Fatma Turkan Shawkat (; 1930–2007), better known by her stage name Hala Shawkat (), was a

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

n actress. She was one of the leading actresses of Syrian cinema in the mid-1950s and 1960s. Shawkat also appeared in films in

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, and

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Life and career

Shawkat was born in Daraa,

, to a family of Turkish origin. She gained her first film role in

where she acted alongside

Omar Sharif Omar Sharif (, ; born Michel Yusef Dimitri Chalhoub ; 10 April 1932 – 10 July 2015) was an Egyptian actor, generally regarded as one of his country's greatest male film stars. He began his career in his native country in the 1950s. He is bes ...

and

Samia Gamal Zeinab Ali Khalil Ibrahim Mahfouz (; 5 March 1924 – 1 December 1994), known professionally as Samia Gamal (), was an Egyptian belly dancer and film actress. Gamal performed in more than 50 movies during her career. She is regarded as one of t ...

in the 1959 film ''Mao'ed Maa' Al Majhoul'' ("Date With The Unknown"). Shawkat also starred alongside other renowned Egyptian actors such as

Salah Zulfikar Salah El-Din Ahmed Mourad Zulfikar (, ; 18 January 1926 – 22 December 1993) was an Egyptian actor and film producer. He started his career as a Egyptian National Police, police officer, before becoming an actor in 1956. He is regarded as one o ...

, Mahmoud Yacine and

Nadia Lutfi Nadia Lutfi or Nadia Lotfi (; born Paula Mohamed Mostafa Shafik (); 3 January 1937 – 4 February 2020), was an Egyptian actress. During the apex of her career, she was one of the most popular actresses of Egyptian cinema's golden age. Early ...

, such as her role with Salah Zulfikar in the 1973 film Z''ekra Lailat Hubb'' (" Memory of a Night of Love"). Upon returning to Syrian, she worked with a number of Syrian directors and participated in several plays, including the famous play ''Cheers Nation'' alongside Duraid Lahham. In her later career she starred in numerous soap operas and radio programs. Shawkat died at the age of 77.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shawkat, Hala Syrian people of Turkish descent People from Daraa 1930 births 2007 deaths 20th-century Syrian actresses