Nelly Karim facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nelly Karim
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Nelly Karim
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| Born |
Nelly Mohamed El-Sayed Atallah
18 December 1974 |
| Occupation | Actress, model, ballerina |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Hani Abuelnaga
(m. 2004; div. 2015)Hisham Mohd Ashour
(m. 2021; div. 2024) |
| Children | 4 |
Nelly Karim (Arabic: نيللي كريم; born 18 December 1974) is an Egyptian actress, model, and former ballerina. She is famous for her strong performances in many Egyptian films and TV shows.
Contents
Early Life and Ballet Beginnings
Nelly Karim was born in Alexandria, Egypt, on December 18, 1974. Her mother was from Russia, and her father was from Egypt.
Nelly spent a lot of her childhood in Russia. She would visit Alexandria, Egypt, during her summer breaks. When she was 16, her family moved back to Egypt for good in 1991.
Nelly started dancing ballet when she was very young in Russia. She joined her first professional dance school there. She even performed at the famous Odessa Opera House.
When she returned to Egypt in 1991, she joined the Cairo Ballet Institute. She also became part of the Cairo Opera Ballet Company. In less than a year, she won the Cairo Ballet Competition.
Stepping into Acting
From Ballerina to TV Star
In 2000, Nelly was the main ballerina at the Cairo Opera. That year, she got a chance to appear on Fawazeer Ramadan. This was a very popular Egyptian TV show that featured dance routines.
Later that same year, Nelly got her first acting role. A very famous Egyptian actress named Faten Hamama saw Nelly on Fawazeer Ramadan. Hamama chose Nelly to play her daughter in the TV series, Wageh El Amar (Face of the Moon).
This TV series was very popular because Faten Hamama was returning to acting after seven years. The show won the Best Series award in 2001.
First Film Roles
In 2002, Nelly Karim got her first movie role in Youth on Air (Shabab Ala El Hawa). She acted alongside Hanan Tork, who was also a ballerina who became an actress.
Nelly got her first big break in a film directed by Youssef Chahine. He is one of Egypt's most celebrated filmmakers. In his 2004 film Alexandria... New York, Nelly played the role of Rita Hayworth. This movie was shown at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.
In 2004, Nelly played a ballerina in the movie You're My Life (Enta Omry). She won the Best Actress award at the Cairo International Film Festival for this role. That same year, she starred in Your Love's Fire (Hobak Nar). This was a musical story inspired by Romeo & Juliet.
Working with Favorite Directors
The 2009 film One-Zero (Wahed Sefr) was Nelly's first time working with director Kamla Abou Zekry and writer Mariam Naoum. Nelly considers them some of her favorite people to work with. The movie was well-liked by critics in Egypt and around the world.
One-Zero tells the story of eight different people in Cairo on the night before a big soccer match. Nelly played Riham, a young nurse. This film was special because the director, writer, camera person, and editor were all women. It won several awards, including a Special Award for Nelly.
Nelly said that during this time, she was slowly getting more into acting. She stopped dancing ballet professionally around 2012 to focus completely on acting.
Major Successes in the 2010s
Tackling Important Topics
In 2010, Nelly Karim starred in Cairo 678. This was the first movie by director Mohamed Diab. The film was very successful in Egypt and was shown in over 60 countries worldwide. Nelly won the Best Actress award for her role at the Arab Film Festival in 2011. The movie bravely talked about the issue of harassment that women face.
A Girl Named Zaat (2013) is one of Nelly's most popular TV series. It was her second time working with director Kamla Abou Zekry and writer Mariam Naoum. The series followed the life of a woman named Zaat (played by Nelly) from 1952 through the 2011 Egyptian uprising. It showed the challenges she faced as Egypt went through many political and social changes.
Nelly worked with Zekry and Naoum again in 2014 for Women’s Prison (Segn el Nesaa). This was another very popular series. Nelly said that filming this series was very emotional for her. She mentioned that one scene, where she had to kill a character, was the hardest of her career. Like One-Zero, this series also had an all-female crew.
