Soad Hosny

Suad Husni

Suad Husni

Suad Mohammad Husni El-Baba (or Souad Hosni or Soad Hosny) (Arabic:سعاد محمد حسني البابا) (January 26, 1942, in Ataba, Cairo, Egypt – June 22, 2001 in London) was an Egyptian actress. She was the 10th sibling from 17 brothers and sisters.

Husni was known as the "Cinderella" of Arab cinema and one of the most influential actresses in the Arabic art world. She ascended to stardom in 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.

She was shot and killed by her friend in 2001 in her friend's flat in London. Husni had sought treatment in the UK after sustaining a spinal fracture which had forced her to leave Egypt. Unfortunately in 2001 she was found on the ground, she had been shot three times, in the arm, head, and neck, the headshot killing her instantly, and then thrown over the balcony, presumably by her friend.

Her final screen appearance was in the 1991 film The Shepherd and the Women, directed by her ex-husband Ali Badrakhan.

Career

File:Soad Hosni.jpg

Suad Husni in her Glamour

Husni started her career at a very young age, through singing Okht El Qamar (Sister of the Moon) in the famous radio children program Baba Sharo.

A family friend, Abd ElRahman ElKhamissy (a writer / director) whom discovered her acting talent and asked an Arabic language teacher at the time to give her singing lessons.

Abd ElRahman was screening for the film ‘Hassan We Na’ima’, and wanted to present Hosny as his new discovery in the role of Na’ima. The film was produced and directed by Henry Barakat.

Family

Her final screen appearance was in a 1991 film directed by her ex-husband, Ali Badrakhan.

Notable family members

• Father: Muhammad Husni - Arabic calligrapher
• Half sister: Najat Al Saghira - Egyptian singer
• Brother: Ezz Eldin Hosny - music composer
• Uncle: Anwar El-Baba - comedian actor

Marriages

Husni was married for twelve years marriage to the film director Ali Badrakhan whom she became pregnant from and, shortly after, miscarried. She later married Zaki Fateen Abdel Wahab, the son of Fateen Abdel Wahab (film director) and Leila Mourad. It was rumored that Husni's first marriage was to the famous singer Abdel Halim Hafez and that the reason it was kept secret was due to Halim's fear that his female fans might detest the idea, and so it was decided it was best for him to appear a bachelor.

Death

Husni was shot and killed in London, England in 2001. This occurred after she had suffered severely from an unknown illness for five years. Husni had sought treatment in the UK after sustaining a spinal fracture which had forced her to leave Egypt. Unfortunately, in 2001, she was found on the sidewalk below the building in which she was living; she had been shot and killed presumably by her friend and then thrown over the balcony to make the death look like a suicide. British courts could not decide whether it had been a suicide or murder though, although in 2002 British courts ruled it a suicide despite substantial evidence claiming murder, including three gunshot wounds, shots to the arm and neck, and a fatal shot to the head.

File:Soad naima.jpg

Suad Husni as Na'ima in Hassan wa Na'ima, her cinematic debut

• Hassan wa Na'ima (Hassan and Na’ima) (1959).
• Esha'a hob (Rumor of Love) (1960).
• Banat waal saif, El (The Girls and the Summer) (1960).
• He talata (H-3) (1961).
• Aaz el habaieb (I Want Love) (1961).
• Ghosn el zeitoun (The Olive Branch) (1962).
• Dow el khafet, El (The Dim Light) (1962).
• Mawed fil borj (Meeting at the Tower) (1963).
• Al-sahera al-saghira (The Little Sorceress) (1963).
• Morahekan, El (The Two Young Men) (1964).
• Garima el dahika, El (The Funny Crime) (1964).
• Awwal hob (First Love) (1964).
• Ariss yassel ghadan, El (The Bridegroom Arrives Tomorrow) (1964).
• Tareek, al- (The Road) (1964).
• Gharamiyat Imraa (A Woman's Affairs) (1966).
• Shakket el talaba (Students' Apartment) (1966).
• Chakawet rejala (The Awful Men) (1966).
• Lailat el zafaf (The Wedding Night) (1966).
• Al-Kahira thalatheen (Cairo 1930) (1966).
• Saghira ala elhob (Too Young to Love) (1966).
• Shabab magnoun geddan (Very Crazy Youth) (1967).
• Lekaa el tani, El (The Second Meeting) (1967).
• Zawja al-thaniya, al- (The Second Wife) (1967).
• Zawag alla tarika el-hadissa (Marriage a la moderne) (1968).
• Sit el-nazra, El- (The Headmistress) (1968).

• Nil wal-Hayat, al- (The People of the Nile) (1968).
• Baba ayez keda (Daddy Wants it That Way) (1968).
• Ikhtiyar, al- (The Choice) (1970).
• Al-hob al-dayi (Lost Love) (1970).
• Zawgati wal-kalb (My Wife and the Dog) (1971).
• Khalli Balak min Zouzou (Watch out for Zouzou) (1972).
• Ghurabaa (Strangers) (1973).
• Amira hobi ana (My Love Amira) (1974).
• Ala min notliq al-rasas (Whom Should We Shoot?) (1975).
• Al-Karnak (The Karnak Cafe) (1975).
• Chafika wa Metwalli (Chafika and Metwalli) (1979).
• Maowid ala ashaa (A Dinner Date) (1981).
• Al -Mashbouh (The Suspect) (1984).
• Howa wa Heya (Him and Her) (TV series with Ahmed Zaki).
• Al-Ra'i wal Nisaa (The Shepherd and the Women) (1991).

External links

• Suad Husni at IMDb
• Official website (Arabic)
• Egyptian screen star dies - BBC News
• Egyptians mourn screen Cinderella - BBC News

See Also

• List of murdered people