Zaiba Baig

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Zaiba Baig
Born1995 (age 30–31)
Scarborough, Ontario, Canada[1]
Occupations
  • Playwright
  • actor
  • screenwriter
Years active2018–present

Zaiba Baig (born Bilal Baig, 1995[2]) is a Canadian writer and actor. They[a] are best known for their play Acha Bacha and CBC series Sort Of (2021–2023).[3]

Career

Acha Bacha, a play which centers on a Pakistani-Canadian non-binary person struggling to reconcile their gender with their Muslim upbringing,[4] was staged in a joint production by Theatre Passe Muraille and Buddies in Bad Times in 2018, and presented at Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace.[5][6]

Baig is the co-creator, co-writer, and star of Sort Of, a CBC Television comedy series centering on a genderfluid character.[3] Baig is the first queer South Asian Muslim actor to lead a Canadian primetime television series. The series premiered on CBC in 2021.[7]

Sort Of was the top winner overall in television categories at the 10th Canadian Screen Awards in 2022 and Baig shared the award for Best Writing in a Comedy Series with writing partner Fab Filippo. Baig had declined to submit their performance for 2022 award consideration due to the gendered categories of Best Actor in a Comedy Series and Best Actress in a Comedy Series.[8] Subsequently, the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television announced that beginning with the 11th Canadian Screen Awards in 2023, gender-neutral awards for Best Performance would be presented instead of gendered actor and actress categories[9] Baig was the winner of the inaugural Canadian Screen Award for Best Leading Performance in a Comedy Series at the 11th Canadian Screen Awards in 2023, in addition to their second award for Best Writing in a Comedy Series, again shared with Fab Fillipo.[10]

In June 2025, Buddies in Bad Times announced the production of Begging Brown Bitch Plays, a show combining Baig's one-act plays Kainchee Lagaa and Jhooti, for the 2025-26 season.[11] It ran from April 1–18, 2026.[12]

Personal life

Baig was raised in Mississauga, Ontario, by Pakistani immigrant parents.[1][2] Baig is queer, transfeminine, and Muslim.[13] They use both she/her and they/them pronouns.[14] They do not have a close relationship with their parents and only revealed their identity and career to them through email a week before the premiere of Sort Of. Though their parents' reactions were more positive than expected, Baig found it upsetting, stating "No one was really trying to make a deep connection."[2]

Baig mentors emerging queer and trans writers, particularly young women and transfeminine people of colour, and holds writing workshops for youth in underserved Toronto communities. Baig also leads anti-Islamophobia workshops for high schools and founded an online platform for queer and trans South Asians to connect.[13][2][15]

In January 2026, Baig stated in a story on their Instagram account that they had changed their name to Zaiba, alongside a request to no longer use their deadname.[16]

Credits

Writing

Television

Year Title Notes
2021–2023 Sort Of 11 episodes; co-creator

Theatre

Year Title Director(s) Theatre
2018 Acha Bacha[17] Brendan Healy Theatre Passe Muraille
2026 Kainchee Lagaa[11] Tawiah M'carthy Buddies in Bad Times
Jhooti[11]

Acting

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2021–2023 Sort Of Sabi Mehboob Lead

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2026 Neverman

Accolades

Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2022 Gotham Independent Film Awards Outstanding Performance in a New Series Zaiba Baig Nominated [18][19]
Peabody Awards Entertainment Sort Of Nominated [20]
Dayne Ogilvie Prize LGBTQ2S+ Emerging Writers Zaiba Baig for Acha Bacha Nominated [21][22]
10th Canadian Screen Awards Best Writing, Comedy Zaiba Baig, Fab Filippo Won [23]
2023 11th Canadian Screen Awards Best Lead Performer, Comedy Zaiba Baig Won [24]
Best Writing, Comedy Zaiba Baig, Fab Filippo Won [25]

