Soad Mohammad Kamal Hosny (, ; 26 January 1943 – 21 June 2001) was an Egyptian actress. She was known as the "Cinderella of the Screen" and one of the most influential actresses in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

and the

Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

. She is generally regarded as one of

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 ...

's most iconic female

performers The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Pe ...

of the 20th-century, who played leading roles for many of the country's top directors, in a career spanning 83 films between 1959 and 1991, garnering several national and international accolades. Born in the

Boulaq Boulaq ( from "guard, customs post"), is a district of Cairo, in Egypt. It neighbours Downtown Cairo, Azbakeya, and the River Nile. History The westward shift of the Nile, especially between 1050 and 1350, made land available on its eastern ...

district of

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

to an artistic family. Her father is Mohamed Hosni, who was one of the best Egyptian calligraphers. She is the sister of the singer Nagat El-Sagheera. She worked in the Egyptian Radio as a young child with Baba Sharo and was introduced for Film industry by Abdel Rahman El Khamisi. Her film debut was '' Hassan and Naima'' (1959), and she quickly rose to stardom at the end of the 1950s, performing in more than 83 films between 1959 and 1991 with nine films in the greatest 100 films in the history of Egyptian cinema. A majority of her films were shot in the 1960s and 1970s. Her notable films include; '' Money and Women'' (1960), ''

A Date at the Tower A Date at the Tower (, Transliteration, translit. Maw’ed fi Elborg, Pseudonym, aliases: Rendezvous in the Tower or Appointment in the Tower) is a 1962 Cinema of Egypt, Egyptian film written and directed by Ezz El-Dine Zulficar. It stars Salah Zu ...

'' (1962), '' Too Young for Love'' (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), '' The Second Wife'' (1967), '' Sunset and Sunrise'' (1970), '' The Choice'' (1971), '' Those People of the Nile'' (1972), '' Where is My Mind?'' (1974), ''Amira, My Love'' (1974), '' Whom Should We Shoot?'' (1975), ''

Karnak The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (), comprises a vast mix of temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. Construction at the complex began during the reign of Senusret I (reigned 1971–1926 BC) in the ...

'' (1975), '' Shafika and Metwali'' (1979), ''The Savage'' (1979), ''

People on the Top ''People on the Top'' (, Transliteration, translit.Ahl el qema) is a List of Egyptian films of 1981, 1981 Egyptian drama film based on a story by Naguib Mahfouz and directed by Ali Badrakhan. It stars Soad Hosny, Nour El-Sherif and Ezzat El Alail ...

'' (1981), '' A Dinner Date'' (1981), ''

Al Qadisiyya ''Al Qadisiyya'' is a 1981 Iraqi drama film directed and co-written by Salah Abu Seif. It was entered into the 12th Moscow International Film Festival. The historical film was produced in tandem with Egypt and with Iraq’s Cinema and Theatre De ...

'' (1981), ''A Stranger in My House'' (1982), ''Love in a Jail Cell'' (1983) and '' The Hunger'' (1986). Her 1972 film '' Watch Out For Zouzou'', is widely considered her most famous film, to the point that many people gave her the nickname “Zouzou", her character's name. Her final screen appearance was in the 1991 film,'' The Shepherd and the Women'', directed by her ex-husband

Ali Badrakhan Ali Badrakhan (born April 25, 1946) is an Egyptian film director and screenwriter, the son of the director Ahmed Badrakhan. He worked as assistant to Fatin Abdel Wahab in '' Land of Hypocrisy'' in 1968, and with Youssef Chahine in the films ''S ...

