Mariam Saab

Saab was born in Sydney, New South Wales, in a Lebanese-Australian family. She grew up in the Sutherland Shire and attended Illawong Public Primary School followed by The McDonald College performing arts high school.

Her mother, Majida Abboud-Saab, migrated to Australia from Beirut in 1967 aboard RHMS Patris and became a prominent Arabic-language broadcast journalist.[4] A former SBS Arabic language executive producer, Abboud-Saab is widely regarded as having put the world's first dedicated multicultural public television channel to air.[5]

In 2004, Saab began her career at SBS Radio as a broadcaster for Alchemy, the station's national youth news, current affairs and music program.[6]

During a stint in the Middle East, Saab was a journalist for the Lebanese Daily Star newspaper.[7] Her work included coverage of continued poverty in the country, and was reported in policy briefings.[8] During this period, Saab also worked as a freelance producer for Al Jazeera English, France 24, SBS TV and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) with assignments in Doha, Tunisia, Beirut and Paris.[9]

Saab was one of the organisers of the Beirut Music and Art Festival, featuring 200 local and international artists, including headliners Sister Sledge, Roger Hodgson and Earth Wind and Fire.[10]

From around 2014 to 2018, Saab lived in Paris, where she was an English-language news and programs presenter for France 24, a global French-government-owned TV channel. She covered the November 2015 Paris attacks and their aftermath.[11] She also frequently appeared as a music critic for France 24's Arts program, Encore,[12] reporting on music trends from destinations including Tripoli and Beirut,[13] and interviewed high-profile artists and entertainers including Australian music icon Paul Kelly.[14]

Since 2019, Saab has presented for Australia's national ABC News channel, appearing as an evening news anchor.[15] She covered the worst of the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season. Her work has also appeared on various ABC digital platforms.[16]

In September 2020, Saab featured in the Australian edition of Marie Claire, commenting alongside a diverse group of high-profile Australians about their hopes and dreams for the Australian nation and its growing need for change when it comes to much of the country's cultural, social and environmental framework.[17]

In the December 2020 edition of Australian Marie Claire, Saab featured alongside her husband and their two children in a portfolio of candid moments honouring the COVID-19 pandemic year that was, and joining in celebration of family, high fashion and frills fit for the festive season.[18]

Saab is married to Franco-Lebanese musician Rami Khalifé.[19] The couple met when she interviewed him for SBS broadcasting during a music tour in Australia in 2009.[20]

Saab is praised for her fashion sense on screen.[21]