Soad Hosni

Soad Hosni

Soad Hosni (1979)
Native name سعاد حسني
Born Soad Muhammad Kamal Hosni Al Baba
(1942-01-26)January 26, 1942
Bulaq, Cairo, Egypt
Died June 21, 2001(2001-06-21) (aged 59)
London, England, UK
Occupation Actress, singer

Soad Hosni (Arabic: سعاد حسني‎‎; January 26, 1942 – June 21, 2001) was an Egyptian actress and singer born in Cairo. Hosni was known as the "Cinderella of Egyptian cinema" and one of the most influential actresses in the Middle East.[1] She starred in 83 films between 1959 and 1991; about seventy of her films were shot in the 1960s and 1970s [2][3][4][5]

Early life

Soad was one of three sisters (Kawther, Soad, Sabah) born to Mohammad Hosni and his second wife, Jawahara Mohammad Hassan. She also had eight half-siblings from her father first marriage (four boys: Ezz Eddin, Nabil, Farooq and Sami, and four girls: Khadija, Samira, Najat herself, Afaf). Her parents divorced and her mother remarried, to Abdul Monem Hafedh, with whom she had another six children (three boys: Jaheer, Jaser, Jalaa and three girls: Jehan, Janjah, Jeely), thus giving Soad and her two sisters 14 half-siblings (8 from her father side and 6 from her mother side). Soad therefore is the 10th in-line of a grand total of 17 brothers and sisters [3]

As a young teenager, after her parents’ divorce, Soad lived briefly with her half-sister Najat Al Saghira (born 1938) then with her half-brother Ezz Eddin Hosni (1927 – 2013). Thereafter, at the age of 15 she was living with her mother in a Cairo neighbourhood called Shobra,[4] by then divorced from her father, and her stepfather.[6]

Home of Artists

Soad Hosni was born into an artistic family. The household of her father was known as “the home of the Artists”. His son Ezz Eddin, a music composer, taught his sister Najat music and singing. His other son Sami Hosni is a Cello player, jewellery designer and also calligrapher.[7][8]

Her father Mohammad Hosni was a calligrapher,[9] Syrian of Kurdish roots (within Al Baba clan).[3][10][11]

Both Soad Hosni and Najat Al Saghira [12] one of Hosni's half-siblings, became super-stars in the Arab World in the arts of acting and singing.[13][14]

Najat Al Saghira, was a child-star who started singing at the age of 5 years in the early 1940s and continued to be a great success.[15] Soad also began her career at the age of three in 1946 on a children Radio program and thus she was also child-star. This radio program, called The Children’s Corner, was broadcast by Mohamed Mahmoud Shaaban, known as Baba Sharoo, and in it she sang her famous song “I am Soad, sister to the moon, my beauty recognised by all” before reaching the age of 7.[1][4][16] Soad did not continue and starred her first film later at the age of 15 years.[6]

Career

In 1950s, Soad step father treated Soad well, but at the time, he was conservative and refused to send her to school.[17]

In 1957, family friend Abdel-Rahman Al-Khamisi wanted Soad, at the age 15 years, to play Ophelia in a production of “Hamlet” he was directing. It was difficult for her, she wasn't able to recite Shakespeare well, and she would weep in frustration.[1] But Al Khamisi sensed her acting talents and asked Ibrahim Saafan, an Arabic teacher and comedy actor, to teach her reading and writing and Anaam Salousa to give her oral acting performance lessons. However, this production was eventually canceled due to funding problems.[17][18]

Thereafter, Mr Al-Khamisi persuaded film director Henry Barakat (1914– 1997) to test Soad for the star role of her first film “Na'ima and Hassan”. This film was based on a folk story the script of which was being written by Al-Khamisi himself. The test was successful, the film was released in 1959 and within 2 years she had starred in ten more films! [6]

In 1972, Soad’s film “Watch out for Zouzou” was released to become the biggest box- office hit in Egyptian cinema to date!.[6] This film was the longest running film in Egyptian cinemas, showing for over a year. Many and some would argue most, Egyptians know the film's songs by heart. Soad Hosni, until her last days in London, called herself "Zouzou”.[1]

As can be seen from the list below, Soad starred in 83 films; a staggering number over a period of three decades all of which were successful at the box-office with the exception of one film titled “Third Class” in 1988.[4]

In 1991, Soad made her last film “The Shepherd and the Women” (in Arabic: Al Ra'i We El Nissa) which was directed by her ex-husband Ali Badrkhan [2][19] and thus retired from filming at the age of 48 years.