Early life

Soad Muhammad Kamal Hosny was born in

Bulaq Boulaq ( from "guard, customs post"), is a district of Cairo, in Egypt. It neighbours Downtown Cairo, Azbakeya, and the River Nile. History The westward shift of the Nile, especially between 1050 and 1350, made land available on its eastern si ...

district in

, Egypt, to, Mohammad Hosni, a renowned Egyptian calligrapher. Her father is originally of a

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

descent; and his second wife, Gawhara Mohamed Hassan Saffour, an Egyptian woman. Soad Hosny's sister has claimed that their mother was of Syrian and later Saudi origin. The accuracy of her sister's assertions has been subject to speculation. Suad_Hosny_young

Her parents divorced and her mother married Abdul Monem Hafeez with whom she had six more children, thus giving Soad and her two sisters no fewer than 14 half-siblings.Mayad Beloun
Profile
''Alsharq Al Awsat'' (newspaper), (3 August 2001), No. 8284. Her father's household was known as "the artists' home" because leading artists from across the Arab world regularly visited Hosni's home in Cairo for tuition and social interaction with the master calligrapher. Her father, whose artistic output included the production of frames for the silent movies and book covers, was well known across the artistic community. A number of his children became performance artists. Soad's half-sister, Nagat, was an actress and singer.Najat Al Saghira profile
najatalsaghira.wordpress.com. Retrieved 4 July 2015. Her half-brother,

Ezz Eddin Hosni Ezz Eddin Hosni (15 June 1927 Cairo, Egypt–2013, Cairo), was an Egyptian composer. He is noted for writing tunes performed by some of Egypt's leading singers. Life and career Ezz Eddin Hosni was the son of Arabic language and Islamic Syrian Ku ...

(1927–2013), was a composer and taught Soad and Najat music and singing. Another sibling, Sami Hosni, became a cello player, jewellery designer, and

calligrapher Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an exp ...

. Yet another brother, Farooq, was a painter and his daughter Samira was also an actress.

Career

At the age of three, she began her career when she sang in the popular Egyptian children's TV program, ''Papa Sharo'', hosted by prominent kids' shows presenter Mohamed Shaaban. Her work included a wide range of genres, from light comedies and romances through to political satire.Ginsberg, T. and Lippard, C., ''Historical Dictionary of Middle Eastern Cinema'', Scarecrow Press, 2010, p. 181 Her film debut was in ''

Hassan and Nayima ''Hasan and Na'ima'' (, translit. Hassan wa Nayima) is a 1959 Egyptian drama film directed by Henry Barakat. It was entered into the 9th Berlin International Film Festival. Cast * Muharram Fouad as Hassan * Soad Hosny Soad Mohammad Ka ...

'' (1959).Lentz III, H.M., ''Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2001: Film, television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture'' McFarland, 2002, p. 146 She is credited with acting in films with the most notable Egyptian film stars such as

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 ...

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 ...

Rushdy Abaza Rushdy Saiid Bughdadi Abaza () (3 August 1926 – 27 July 1980) was an Egyptian film and television actor. He was considered one of the most charming actors in the Egyptian film industry and is one of the most famous. He died of brain cancer at t ...

, and

Shoukry Sarhan Mohamed Shoukry El Husseiny Sarhan (13 March 1925 – 19 March 1997, ), better known as Shoukry Sarhan (), was an Egyptian actor. He is regarded as one of the greatest Egyptian actors of all time. Life and career Sarhan was born in El Sha ...

. In the early 1960s, Hosny starred in; '' A Rumor of Love'' (1960) alongside

and

Youssef Wahbi Youssef Abdallah Wahbi Qotb () (14 July 1898 – 17 October 1982) was an Egyptian stage, film actor and director, a leading star of the 1930s and 1940s and one of the most prominent Egyptian stage actors of all time, who also served on the ...

. She also starred in ''Mafish Tafahom'' (1961), ''El-Do' el-Khaft'' (1961), ''El-Saferia Aziza'' (1961) alongside Shoukry Sarhan. She was also paired with

Ahmed Mazhar Ahmed Hafez Mazhar (; 8 October 1917 – 8 May 2002) was an Egyptian actor. He graduated from the military academy in 1938 Hassan El-Imam Hassan el-Imam ( , ; March 6, 1919, in Mansoura, Egypt – January 29, 1988) was a prominent Egyptian film director. He was nicknamed the Box-office King. Early life Hassan El-Imam was born on March 6, 1919, in the city of Mansoura, his father E ...

