Nesreen was born in Aleppo, Syria to the Palestinian poet and author Yousef Tafesh from Safed and an Algerian mother.[2][3][4] She has seven sisters and her maternal grandmother is of Moroccan descent.
She graduated from the Higher Institute for Dramatic Arts in Damascus in 2008.[5] Nesreen is considered a Syrian actress, yet she only has Algerian nationality.[6]
Nesreen's first act ever was in a biography series about Hulagu Khan when she was still studying at the Higher Institute for Dramatic Arts.[7][8] Afterward, she worked in the series (Arabic: ربيع قرطبة, lit. 'Córdoba's Spring'), playing the lead female role of Subh, wife of Caliph Al-Hakam II. The work was written by Walid Saif.[9] In 2017, she started singing by releasing the single "Metghayar Alayi".[10]
She used to live in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, before she moved to Egypt in late 2018, in which she acted in the film (Arabic: نادي الرجال السري, lit. 'The Secret Men Club').[11]
While still in college, she was briefly engaged to the Syrian movie and TV director of Palestinian origin, Al-Mothanna Sobah.[12][13] She was married to an Emirati businessman from 2008 to 2013.[14] In July 2022, she announced her marriage with Egyptian dentist Sherif Sharkawy;[15] however, the marriage only lasted for five months.[16]
In 2014, Dima Bayaa, actress and co-worker at Sabaya, exposed Tafesh's affair with her ex-husband Taim Hasan, calling her a "homewrecker."[17] This led to a lawsuit, and Dima was fined $1,300 by a Dubai court for defamation.[18]
On January 30, 2023, the Public Prosecution assigned Tafesh to the Sheikh Zayed District Office of Giza Governorate for issuing a bad check worth LE4 million. In October of that year, the Misdemeanor Court of the South Giza Court upheld the initial verdict of a three-year jail sentence, rejecting her appeal.[19] On May 8, 2024, Tafesh managed to settle the dispute by paying the entire amount in cash.[20]