Five Fast Facts On General Hospital Star Maysoon Zayid

That horrible and nasty Shiloh has found himself a shark of a lawyer in Zara Amir on General Hospital — spelling big trouble for poor Willow as he fights her to find out where their son is now. The woman who might make that happen for him is played by actress/producer Maysoon Zayid.

The actress will be going toe-to-toe with Carolyn Hennessy’s Diane in the custody battle, which should make for some huge fireworks in the courtroom. According to Zayid’s website, joining GH is a dream come true. Take a moment to get to know Maysoon Zayid a little better.

In the Beginning
Zayid was born in New Jersey in 1974 and is of Palestinian descent. At birth, she was deprived of oxygen for several minutes, causing brain damage. As a result, she has cerebral palsy, which makes her shake all the time. Doctors said she’d never be able to walk but she’s not one to listen to limitations. With her dad’s help, she learned.

Soapy Origins
Addicted to soaps since the age of five, Zayid watched three religiously — As the World Turns, Guiding Light, and her beloved GH. After graduating, from Arizona State, she moved back home, got into acting and met two actresses from ATWT in her acting class who became her best pals — Terri Conn (ex-Katie) and Jaime Dudney (ex-Georgia).

Dreams Come True
Conn helped her get a role on ATWT as Diner Number Three and that same year she got to attend her first Daytime Emmy Awards — as a seat filler. Dick Clark even yelled at her to move faster but since he didn’t know about her health, she didn’t blame him for it. She then almost died, choking on an hors d’oeuvres, but Dudney saved the day.

Finding the Funny
She has had a very successful career in stand-up comedy and appeared in the movie You Don’t Mess with the Zohan with Adam Sandler. A Muslim-American, Zayid co-founded the New York Arab-American Comedy Festival in 2003.

Giving Heart
Zayid spends three months a year in the Palestinian territories where she runs an arts program for disabled and orphaned children in refugee camps. She helps the kids who are dealing with trauma use art to help them deal with things. She funds most of it with money from her comedy work.

General Hospital (GH) airs weekdays on ABC. Check your local listings for airtimes.