's '' Money and Women'' (1960) opposite Salah Zulfikar, whom she was paired with for the second time in ''

'' (1962) directed by

Ezz El-Dine Zulficar Ezz El-Dine Ahmed Mourad Zulficar (; 28 October 1919 – 1 July 1963) was an Egyptian film director, screenwriter, actor and producer known for his distinctive style, which blends romance and action. He is widely regarded one of the most influen ...

. In 1964, she starred alongside

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 ...

in Mahmoud Zulfikar's '' For Men Only'', where she played a role of a girl disguised in a man's appearance to have the opportunity to work in an oil exploration project; the film was a box office hit. In 1966, she starred in 10 films including ''Mabka el-Oshak'', ''His Excellency'', ''The Ambassador'', ''El-Talata Yhbonha'' and ''Leilat El Zefaf''. In the same year, Hosny starred in '' Too Young for Love'' (1966) opposite Rushdy Abaza. In 1970, she starred alongside Salah Zulfikar and Rushdy Abaza in the political film '' Sunset and Sunrise'' (1970) by

Kamal El Sheikh Kamal El Sheikh (; 2 February 1919 – 2 January 2004) was an Egyptian film director. He directed 28 films between 1952 and 1987, with eight of them in the Top 100 Egyptian films list. He was known in the fifties and early sixties as "Hitc ...

. She worked in two films directed by

Youssef Chahine Youssef Chahine ( ; 25 January 1926 – 27 July 2008) was an Egyptian film director. He was active in the Egyptian film industry from 1950 until his death. He directed twelve films included in a list of Top 100 Egyptian films published by ...

during her career, the first one being '' The Choice'' (1970), and the second '' Those People of the Nile'' (1972) in which she was paired with Salah Zulfikar for the fourth time. One of her most well-known roles was that of a college student who fell in love with her professor in Hassan El Imam’s film '' Watch Out for ZouZou'' (1972). In 1974, she starred in Kamal El Sheikh's '' Whom Should We Shoot?'' (1974) alongside

Mahmoud Yassin Mahmoud Yassin (; 19 February 1941 – 14 October 2020) was an Egyptian actor. He was an iconic actor in both Egyptian cinema and television, portraying dramatic, psychological and romantic roles. Career Yassin studied law at the Ain Shams Univer ...

, whom she shared the lead with in '' Where is My Mind?'' (1974). Her next role was a student and political activist who was tortured in ''

'' (1975), the film was based on the novel by

Naguib Mahfouz Naguib Mahfouz Abdelaziz Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Basha (, ; 11 December 1911 – 30 August 2006) was an Egyptian writer who won the 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature. In awarding the prize, the Swedish Academy described him as a writer "who, through wo ...

. In the films '' Shafika and Metwali'' (1979) with Ahmed Zaki and ''

'' (1981) with

Nour El-Sherif Nour El-Sherif (; 28 April 1946 – 11 August 2015), born Mohamad Geber Mohamad Abd Allah () was a prominent Egyptian actor. He has 6 films in the Top 100 Egyptian films list. El-Sherif was born in the working-class neighbourhood of Sayeda Zain ...

, she transformed the musical numbers into scathing satires which gave voice to the oppressed. For this and her other hard-hitting, politically relevant roles, she was seen as part of the intelligentsia. She starred in '' A Dinner Date'' (1981), in which she played a dramatic role. She also starred in ''

'' (1981), '' The Suspect'' (1981), ''A Stranger in My House'' (1982), ''Love in a Jail Cell'' (1983) and '' The Hunger'' (1986). During her lifetime, she was known as the "Cinderella of the Screen". She starred in the films of every important Egyptian director during the 60s and 70s and played women in complex plots. In her later career, she played women who had been abused or victimized. Due to illness and health issues, she retired from acting in 1991. Hosny's final screen appearance was in '' The Shepherd and the Women'' (1991).

