Iconic Egyptian actress Amal Farid died in a hospital in Cairo on Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n
Farid was born on 12 February 1938 in Cairo’s Abbassiya district, and was a graduate of sociology.<\/p>\n
Farid\u2019s career was launched at the hands of Baba Sharo (Mohamed Mahmoud Shaaban) in the early 1950s, when she was hired to work on his children’s radio show.<\/p>\n
Farid tried her luck in acting through a competition organised by Al-Geel (The Generation) magazine in the early 1950s.<\/p>\n
She was recommended by writers Mostafa Amin and Anis Mansour to appear in her first movie Mawed Maa El-Saada (A Date with Happiness), with mega star Faten Hamama in 1954.<\/p>\n
This was followed by many iconic roles in cinema alongside huge names including Abdel-Halim Hafez and Ahmed Ramzi.<\/p>\n
Over her nearly two-decade career, Farid appeared in over 30 films including Layali El-Hob with Abdel-Halim. Her role was that of a romantic aristocratic girl, which fit her beautiful features and style.<\/p>\n
The starlets for whom Abdel-Halim sang in movies were very few. Amal was among them, however, and she was envied by almost every girl in the Arab world for decades after Abdel-Halim sang Kefaya Norak Alaya in the film, where he and Farid danced in an iconic romantic scene.<\/p>\n
Farid said in interviews that it was Abdel-Halim who asked for her by name to star alongside him in the movie.<\/p>\n
Farid, who was known for her elegant and convincing acting style, worked most frequently alongside Ahmed Ramzy and the famous comedian Ismail Yassin.<\/p>\n
She was fortunate to find directors who were able to utilise her talent in various roles. Such directors include Fateen Abdel-Wahab, Salah Abou Seif, Kamal El-Sheikh and Hussein Helmy El-Mohandes.<\/p>\n
Farid was not always the main starlet in movies, but her presence was always felt and she always made her mark with her convincing performance.<\/p>\n
Director Henry Barakat brought Farid out of the pure girl role in Banat El-Yom, where she embodied the personality of a spoiled, selfish girl. In the film, she provokes the hatred of the audience when she tries to spoil her sister’s love affair a nobleman played by Abdel-Halim, whom she accuses of trying to rape her out of jealousy.<\/p>\n
The role was a surprise when the movie came out in 1957, but critics appreciated her performance and recognised the talented, capable and credible actress.<\/p>\n
Farid\u2019s filmography includes Banat El-Yom (1957), Seraa Maal Hayat (1957), Min Agl Emraa (1959), Ismail Yassin Fil Tayaran (1959), Banat Bahri (1961), Zekrayat El-Talmaza (1965), and Geziret El-Oshak (1968).<\/p>\n
Farid gave up on her acting career in the late 1960s and moved to live with her husband in Moscow.\u00a0She returned to Egypt a decade later and received a number of smaller roles, but her film career never picked up with the same strength.<\/p>\n
Farid spent her final years in a home for the elderly in Cairo, and went through surgery earlier this year. Despite a reported improvement in health, her condition began to deteriorate over the past weeks and she passed away early on Tuesday in a Cairo hospital.<\/p>\n
ahramonline<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Iconic Egyptian actress Amal Farid died in a hospital in Cairo on Tuesday morning. Farid was born on 12 February 1938 in Cairo’s Abbassiya district, and was a graduate of sociology. Farid\u2019s career was launched at the hands of Baba Sharo (Mohamed Mahmoud Shaaban) in the early 1950s, when she was hired to work on […]<\/p>\n