Notes

  1. Baig uses both she/her and they/them pronouns interchangeably. This article uses they/them for consistency.

References

  1. Yeo, Debra (2023-11-17). "A show that love made: [Zaiba] Baig is ready for the world to see the final season of 'Sort Of'". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2025-12-13. Retrieved 2026-06-07.
  2. Roberts, Soraya (November 1, 2022). "The Uncertain Stardom of [Zaiba] Baig". Maclean's. Archived from the original on September 15, 2023. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  3. Yeo, Debra (2020-10-15). "Entertainment news: New CBC comedy will star genderqueer playwright [Zaiba] Baig as a gender-fluid millennial". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2026-06-07.
  4. Nestruck, J. Kelly (2018-02-07). "Review: With Acha Bacha, there's no time like the present". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2026-06-07.
  5. Teodoro, Jose (2018-02-08). "Acha Bacha explores queer South Asian-Canadian life with humour and heart". NOW Toronto. Retrieved 2026-06-07.
  6. "Acha Bacha". The Toronto Theatre Database. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
  7. Gao, Max (20 November 2021). "Nonbinary millennial is front and center in HBO Max dramedy 'Sort Of'". NBC News. Archived from the original on 2021-11-20. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  8. Ahsan, Sadaf (2022-06-20). "Trans, non-binary actors push for more recognition as awards season approaches". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2026-06-07.
  9. Pugh, Joseph (August 25, 2022). "Canadian Screen Awards switching to gender-neutral performance categories". CBC News. Archived from the original on May 5, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  10. Weaver, Jackson (April 14, 2023). "The Porter, Sort Of showered in awards on the CSAs' final night". CBC News. Archived from the original on May 16, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  11. Chong, Joshua (2025-06-29). "A new play by CBC star [Zaiba] Baig headlines Buddies in Bad Times Theatre's 2025-26 season". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2026-06-07.
  12. "Kainchee Lagaa + Jhooti: The Begging Brown Bitch Plays". Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. Retrieved 2026-06-07.
  13. Petski, Denise (2023-01-20). "'Sort Of' Co-Creator & Star [Zaiba] Baig Signs With Anonymous Content". Deadline. Archived from the original on 2023-10-18. Retrieved 2026-06-07.
  14. Thompson, Nicole (2026-04-01). "'I want to rattle some things': Zaiba Baig on embracing her 'evil mode' in her new plays". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2026-06-07.
  15. "[Zaiba] Baig". Transgender Media Portal. Archived from the original on 2025-10-20.
  16. Baig, Zaiba [@zaibabaig_]; (January 23, 2026). "I'm spelling it like Zaiba not Zeba! Please share widely!!" – via Instagram.
  17. Taylor, Christopher (2018-06-30). "Baig's "Acha Bacha" Shows That Sometimes Real Stories Don't Have Happy Endings". The Theatre Times. Archived from the original on 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2025-09-07.
  18. "2022 Gotham Awards Nominations Full List". The Gotham. 2022-10-25. Archived from the original on 2022-10-31. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
  19. "32nd Annual Gotham Awards Winners Announced". The Gotham. 2022-11-28. Archived from the original on 2022-12-31. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
  20. Hipes, Patrick (2023-04-13). "Peabodys Nominations Include 'Abbott Elementary,' 'Better Call Saul', 'Fire Of Love'; PBS Leads Field". Deadline. Archived from the original on 2023-04-13. Retrieved 2026-06-07.
  21. Petski, Denise (2023-01-20). "'Sort Of' Co-Creator & Star Bilal Baig Signs With Anonymous Content". Deadline. Archived from the original on 2023-10-18. Retrieved 2025-09-07.
  22. "Writers' Trust Announces 2022 Dayne Ogilvie Nominees". Open Book. August 24, 2022. Archived from the original on 2025-08-05. Retrieved 2025-09-07.
  23. "[Zaiba] Baig, Fab Filippo". Academy.ca. 2022-02-15. Archived from the original on 2023-06-05. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
  24. "[Zaiba] Baig". Academy.ca. 2023-02-22. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
  25. "[Zaiba] Baig, Fab Filippo". Academy.ca. 2023-02-22. Archived from the original on 2024-02-25. Retrieved 2024-02-07.