Personal life

Soad Hosny was married four times. Around 1968, she was married to cinematographer Salah Kurayyem; the marriage lasted for approximately one year. In 1970, Hosny was married to the Egyptian film director Ali Badrakhan; this marriage lasted for approximately eleven years. She was then married to Zaki Fatin Abdel Wahab, son of Fateen Abdel Wahab and

Leila Mourad Leila Mourad or Layla Morad (; February 17, 1918 – November 21, 1995) was an Egyptian singer and actress, and one of the most prominent superstars in Egypt and the entire Arab world in her era. Born Lilian Zaki Ibrahim Mourad to Jewish parents ...

in 1981. This marriage lasted only five months. Persistent rumors claim that her first marriage was to the actor and singer,

Abdel Halim Hafez Abdel Halim Ali Shabana (), commonly known as Abdel Halim Hafez (, ) (21 June 1929 – 30 March 1977), was an Egyptian singer, actor, conductor, businessman, music teacher and film producer. Abdel Halim is considered to be one of the greatest ...

(1929–1977), popularly known as "Al Andaleeb al Asmar" he Dark-skinned Nightingale whom she is believed to have married in secret. However, her family have denied the veracity of such rumors. She was romantically linked with various celebrities including the Egyptian film star

. Despite never wearing a wedding dress in all her marriages, Hosni wore wedding dresses many times on screen through her films, and her first film husband was the Egyptian film star

in '' Money and Women'' of 1960. The rumor of her marriage to Abdel Halim Hafez was not the first in her life. In late 1962, a rumor was spread in the Egyptian press about her marriage to Salah Zulfikar, who's one of his country's most iconic male performers of all time and was popularly known as "Fares al Ahlem" night of the Dreams while filming with Zulfikar in ''

''. Filming of the film scenes began in the

Cairo Tower The Cairo Tower (, ''Borg El-Qāhira'') is a free-standing concrete tower in Cairo, Egypt. At , it was the tallest structure in Egypt for 37 years until 1998, when it was surpassed by the Suez Canal overhead powerline crossing. It was the tallest ...

, and the team continued for two weeks on board the ship ''Aida'' in the Mediterranean. After filming ended, the rumor of her marriage to Zulfikar spread in newspapers and magazines at the time. Zulfikar did not forget the nature of his previous work as a police officer and began with his sense of security to investigate the source of the rumor, to make sure that the lighting worker in the film crew was the owner of the rumor after a kiss was filmed between Zulfikar and Soad Hosny, where the kiss lasted for three minutes, until Zulfikar sensed it took them too long and told the

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

, "Stop", and so the worker built this rumor because of the shot, but this rumor was denied and later, the two film stars participated in more than one film together. Her fourth and final marriage was to screen writer Maher Awad.

Death

On 21 June 2001, Soad Hosny died after falling from the balcony of her friend Nadia Yousri's apartment in Stuart Tower building in

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

. Her death was surrounded by controversy, with authorities initially failing to provide details of how she fell; an omission that fueled media speculation and rumors that her death may have been a suicide or murder rather than accidental. Soad's body was flown home to

and her funeral there was attended by over 10,000 people. She was buried in a family's plot of land on the outskirts of Cairo. She had no children and was survived by her last husband, writer Maher Awad, whom she married in 1987.

Awards

Soad Hosny had won many awards, including the Best Actress Award from the National Festival in 1971, the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) * Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) * Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)Ministry o ...