Soad Hosni is one of the most popular actresses in the history of Egyptian cinema. Film director Mohammad Khan wrote “She's a better actress than Marilyn Monroe, I think “.[20]

Films

Soad Hosni starred 83 films as listed below under Filmograph, the following short list is among the most famous of her works [4][21] ,

• 1960 Girls and Summer (story Ihsan Abdel-Quddous; co-star Abdel-Halim Hafiz).

• 1966 Cairo 1930 (Naguib Mahfouz's novel, co-star Ahmed Mazhar).

• 1966 Too Young for Love (co- star Rushdi Abaza).

• 1967 Marriage Modern Style (co- star Hassan Youssef).

• 1967 The Second Wife (co- star Shukri Sarhan) .

• 1969 Some suffering (co- stars Yehia Shahin and Hassan Youssef).

• 1970 Lost Love (story Taha Hussein;co-stars Rushdi Abaza and Zebida Tharwat).

• 1971 The Choice (co-star Ezzat El-Alayli).

• 1972 Watch out for Zouzou (co-star Hussein Fahmi).

• 1974 Where's My Mind? (Story Ihsan Abdel-Quddous; co-star Rushdi Abaza).

• 1975 Al-Karnack (Naguib Mahfouz's novel; co-star Nour El-Sherif).

• 1981 A Dinner Date (co- star Ahmed Zaki).

• 1983 Love in the Prison Cell (co- star Adel Imam).

• 1986 The Hunger (Naguib Mahfouz's novel; co- star Mahmoud Abdel-Aziz).

Awards

Soad was honoured and given prizes many times;[4]

• 1968 Ministry of Culture Special Prize for her role in her 1967 film “The Second Wife”.

• 1971 Best Actress, First National Conference for the 1970 film “Sunset and Sunrise”.

• 1975 Best Actress, Film Society, for the 1974 film “Where’s My Mind?”.

• 1977 Film Society Second Conference for the 1975 film “Al-Karnack”.

• 1979 President Sadat awarded her Recognition Certificate for her distinguished role in the Arts.

Character and Popularity

On Soad’s real-life character, her eldest half-brother Ezzidin Hosni described her as “truthful, clear, frank and loves wellbeing to all others especially those who are close to her” and that “her wealth was for others and not for herself” in reference to her generosity.[7] Egyptian actress Lubna Abdel Aziz (born 1935) wrote “It was more than her films that entranced and enraptured. Her beauty, as striking as it was dazzling, still had a soothing and personal quality, neither haughty nor forbidding. It exuded a sense of familiarity and accessibility ….Though illiterate until her twenties; she walked with princes and sat with kings. Her special magic that charmed intellectuals, philosophers, writers, was the very same magic that charmed the labourer, the farmer, the hired hand. She was everyone's star.“ [22]

Soad’s amazing popularity with millions of people across the Arab World has been and still is wide, varied and also covered the un-expected: here is a recent (in 2013; a dozen years after her passing-away) news-line: “An Iraqi woman asked her husband to divorce her after he insisted on naming his new-born daughter Soad, after famous Egyptian actress Soad Hosni. The wife was shocked that her husband collected pictures of the late actress, and was really jealous. Their families tried to convince her and change her mind, but there was no use”! [23]

Soad Hosni was known for her glowing smile and irrepressible joie de vivre.[24][25]

Marriages

Soad was married five times to [1][4] ,[26]

