Soad Hosny Albaba c. 1979
Native name
Born Souad Muhammad Kamal Hosny
January 26, 1943
Cairo, Egypt
Died June 21, 2001 (aged 58)
London, England, UK
Nationality Egyptian Egypt
Occupation Actress, singer
Soad Hosny (Arabic: سعاد حسنى pronounced [soˈʕæːd ˈħosni]: January 26, 1943[1] – June 21, 2001) was an Egyptian[2] actress born in Cairo. She was known as the "Cinderella of Egyptian cinema" and one of the most influential actresses in the Middle East and the Arab world.[3] She ascended to stardom at the end of the 1950s, performing in more than 83 films between 1959 and 1991. A majority of her films were shot in the 1960s and 1970s. Her final screen appearance was in the 1991 film, The Shepherd and the Women, directed by her ex-husband, Ali Badrakhan.Her role as a woman in Egyptian and Arab cinema and perhaps in the patriarchal society of that time is important.When women were seen in most societies as a sad and inhumane slave and creature.
Early life and career
Soad Muhammad Kamal Hosny was born in Bulaq district in Cairo, Egypt. She's one of three sisters born to Mohammad Hosni, an ethnic Kurd from Syria, and his Egyptian wife Gawhara . She also had eight half-siblings. Her parents divorced and her mother remarried, to an Egyptian man, Abdul Monem Hafeez, with whom she had six more children, thus giving Soad and her two sisters no fewer than 14 half-siblings.[5] Her father was a calligrapher.[5][6][7][8] Najat Al Saghira, one of Hosny's half-siblings, was an actress and singer.[6] Hosny's final screen appearance was in 1991 in Al Ra'i We El Nissa.
Personal life
Soad Hosny was married five times.[9] 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 Fateen Abdel-Wahab, son of Fateen Abdel Wahab and Leila Mourad in 1981. This marriage lasted only five months.
Death
On June 21, 2001, Soad Hosny died tragically after falling from the balcony of her friend Nadia Yousri's apartment in Stuart Tower building in London. Soad Hosny was pronounced dead at 9:15 pm. There was a lot of controversy surrounding her death, with Scotland yard failing to this day to provide proper closure as to why and how she fell from the bacony. Soad's body was flown home to Cairo on the 27th of June 2001.[9] Her funeral in Cairo was attended by 10,000 people. She is buried in a family's plot of land on the outskirts of Cairo.[10] She had no children and was survived by her last husband, writer Maher Awad, whom she married in 1987.
Latest
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 Hosny. It was featured in Berlin's Art Week.
Dozens of articles, and not a few books, have already been written about Hosni since her tragic death in London, centring on both her phenomenal popularity and eventual demise.
Including books:
-Return of Soad by Ashraf Gharib
-Soad Secrets of the hidden crime by Jnja Hosni(سعاد أسرار الجریمة الخفیة)
sinderalla tatakallom by monir Motawea(سعاد حسنی سندریلا تتکلم)
soad hosny ayam al-shahira by naam albaz(سعاد حسنی أیام الشهرة .. والألم)
Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1959 Hassan wa Na'ima Na'ima
1960 El Banat W El Seif Sameiha
1960 Salast Regaal W Emra'a Thorya
1960 Esha'et Hob Sameiha
1960 Mal W Nsaa' Nei'mat
1960 Gharamyat Emra'a Amina
1961 A'az El-Habayeb Kawthar
1961 El-Sabaa' Banaat Salwa
1961 El-Saferia Aziza Aziza
1961 Mafish Tafahom Leila
1961 Lemaza A'aish Nabila
1961 Haa' 3 Soad
1961 El-Do' el-Khaft Nawwal
1961 El-Ashkyaa' el-Talata Mervat
1962 Mafish Tafahom Leila
1962 Maww'ed Fil-borg Ammaal
1962 Mn Gheir Me'aad Salwa