Award for 5 times, the Egyptian Film Association Award for 5 times, the

Alexandria International Film Festival The Alexandria International Film Festival for Mediterranean Countries (AIFF) is a film festival in Alexandria, Egypt. It was established in 1979. The festival is organized by the Egyptian Association of Film Writers and Critics (EAFWC). The AIF ...

best actress award, the Best Actress Award from the Cinema Art Association, and the Best Actress Award from the Ministry of Culture. Egyptian media in 1987, and a certificate of appreciation on Art Day in 1979 from President

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 ...

. At the 1980 State Film Awards, Hosni won the Best Actress Award for the movie ''The Savage''.

Legacy and Image

Soad Hosny has been considered as one of the most influential actresses in the Middle East and Arab World. Highly regarded for her range, versatility, and ability to play a wide range of characters—from comedic and lighthearted roles to dramatic and tragic ones, captivating the audiences with her charm, which would earn her the nickname "Cinderella of the Screen". Her fashion sense and style made her a fashion icon for many young girls during her time, and has been considered a

sex symbol A sex symbol or icon is a person or character widely considered sexually attractive and often synonymous with sexuality. Pam Cook, "The trouble with sex: Diana Dors and the Blonde bombshell phenomenon", In: Bruce Babinigton (ed.), ''British St ...

. In 2013, Lebanese filmmaker Rania Stephan used snippets from Hosny's films to re-tell Hosny's story and the history of Egyptian cinema in ''The Three Disappearances of Soad Hosni''. It was featured in Berlin's Art Week.Rowan El Shimi
"Cinderella story of Egyptian cinema told through film on Soad Hosny"
ahram.org.eg, 25 September 2013. The ''Three Disappearances'' is an important archive, which while following the chronology of Soad Hosny's career, simultaneously documents the costumes, sets and styles used from the 1950s to the 1990s, a period that marked the peak and decline of

Egyptian cinema The Egyptian film industry is today based mainly in Cairo, which is sometimes referred to as Hollywood on the Nile, Hollywood of the Middle East or Hollywood of the East, despite having its beginnings in the city of Alexandria in the early 20t ...

.Russell, C., ''Archiveology: Walter Benjamin and Archival Film Practices'', Duke University Press, 2018 -book edition n.p. One of Hosny's songs, "I'm going down to the Square" became a popular "anthem" during the

2011 Egyptian revolution The 2011 Egyptian revolution, also known as the 25 January Revolution (;), began on 25 January 2011 and spread across Egypt. The date was set by various youth groups to coincide with the annual Egyptian "Police holiday" as a statement against ...

Filmography

Soad Hosny's film career lasted for 32 years. She is an icon in Egyptian film industry. She was a film, stage, television, and radio actor. She appeared in more than 80 films and sang on Egyptian radio.

References

Sources

* Terri Ginsberg, Chris Lippard, 2010: ''Historical Dictionary of Middle Eastern Cinema'', Scarecrow Press. * Ashraf Gharib, 2001: ''Soad Hosni: Al-Hulm Al-Dai'' (''Soad Hosni: The Lost Dream''). (Cf. ) * Mohamed Soweid, 2004: ''Cabaret Suad'', Beirut: Dar al-Adab. (Cf. )

External links

*
"...Zouzou"

Profile (citing 1943 year of birth)
ElCinema.com; accessed 26 January 2015.
Soad Hosny's 79th Birthday
at

Google Doodle Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running annual Bu ...

Articles and essays

"رسالة السندريلا إلى الله!"
(in Arabic; gives 1943 as year of birth)
"Souad Hosny dies in London after struggling with disease"
aawsat.com (in Arabic; gives 1944 as year of birth)

Media portrayals

*
Cites 1942 as year of birth
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hosny, Soad 1943 births 20th-century Egyptian actresses 20th-century Egyptian women singers 2001 deaths Actresses from Cairo Egyptian film actresses Egyptian people of Kurdish descent Egyptian television actresses People of Kurdish descent Egyptian people of Syrian descent People from Homs People from Bulaq Singers from Cairo Singers who perform in Egyptian Arabic Unsolved deaths in England Arabic-language singers of Egypt