Fatima Rushdi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Fatima Rushdi
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| فاطمه رشدى | |
Fatima Rushdi in 1940s
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| Born | November 15, 1908 Alexandria, Egypt
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| Died | January 23, 1996 (aged 87) |
| Nationality | Egyptian |
| Other names | Queen of theatres Sarah Bernard of the East |
| Citizenship | Egypt |
| Occupation | Actress, film director |
Fatima Rushdi (born November 15, 1908 – died January 23, 1996) was a famous Egyptian actress, singer, film director, and producer. She was one of the first important people in the history of Egyptian cinema.
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Early Life and Beginnings
Fatima Rushdi was born in Alexandria, Egypt. When she was 14, she moved to Cairo because she wanted to become an actress. She didn't have any special training. She also only spoke Egyptian Arabic.
In 1926, she started her own theater group. They traveled all over North Africa. A theater director named Aziz Eid helped her a lot. He taught her how to read and write. People started calling her the "Sarah Bernhardt of the Orient." This was because she acted in many of the same famous roles as the French actress Sarah Bernhardt. For example, she played Mark Anthony in Julius Caesar.
Her Acting Career
In the late 1920s, Fatima Rushdi went on acting tours outside Egypt. She performed in cities like Beirut, Jaffa, Haifa, Latakia, and Baghdad. She also visited Tunisia and Algeria. Later, she even sailed to South America. There, she acted in cities like Santos, São Paolo, Rio de Janeiro, and Buenos Aires.
First Films and Directing
Her first movie role was in 1928. It was in a film called Faji`a Fawq Al-Haram by Ibrahim Lama. In 1933, she directed her first and only movie, al-Zawaj (which means The Marriage). This film was shown for the first time in Paris. No copies of this movie are known to exist today. In her book from 1970, she said she burned the finished film herself. In al-Zawaj, she played a woman forced into a sad marriage by her father. The character dies tragically at the end of the film.
She also acted in several movies made by Kamal Selim. One important film was The Will (al-`Azima) from 1939. This was a very realistic film. In it, she played a young working-class girl. She falls in love with the son of her neighbor. Her last time on screen was in 1955. She had a smaller role in the movie Da`uni A`ish / Let Me Live. This film was directed by Ahmed Diaa Eddine.
Later Contributions
In the 1960s, Fatima Rushdi and Hussien Pasha Ghannam hosted a special gathering. It was a salon for filmmakers and students. This took place at the Cairo Higher Institute for Drama Studies.
Later Life and Legacy
After acting in a few more movies with smaller roles, Fatima Rushdi stopped acting in the late 1960s. As she got older, she was not as famous. She also faced challenges with her health and money.
In her final days, she was living in a hotel room in downtown Cairo. An Egyptian newspaper called Al-Wafd wrote about her difficult situation. A famous actor named Farid Shawqi then helped her. He spoke with the government to get her health insurance and a proper home. She did get an apartment. However, she did not have much time to enjoy it. She died alone on January 23, 1996. She was 87 years old.
Fatima Rushdi left behind a huge legacy. She acted in more than 200 plays and 16 films. She lived a long life and worked with many great theater and movie stars of her time.
See also
- Egyptian cinema
- List of Egyptian films of the 1930s
- List of Egyptian films of the 1940s
