Soad Muhammad Kamal Hosny was an Egyptian actress. She was known as the "Cinderella of Egyptian cinema" and one of the most influential actresses in the Middle East and the Arab world. She 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 final screen appearance was in the 1991 film,The Shepherd and the Women, directed by her ex-husband Ali Badrakhan.
Soad Hosny in 1970
Soad Hosny with Salah Zulfikar in A Date at the Tower (1962)
Soad Hosny and Nour El-Sherif in People on the Top (1981)
Soad Hosny with Ali Badrakhan
The Egyptian film industry is today based mainly in Cairo, which is sometimes referred to as Hollywood on the Nile or Hollywood of the East, despite having its beginnings in the city of Alexandria in the early 20th century. A strong industry grew in Egypt with a high distribution rate among the Arab world, and Cairo produces around three-quarters of the Arab world's screen output. It has had a large effect on the African and Arab film industry since the early 20th century.
Bishara Wakim in Barsoum Looking for a Job (1923)
Aziza Amir in Laila (1927)
Publicity still for Sons of Aristocrats (1932), first Egyptian sound film
Publicity still for Yahya el hub (1938)