1962 Ghosn el-Zaytoon Atyaat
1962 Seraa' Maa' el-Malaa'eka Nagwa
1963 Ser el-Hareba Horyah
1963 El-Saheira el-Saghera Hanya
1963 El-garema el-Dahka Leila
1963 Aylet Zizi Sanaa'
1963 El-Arees Yasel Ghadan Samira
1963 Shaa'awet Banaat Ammaal
1964 Le'bet el-Hob w el-Gawaz Amira
1964 Hekayt Gawaz Adeila
1964 Awwel Hob Donia
1964 El-Morahkan Nahed
1964 Lel-regal Faqat Salwa
1964 El-Ozab el-Talata Elham
1964 ElTaree' Elham
1965 El-Moghamroon el-Talta Mona
1965 El-Talta Yhbonha Eiman
1966 Ganab el-Safeer Hoda
1966 Mabka el-Oshak Sekina
1966 Leilet el-Zefaf Salwa
1966 Al-Kahira thalatheen Ehsan
1966 Fares Bani Hemdan Naglaa'
1966 Saghera A'la el-Hob Karima/Sameiha
1966 Shaa'awet Regala Fareda
1967 El-Lekaa' el-Thani Hoda
1967 Shabab Magnon Gdn Madeha/ Esmat
1967 Sha't el-Talaba Mona
1967 El Zoga Al Thanya Fatma
1968 El-Set el-Nazra Hoda
1968 Helwa we Sha'ia Aziza/Nosa
1968 El-Tlmeza we el-Ostaz Salwa
1968 Baba Ayez Keda Nadya
1968 El-Zawag a'la el Tareeqa el-Hadeesa Noha
1968 Hekayt 3 Banat Shahira
1968 Hawaa' we el-Kerd Nadya
1968 Nar el-Hob Nadya
1969 Be'r el-Herman Nahed/Mervat
1969 Nadya Nadya/Mona
1969 Fatat el-esta'rad Fayza
1969 Shei' mn el-Azab Salwa/Ammal
1970 El-Hob el-Daa'ea' Leila
1970 Ghroob we Shrooa' Madiha
1971 El-Ekhtyaar Sherifa
1971 Zawgati wal-kalb Soad
1972 El-Khoof Soad
1972 Khali balak mn Zozo Zozo/Zeinab
1972 El-Nas we el-Neil Nadya
1973 El-Hob elazi kan Maha
1973 Ghrobaa' Nadya
1974 Ayna Akli Ayda
1974 Amiraa.. Hobi Ana Amira
1975 El-Karnak Zeinab
1975 Ala min notliq al-rasas Tahani
1978 Chafika et Metwal Chafika
1979 El-Motwhesha Bahya
1981 People on the Top Seham
1981 Al-Mashbouh Fatma/Bata
1981 Maowid ala ashaa Nawwaal
1981 Al Qadisiyya Shereen
1982 Ghareeb fi Baity Afaf
1983 Hob fel-Znzana Fayza
1984 Afghanistan Lemaza Afghani woman
1986 Al-Go'a Zebida
1986 Asfour el-Shark Reem
1988 Al-Darga Al-Thalitha Nea'na'aa
1991 Al-Ra'i wal Nisaa Wafaa'
Series
(1985) Hekayat Hwa we Heya
wiki-
soad hosny also had a singing talent.she left about 60 songs.
Popular Songs:
Bano Bano 1979/Ya Wad Ya Tkel 1998/Eldonya Rabea 1998/Bamby 1972/Dola Men 1998/Kaly Balk Men Zozo 1998/Kiko 1998/Ehna Eltalba 1998/Bedy Ahkelk Qesa 1998/El Donia Rabia 1972/Ya Wad Ya T'eel 1972/Margahny 1998/Shof Men Emta 1998/Khaly Balek Mn Zozo 1972/Keko 1972/Oghnya Lebnaneya 1972/Ehna El Tlaba 1972/Dolaa Meen 1972/Ashkal Robabkya 1972/Margahny 1972/Shoof Mn Emta 1972/
Remembering Soad Hosny: The Egyptian starlet with youthful charm
The 75th birthday of Soad Hosny, the Egyptian cinema sweetheart who died in 2001, would have been on 26 January. This star of the screen had no equal
A.Gharib, Sunday 28 Jan 2018
Hosny was born on January 26, 1942. Her sweet smile, bashful spirit and beautiful voice inspired audiences and artists alike.
Hosn's striking beauty, free spirit, and unique talent enabled her to portray a wide variety of roles along her rich acting career. Her fans dubbed her the “Egyptian Cinderella”.
Her most prominent roles include her roles in "Al- Ashqya' al-Thalatha" (Three Naughty Boys) (1962), directed by Hossam Eddine Mostafa; "Be'r el-herman" (The Well of Deprivation) (1969), directed by Kamal el-Sheikh; "Khaly Balak Men Zouzou" (Take Care of Zouzou) (1974), written by the exceptional poet Salah Jaheen and directed by Niazi Mostafa, and "Sagheera 'Al Hob" (Too Young to Fall in Love) (1966), which was also directed by Niazi Mostafa.
Hosny used her outstanding talent to call for gender equality in the TV series "Hekayat Hwa we Heyain" (1985) that achieved booming success.
