Emad El-Din Mohamed Abdel Mena'em Fayed (; 15 April 195531 August 1997), commonly known as Dodi Fayed, was an Egyptian film producer and the eldest child of the businessman

Mohamed Al-Fayed Mohamed Abdel Moneim Al-Fayed (; 27 January 192930 August 2023) was an Egyptian businessman whose residence and primary business interests were in the United Kingdom from the mid-1960s. His business interests included ownership of the Hôtel R ...

. He was romantically involved with

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...

, when they both died in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997.

Early life and education

Fayed was born in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, Egypt, the eldest child of Mohamed Al Fayed (1929–2023). His father later became the owner of

Harrods Harrods is a Listed building, Grade II listed luxury department store on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It was designed by C. W. Stephens for Charles Digby Harrod, and opened in 1905; it replaced the first store on the ground ...

department store, Fulham Football Club, and the

Hôtel Ritz Paris The Ritz Paris is a hotel in central Paris, overlooking the Place Vendôme in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arrondissement. A member of The Leading Hotels of the World marketing group, the Ritz Paris is ranked among the most luxur ...

. Fayed's mother Samira Khashoggi (1935–1986), was a Saudi author. She was a daughter of Muhammad Khashoggi and sister of Saudi billionaire arms dealer

Adnan Khashoggi Adnan Khashoggi (; 25 July 1935 – 6 June 2017) was a Saudi businessman and arms dealer known for his business dealings, extensive geopolitical influence, and opulent lifestyle, which earned him the moniker "''The Jay Gatsby, Great Gatsby ...

. She and her brother were

first cousin A cousin is a relative who is the child of a parent's sibling; this is more specifically referred to as a first cousin. A parent of a first cousin is an aunt or uncle. More generally, in the lineal kinship, kinship system used in the English-s ...

s of the late ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' Saudi journalist

Jamal Khashoggi Jamal Ahmad Hamza Khashoggi (13 October 1958 – 2 October 2018) was a Saudi journalist, Saudi dissidents, dissident, author, columnist for ''Middle East Eye'' and ''The Washington Post'', and a general manager and editor-in-chief of Al-Arab New ...

, who was assassinated in the Saudi Arabian consulate in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

in 2018. Fayed had four half siblings from his father's second marriage to Heini Wathén: Omar, Camilla, Karim, and Jasmine Fayed. Fayed was a student at Collège Saint Marc in Alexandria before attending the

Institut Le Rosey Institut Le Rosey (), commonly referred to as Le Rosey or simply Rosey, is a private school, private boarding school in Rolle, Switzerland. It was founded in 1880 by Paul-Émile Carnal on the site of the 14th-century Château du Rosey in the tow ...

Rolle Rolle () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, Canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It was the seat of the district of Rolle (district), Rolle until 2006, when it became part of the district of Nyon District, N ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. He also briefly attended the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...

. After completing his education, he worked as an attaché at the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

Embassy in London.

Film production

Through his family's production company, Allied Stars, Fayed was an executive producer of the films ''

Chariots of Fire ''Chariots of Fire'' is a 1981 historical drama, historical Sports film, sports drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland and produced by David Puttnam. It is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Summer ...

'', '' Breaking Glass'', '' F/X'', '' F/X2'', ''

Hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...

'', and ''

The Scarlet Letter ''The Scarlet Letter: A Romance'' is a historical novel by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850. Set in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, who concei ...

,'' and an executive creative consultant for '' F/X: The Series''. He also worked for his father on marketing for Harrods.

Personal life

In 1986, Fayed married model Suzanne Gregard. They divorced eight months later. According to her memoir, ''Babylon Confidential'', Claudia Christian had an on-again, off-again romance with Fayed. In 1997, Fayed reportedly became engaged to American model Kelly Fisher. With money from his father, he bought a house in

Malibu, California Malibu ( ; ; ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, about west of downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate, its strip of beaches stretching along the Pacific Ocean coa ...

, for Fisher and himself. In July 1997, Fayed became romantically involved with

, after entertaining her on his yacht ''Cujo''. Fisher learned of Fayed's relationship with Diana only after seeing

paparazzi Paparazzi (singular form paparazzo) are independent photographers who take pictures of high-profile people, such as actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, and other celebrities who go about their daily life routines. Paparazzi are known f ...

photos of the two embracing. Fisher announced that she was filing a breach of contract suit against him, saying he had "led her emotionally all the way up to the altar and abandoned her when they were almost there," and that he "threw her love away in a callous way with no regard for her whatsoever". Fayed denied that he was ever engaged to Fisher. Fisher dropped the lawsuit shortly after Fayed's death.