1. Singer Abdel-Halim Hafiz ( for 6 years, in early 1960s).

2. Cinematographer Salah Kurayem (for about 1 year, around 1968).

3. Film Director Ali Badrkhan (for 11 years from 1970 to 1981).

4. Film Director Zaki Fateen Abdul Wahab (for few months, in 1981).

5. Screenwriter Maher Awad (from 1987 till her death in 2001).

Her first marriage (to Abdel –Halim Hafiz) was at first rumoured, but music composure Kamadl Al-Taweel and writer Mohammad Fawzi confirmed it [4] so did her half-sister Janja [27] and her London dentist in TV interviews (available on YouTube). Also, Egyptian Al Ahram-online reported (in 2001) that in 1993 Soad gave an interview published in “Sabbah El-Kheir” magazine in which she said she had been secretly married to Halim for six years. Halim, at the time was 15 years older than her. He died in 1977 at the age of 48.[6]

On Soad’s third marriage, Safynaz Kazem wrote in Al Ahram newspaper “Never had she appeared happier than during her relationship with Badrkhan. She enjoyed a simple lifestyle, far from the hullabaloo that usually surrounds movie stars and celebrities. She seemed to be in her element, quiet and composed amid the writers, poets and militant students that formed Badrkhan's social circle“.[16]

Soad had no children; she was reported as saying "How could I have children when I am myself a child," in one of the rare interviews she gave in the early 1990s.[6] Nevertheless, she wanted to be a mother as she had miscarriages when she was married to Ali Badrkhan. The Saudi Gazette reported that Soad’s sister, Janja, explained Soad got pregnant twice from her husband Ali Badrkhan but miscarried because of working herself too hard. She (Janja) said: “My sister loved children very much and wished to have her own child; her hobby was to buy children’s clothes and give them out as gifts.”.[27][28]

Death

Image of Stewart Tower

In 2001, it was reported Soad Hosni died after throwing herself from balcony at Stuart Tower in London on June 21, 2001.[29] This proposition was not readily accepted by some members of her family, Soad's close associates and several media outlets (several interviews and chat shows on this subject are available on YouTube); briefly

Soad Hosni came to London in 1997 to undergo treatment for back problems.[17] Her last days in London were filled with loneliness and sorrow as she battled her disease in exile. She expressed faith, however, that she would get better and resume her acting career, which is one of the reasons why many do not believe she committed suicide. In 2011, Al Aram newspaper, reported that according to some accounts, eyewitnesses claim that falling out of the window was not the cause of her death and neighbours heard shouting before the incident.[1]

In 2012, a formal legal complaint was lodged by Soad’s half-sister, Janja, who alleged that top Egyptian government officials had been behind Soad’s death. A year later, on 24 March 2013, the Judge announced the suspension of investigations into the 2001 death of Soad Hosni. He ruled that there was insufficient evidence to implicate former regime figures.[17]

Her funeral in Cairo was attended by some 10,000 people.[30] Soad had no children and left as her widower, her last husband, writer Maher Awad, whom she married in 1987 (as mentioned above).

Latest

In 2013, Lebanese filmmaker Rania Stephan used snippets from Soad Hosny’s films to re-tell the story of the cinematic icon and the history of Egyptian cinema in 'The Three Disappearances of Soad Hosny’. It was featured in Berlin’s Art Week.[31]

In 2015, Soad’s half-sister Najat Al Saghira refused substantial monetary offers from TV channels for her participation in TV series proposal on Soad Hosni.[32]

Soad Hosni's Filmography

Soad Hosni starred 83 films as listed below,[21]

