeeGrahn @cobyryan74 @carolynhennesy @maysoonzayid #GH pic.twitter.com/erXBeixE01
— General Hospital (@GeneralHospital) June 22, 2019
In the years since letting go of her dream to tap dance on Broadway, Zayid attended Arizona State University to study theater. She notes that she developed her dream of being on General Hospital at the age of 5-years-old, and quipped that if she ended up with her own ABC primetime hit, the network would have to give her a GH cameo.
Now Maysoon is on General Hospital and spoilers tease that this baby battle is going to get intense. How long will Zayid be in the role on GH ? That much isn’t known yet, but it certainly sounds as if this is more than a one-time appearance and that there could be the potential for it to be more.
Maysoon Zayid’s initial General Hospital scenes definitely got viewers buzzing and as fans learn more about her, they seem excited to see more of this new character of Zahra Amir. Spoilers suggest that the week of June 24 could be a pretty wild one and fans will be curious to see how much Shiloh’s new lawyer can help him in his battle to find the truth about his son.