Death

In the early hours of 31 August 1997, Diana and Fayed died in a car crash in the

Pont de l'Alma Pont, meaning "bridge" in French, may refer to: Places France * Pont, Côte-d'Or, in the Côte-d'Or ''département'' * Pont-Bellanger, in the Calvados ''département'' * Pont-d'Ouilly, in the Calvados ''département'' * Pont-Farcy, in the Cal ...

underpass in Paris. They had stopped in Paris en route to London after spending nine days on holiday in the French and

Italian Riviera The Italian Riviera or Ligurian Riviera ( ; ) is the narrow coastal strip in Italy which lies between the Ligurian Sea and the mountain chain formed by the Maritime Alps and the Apennines. Longitudinally it extends from the border with F ...

s aboard his family's yacht, the ''Jonikal''. Neither Fayed nor Diana was wearing a

seat belt A seat belt, also known as a safety belt or spelled seatbelt, is a vehicle safety device designed to secure the driver or a passenger of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result during a collision or a sudden stop. A seat belt reduce ...

at the time of the crash. The only survivor of the crash was bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones. Investigations by French and British police concluded that the

chauffeur A chauffeur () is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or a limousine. Initially, such drivers were often personal employees of the vehicle owner, but this has changed to s ...

, Henri Paul, was

driving under the influence Driving under the influence (DUI) is the crime of driving, operating, or being in control of a vehicle while one is impaired from doing so safely by the effect of either alcohol (drug), alcohol (see drunk driving) or some other drug, whether re ...

of alcohol and prescription drugs. They also reported that

chasing the couple were believed to have contributed to the accident. Fayed's father,

, said that the couple "were executed by

MI6 The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...

agents". Fayed's former spokesman, Michael Cole, has said that the couple became engaged before their deaths. Fayed was originally buried in

Brookwood Cemetery Brookwood Cemetery, also known as the London Necropolis, is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. The cemetery is listed a Grade I site in the Regist ...

near

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...

, Surrey, but was re-interred in October 1997 on the grounds of Barrow Green Court, the family estate in

Oxted Oxted is a town and civil parish in the Tandridge District, Tandridge district of Surrey, England. It is at the foot of the North Downs, south-east of Croydon, west of Sevenoaks, and north of East Grinstead. Oxted is a commuter town and Ox ...

, Surrey.

Legacy

Fayed's father erected two memorials to his son and Diana at

. The first, unveiled on 12 April 1998, consists of photos of them behind a pyramid-shaped display containing a wine glass smudged with lipstick from Diana's final dinner, and the ring Fayed had purchased for her the day before they died. The second, unveiled in 2005 and titled '' Innocent Victims'', is a high bronze statue of the two dancing on a beach, beneath the wings of an

albatross Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Paci ...

, a symbol of freedom and eternity.Harrods unveils Diana, Dodi statue
, CNN, 1 September 2005. The memorials were designed by Bill Mitchell, a close friend of Fayed's father who had worked for the Fayed family for more than 40 years, including as a designer at Harrods. Fayed's father sold Harrods in 2010. In January 2018, the manager of Harrods announced that the statue would be returned to the Al-Fayed family. He noted that Diana's sons William and Harry had commissioned a memorial to be installed at Kensington Palace, which the public could visit.

Representation in other media

*In the 2013 film ''Diana'', Fayed was portrayed by

Cas Anvar Cas Anvar (; born 15 March 1966) is a Canadian actor known for his role in the SyFy/Amazon Prime Video science fiction television series '' The Expanse''. Early life Anvar was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, to Iranian parents. They moved to Mont ...

. *Episodes of seasons 5 and 6 of ''

The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

'' referred to him, and he was portrayed by Khalid Abdalla. In 2023, Abdalla received a Critics' Choice Television Award nomination for his performance.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fayed, Dodi 1955 births 1997 deaths 20th-century Egyptian businesspeople Alumni of Institut Le Rosey Collège Saint Marc, Alexandria alumni Diana, Princess of Wales Egyptian businesspeople Diplomats for the United Arab Emirates Egyptian emigrants to the United Kingdom Egyptian film producers Egyptian Muslims Egyptian people of Saudi Arabian descent El Fayed family English people of Egyptian descent English people of Syrian descent English people of Turkish descent Harrods Khashoggi family Male lovers of royalty Road incident deaths in France