She was not only a great performer, but also a great fashion icon; lots of young girls during her time idolized Hosny on so many levels, including fashion.
Hosny was raised in an artistic family. Her father was a calligrapher who adored music, her older half-sister was famous singer Nagat, while her older half-brother was a composer and an oud player in Umm Koulthoum’s ensemble.
Hosny was forced to withdraw from public life and film production as she suffered from a reputed ailment with her spine, which led to various complications, affecting her ability to move.
In 2001, Hosny fell to death from her friend's apartment in London, which brought her glamorous life to an end.
In 1959, when Soad Hosny debuted in Hassan and Naima, directed by Helmy Barakat, it marked the fourth year after the retirement of the first box office starlet Leila Mourad with her last film, The Unknown Lover by Hassan El-Siefi.
During those four years no other actress was able to reach this level of popularity in spite of the high artistic successes achieved by many well established actresses such as Faten Hamama, Shadia and Sabah, or by those who managed to reinvent themselves, such as Hind Rostom and Hoda Sultan. The same goes to those who were ascending the tall tower of fame, such as Lubna Abdel-Aziz and Nadia Lutfi.
Thus, the cinematic scene was eager to find an actress who would fill the vacuum resulting from the abrupt retirement of Leila Mourad in 1955. The throne of the box office female star was without a queen.
Egyptian society was witnessing deep changes and Egyptian girls were keen to express themselves and were aspiring for a decent social life.
Egyptian cinema was in need of a female starlet with a natural, easy nonchalance, one that can be similar to a girl you can see as a family relative, a neighbour or a university colleague.
Serious actresses such as Faten Hamama and Mariam Fakhreddine weren’t capable of representing this kind of girl and definitely not seductive actresses like Hind Rostom and Hoda Sultan.
The scene was ready to shed the damsel in distress model dominating films since their beginning and until the end of the 1950s.
Meanwhile, filmmakers began to realise that the public’s taste had changed and began to produce a relatively good number of family drama films, which continued throughout the 1960s. Another factor was the emergence of actresses who fitted this kind of drama, such as Lubna Abdel-Aziz, Zubaida Tharwat, Laila Taher, Zizi Al-Badrawi and naturally, Soad Hosny.
Among these actresses, Soad Hosny was the most suitable to ride the tide of family drama, reflecting her distinctive charm on the films of this period.
Indeed, Hosny was a natural as an adolescent in Rumour of Love (1960), a familiar sister in The Girls and the Summer (1960), both directed by Fateen Abdel-Wahab, an ordinary wife in Money and Women (1960) by Hassan Al-Imam, but also a deviant girl in Cairo 30 (1966) and a killer in A Little Bit of Torment (1969), both by Salah Abu-Seif.
She was extremely gifted in portraying totally different roles convincingly; for instance, she wasn’t entirely innocent in The Three Naughty Boys (1962), directed by Hossam Eddine Mostafa, nor wholly guilty in The Well of Deprivation (1969), by Kamal El-Sheikh, while treading a line in-between in The Olive Branch (1962), by El-Sayed Bedeir.
Her characters often fell into a grey area, being naturally benevolent, but in their human weakness or circumstances, erring from social norms.
Even among the actresses of her generation, Soad was unique. She was searching for a simple meaning of life; not searching for herself as much as wanting to feel alive.
All this was done in perfect harmony with truly Egyptian features, and a light spirit along with high competence; dramatically employing her tools as an actress through controlling her intonation, body movements or using her eyes in expressiveness.
Consequently, Soad Hosny was capable of eliminating the distance between the silver screen and her audience, and quite uniquely in Egyptian cinema history.
There is another important factor that shouldn’t be ignored, which is the suitability of Soad Hosny’s real age. Born on 26 January 1943, she was the right age at the right time for her adolescent role in Rumour of Love when she was 17, and a high school girl in The Olive Branch at the age of 19.
This was at a time when other actresses were playing roles much younger than their age, such as Faten Hamama portraying a university student in The Open Door (1963) when she was 32, and Shadia ageing 31 in The Student (1960).
Hosny’s talent was of the dangerously explosive kind. Following her first three films (Hassan and Nayima, The Girls and the Summer and Rumour of Love), everyone — audience, critics and directors alike — realised that a new cinematic era had emerged.
Naturally, this explosive stardom was reflected in the number of films in which Soad starred in her early years. In 1960, the year after her debut, she starred in five films.
The trend continued and rose to the extent that Soad’s films between 1959 and 1968 amounted to 52 films out of the 82 she starred in up to 1991.
