Soheir Zaki (, born in

Mansoura, Egypt Mansoura (; ' , rural: ) is a city in Egypt located on the eastern bank of the Damietta branch of the Nile river. The city is the capital of the Dakahlia Governorate and has a population of 621,953 as of 2021. Etymology ''Mansoura'' in Arabic ...

on January 4, 1945) is an Egyptian belly dancer and actress. She appeared in over 100 Egyptian films from the 1960s to the 1980s.

Early life

Soheir Zaki was born in Mansoura, Egypt on January 4, 1945. When she was nine, her parents moved the family to

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 ...

. Her father died when she was young and her mother remarried. Her stepfather later became her manager. Zaki first learned how to dance by watching films featuring

Taheyya Kariokka Taheyya Kariokka () also Tahiya Carioca (born Badaweya Taheyya Mohamed Ali Elnedany Kareem ()), (February 22, 1915 – September 20, 1999) was an Egyptian belly dancer and film actress. Early life Born in the Egyptian city of Ismaïlia to ...

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 ...

Career

She began her career as a wedding dancer in

. Television producer Mohammed Salem saw her dancing and decided to launch her as a TV presenter on Egyptian television. However, she showed more skill as a dancer and became known for her appearances on shows like ''Adwoua El-Madina''. She then moved to appearing in Egyptian films. She played minor roles in most of her films, concentrating mainly on dancing. In interviews, she has stated that Nagua Fouad was her "biggest rival" at the time. Zaki also performed frequently in Egyptian nightclubs, particularly at the Nile Hilton Hotel in Cairo. In 1964, she became to first belly dancer to dance to

Umm Kulthum Umm Kulthum (; 31 December 1898 – 3 February 1975) was an Egyptians, Egyptian singer and film actress active from the 1920s to the 1970s. She was given the honorific title (). Immensely popular throughout the Middle East and beyond, Umm Kul ...

's music when she danced to "

Inta Omri "Inta Omri" (; also transliterated as , , or ) is a popular Egyptian song by Umm Kulthum. It was released in March 1965 by ''Sono Cairo Records''. Composition and legacy The song (literally "You Are My Life") was composed by prominent Egypti ...

". Over the course of her career, Zaki danced for many politicians, including

Anwar Sadat Muhammad Anwar es-Sadat (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until Assassination of Anwar Sadat, his assassination by fundame ...

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 a ...

and

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

. She retired in 1992, although she later taught belly dance at Raqia Hassan's Egyptian Academy of Oriental Dance in Cairo.

Personal life

She was married to Egyptian cinematographer Mohamed Emara. She gave birth to their son Hamada in 1987.

Partial filmography

*1963 ''Thaman al Hob'' (The Price of Love) * 1963 ''Aelit Zizi (Zizi's Family) * 1963 ''Sanawat El Hobb’'' (Years of Love) * 1964 ''Hekayet Gawaz'' (The Story of a Marriage) * 1964 ''Daani wal demouh'' (Alone with My Tears) * 1964 ''Matloub Zawja Fawran'' (An Intimate Wedding) * 1966 ''

Cairo 30 ''Cairo 30'' (, translit. Al-Qāhira 30) is a 1966 Egyptian drama film directed by Salāḥ Abu Seif, and based on Naguib Mahfouz's 1945 novel ''Modern Cairo''. The film was selected as the Egyptian entry for the Best Foreign Language Fil ...

'' * 1966 ''Al Abeed'' (The Idiot) * 1969 ''Al-shaitan'' (The devil) * 1969 ''Al-Rajul Zu Al-Khamsat Wujooh'' (The Man with Five Faces) – TV miniseries * 1970 ''Seraa Maa el Mawt'' (The Struggle with Death) * 1970 ''El Maganeen el Talata'' (The Three Lunatics) * 1971 ''Rejal fil al Misyada'' (Men in the Trap) * 1972 ''Melouk al Shar'' (Kings of Evil) * 1975 ''Alo, ana al ghetta'' (Hello, I am the Cat) * 1978 ''Sultana al Tarab'' * 1978 ''‘Al Kallema Al Akhira'' (The Last Word) * 1979 ''Yomhel wala Yohmel'' (God Waits but Never Neglects) * 1982 ''Aroussa Wa Gouz Ersan'' (A Bride and Two Grooms) * 1983 ''Enna Rabbaka Labelmersad'' (The Lord of the Lookout) * 1983 ''Al Rajel Elle Ba'aa al Shams''

References

External links

Soheir Zaki
on the

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zaki, Soheir 1945 births Egyptian female dancers Egyptian belly dancers Egyptian film actresses People from Mansoura, Egypt Living people