1959

1960

1961

1962

1963

1964

1965

1966

1967

1968

1969

1970

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1978

1979

1981

1982

1983

1986

1988

1991

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 , “Remembering the 'Cinderella' of the Egyptian screen”, by Menna Taher, Tuesday 21 Jun 2011
  2. 1 2 , Egyptian screen star dies, June 22, 2001
  3. 1 2 3 Mayad Beloun. Profile, Alsharq Al Awsat (newspaper), (August 3, 2001), No. 8284.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 , Al Sharq Al Awsat, No. 8243, 23 June 2001, Arabic Article on the news of Soad Hosni death
  5. ↑ Al-Ahram Weekly Online, 28 June - 4 July 2001, Issue No.540 (Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM, established in 1875)
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 , Al-Ahram Weekly Online, 28 June - 4 July 2001, Issue No.540, “Before the public gaze” by Mona Anis
  7. 1 2 , Arabic Al Ahram newspaper, “Interview with brother of Najat Al Saghira and Soad Hosni: I taught singing to Najat”, by Ahmad Al Samahi, 06 December 2012, No.46021
  8. ↑ , Al-Etihad newspaper, UAE, Obituary of Ezz- Eldin Hosni (brother of Najat Al Saghira and Soad Hosni)
  9. ↑ , najatalsaghira.wordpress.com; accessed July 4, 2015.
  10. ↑ Ahmad Al Samehi. Profile, Al Ahram, December 6, 2012, Issue No. 46021: "Brother of Najat Al Saghira and Soad Hosni: I taught singing to Najat"; accessed July 4, 2015. (in Arabic)
  11. ↑ "Mohammad Hosni the calligrapher", citytalks.co.uk, June 24, 2015; accessed July 10, 2015.
  12. ↑ , English Article titled “Who is Najat Al Saghira? “, 2015, Accessed 2015/08/28.
  13. ↑ Arabic and English Article on Najat Al Saghira’s impact on some of Baghdad’s Sixties inhabitants!
  14. ↑ , Artcle on Soad Hosni
  15. ↑ , najatalsaghira.wordpress.com; accessed July 4, 2015.
  16. 1 2 , “Sister to the moon “, by Safynaz Kazem,, Al Ahram Weekly Online, 28 June -04 July 2001, Issue 540
  17. 1 2 3 4 , Al Jazeera, Arabic newspaper, 25 June 2001
  18. ↑ , State information web site, accessed 19 August 2015
  19. ↑ Hosni's Filmography, Al-Ahram Weekly Online, 28 June - 4 July 2001, Issue No.540
  20. ↑ , “In the present tense” by Mohammad Khan, Al Ahram Weekly Online, 28 June – 04 July 2001, Issue 540
  21. 1 2 , Soad Hosni's Filmography, Al-Ahram Weekly Online, 28 June - 4 July 2001, Issue No.540
  22. ↑ “She was a phantom of delight“, by Lubna Abdel Aziz, Al Ahram Weekly Online, 28 June -04 July 2001, Issue 540
  23. ↑ , Web site of “Arabic Weddings”, “Couple divorce because of Soad Hosny”, 01 September 2013, accessed on 19 August 2015
  24. ↑ , Last Journey, Al-Ahram Weekly Online, 28 June-04 July 2001, Issue No.540
  25. ↑ , English Article titled “Soad Hosni“, 2015, Accessed 2015/08/28.
  26. ↑ Al Arabiya (Arabic TV channel, Dubai); "Husbands of screen Cinderella ..."; accessed July 10, 2015
  27. 1 2 , “Soad’s marriage to Abdel Halim was official: Sister”, 21 August 2015
  28. ↑ , Soad Hosny, 02-10-2009 08:10 AM, accessed on 20-08-2015
  29. ↑ "Egyptians mourn screen Cinderella", bbc.co.uk, June 28, 2001.
  30. ↑ Soad Hosni funeral coverage, albayan.ae, June 29, 2001.
  31. ↑ ,“Cinderella story of Egyptian cinema told through film on Soad Hosny”, by Rowan El Shimi from Berlin, Wednesday 25 Sep 2013
  32. ↑ , Al Messa, 111-115 Rameses Street, Cairo, Egypt – PO Box 11511, Tel 25783333, e-Mail: infp@almessa.net.eg, Arabic Article (Najat Al Saghira refuse to trading her family), by Zaki Mustafa, 1/20/2015 11:41:56 AM, Accessed 21 August 2015
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