After studying at the Lycée Armand Fallières (now known as Lycée de la Rue de Russie) in Tunis and Bessis studied at Ecole des Hautes Etudes de Tunis, which later became Tunis University (affiliated with the Sorbonne in Paris), and earned her bachelor's degree in the early 1950s. In 1956, she was appointed professor at the Khaznadar annex of Sadiki College. A specialist in contemporary Maghreb history, her research focused on fascist politics in the Mediterranean, Tunisian trade unionism and contemporary Libya.