Undoubtedly, Soad fell in the trap of quantity over quality. Some of these films can only be viewed as entertaining escapades. But this doesn’t mean that her first 10 years were without distinctive artistics marks. Suffice to mention Cairo 30 and The Second Wife (1967), both directed by Salah Abu-Seif, as irrefutable proof of her wide-ranging talent.
This talent that enabled her to move easily from playing a low-class girl in Ambassador Aziza (1961), directed by Tolba Radwan, to an educated girl in Zizi’s Family (1963). by Fateen Abdel-Wahab, to an urban girl succumbing to degrading compromises in Cairo 30, and the tough country woman refusing to bow to oppression and injustice in The Second Wife.
Hosny then suddenly became very selective after the first 10 years. If we exclude the eight films she starred in 1968 as film contracts she signed before or films produced in 1967 and were released in the following year, we will find clearly that there was a difference between this period and afterwards.
In my opinion, the 1967 Defeat was the reason for this sudden change since Soad Hosny was surrounded by a number of leftist intellectuals headed by Salah Jahin, the well-known poet and cartoonist, as well as her fiancé and later her husband, director Ali Badrakhan.
Suddenly after Beautiful and Naughty directed by Essa Karama and Papa wants It Like That by Niazi Mostafa (both in 1968), Soad was a star in many films adapted from literature.
Those include Nadia (1969) adapted from a novel by Youssef El-Sibai and directed by Ahmed Badrkhan, A Little Bit of Torment adapted from a story by Ahmed Rageb and directed by Salah Abu-Seif, The Lost Love (1970) adapted from a novel by Taha Hussein and directed by Barakat, Sunset Sunrise (1970) adapted from a novel by Gamal Hammad and directed by Kamal El-Sheikh, and The Choice (1971) adapted from a story by Naguib Mahfouz and directed by Youssef Chahine.
It is worth mentioning that Soad Hosny’s awareness saved her from the abyss in which Egyptian cinema fell between 1968 and 1974, with the production of its weakest films. Through a qualitative leap, Soad Hosny attracted a considerable segment of intellectuals who saw in her roles a reflection of frustration, oppression and perplexity that Egypt has undergone between 1967 and 1973.
Then came Salah Jahin’s and Hassan Al-Imam’s masterpiece, Take Care of Zouzou (1972), which remained in cinemas for 55 weeks, breaking a record. Based on a story written by its director, Hassan Al-Imam, and adapted to the screen by Mohammed Othman and Salah Jahin, the film was a smash hit.
It was a variation on the Cindrella story where Saeed (Hussein Fahmy) — the male star — played an aristocrat professor who falls in love with top student Zouzou, or Zeinab Abdel-Karim (Soad Hosny), whose mother was a former belly dancer.
Zouzou possesses a strong, positive character, bold in her relationship with her prince charming. Hosny was mesmirising in her exquisite performance, as an actress, songstress and dancer, to which the audience responded with admiration.
Unfortunately, the success of Take Care of Zouzou came at a price. It became an obsession that made Soad Hosny somewhat fearful towards new projects. Although her subsequent films performed acceptably at the box office in comparison to other films she made in the 1970s.
Some films from this era include Amira is the Love of My Life (1975), directed by Hussein Mahmoud, Al-Karnak (1975), Shafiqa and Metwalli (1978), both by Ali Badrakhan, and The Wild Girl (1979), by Samir Seif.
During the 1980s, Soad Hosny’s relationship with her audience fluctuated. She went through a period of relative decline after The Untouchables, directed by Ali Badrkahan, Appointment at Dinner, by Mohamed Khan, and Al Qadisiyya, by Salah Abu-Seif, all released in 1981.
She sought to regain what she has lost by acting in two consecutive films with 1980s star Adel Imam: The Suspect (1981), directed by Samir Seif, and Love in a Prison Cell (1983), by Mohamed Fadel. She ventured once in acting in a TV series, He and She (1985), which maintained her popularity for some time.
The failure of The Third Class (1988), directed by Sherif Arafa, was so humiliating that she stopped acting for three years, returning only once, in The Shepherd and the Women (1991) by Ali Badrkhan.
Although the film achieved critical success and won her a number of awards, it wasn’t enough for her to continue. She went abroad to receive treatment for an undisclosed illness. She died in mysterious circumstances 21 June 2001, after reportedly falling from her London flat balcony.
No actress — whether from her generation or the following ones — was capable of being the box office female star Soad Hosny was.
-english.ahram
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