In Free Fall (Soqot Horr) (2016), Nelly played a woman dealing with mental illness. Her character was accused of murdering her husband and sister. To prepare for the role, Nelly spent two months in a mental asylum. This helped her understand the character better.
International Recognition
In 2016, Nelly teamed up with Mohamed Diab again for the film Clash (Eshtebak). This movie was set inside a police truck filled with different people who had been arrested during protests. The tensions among the characters showed the real-life conflicts between different groups in Egypt. The film was highly praised at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. It was also Egypt's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards.
In September 2016, Nelly was a judge for the Horizons section at the 73rd Venice Film Festival. By 2019, Nelly had acted in 17 Egyptian films and 9 television series.
Recent Projects
Comedy and Upcoming Roles
In January 2024, a comedy series called Rose and Layla was released. In this show, Nelly Karim worked with actress Yousra for the first time. They played a pair of detectives who were not very good at their jobs.
In October 2024, it was announced that Nelly Karim will star with Ruby again. They had worked together before in Women's Prison. Their new series is being made for release in 2025 during Ramadan.
Personal Life
Nelly Karim became a mother at age 18. She has two sons from her first marriage. She married her second husband, Hani Abuelnaga, in 2004. They had two daughters together before divorcing in 2015. In August 2021, she married squash player Hisham Mohd Ashour. Their marriage ended in 2024. Nelly also has an older brother, Ashraf, who is a doctor living in the United States.
Filmography
Film
- (2001) Shabab Ala El Hawa (Youth on Air) as Sahar
- (2002) Horob Momya (Runaway Mummy) as Dalia
- (2004) Eskendreyya Nyu York (Alexandria... New York) as Carmen / Rita Haweri
- (2004) Hobbak Nar (Your Love Is Fire) as Salma (Juliet)
- (2004) Ghabi menno fih (Stupid From Him In Him) as Samia
- (2004) Enta Omri (You're My Life) as Shams
- (2005) Harb Italia (War of Italy) as Hana
- (2006) Fattah Enek (Open Your Eyes) as Yasmin
- (2006) Hatta Nehayet El Alam (To End Of The World) as Salma
- (2007) Ahlam El Fata El Tayesh (Rash Boy Dreams) as herself
- (2008) Ehna Et'abelna Abl Kedah? (Have We Met Before?) as Sarah
- (2009) Wahed -Sefr (One-Zero) as Riham
- (2010) 678 (678) as Seba
- (2010) Alzheimer (“Alzheimer's) as Mona the nurse
- (2010) El Ragel El Ghamed Be Salamtoh (Mysterious Man By His Wow) as Lamis
- (2014) El Fil El Azrq (The Blue Elephant)
- (2016) Eshtebak (Clash)
- (2017) Bashteri Ragel (I Buy A Man) as Shams
- (2019) El Fil El Azra' 2 (The Blue Elephant 2)
- (2020) Khat Dam (Blood Line) as Lamia
- (2021) El Thalathah 12 (Tuesday 12) as Mariam
- (2021) 30 Youm (30 Days)
Television
- (2000) Wagh El Amar (Face of the Moon)
- (2001) Hadith El Sabah W El Masa (Speech Of Morning And Evening)
- (2005) El amil 1001 (Agent 1001)
- (2009) Hedu nesbi (Relative Quietness)
- (2013) Zat (Zat) as Zat
- (2014) Segn El Nesa
- (2014) Saraya Abdin (Abdin Palace)
- (2015) That El Saytarah (Under Control)
- (2016) Soqot Horr (Free Fall)
- (2017) Le A'la Se'r (For Highest Price)
- (2018) Ekhtefa (Disappearance)
- (2020) Be Mit Wesh/Multifaceted
- (2021) Ded El Kasr (Against Breakup)
- (2022) El Gisser (The Bridge)
- (2022) Faten Amal Harbi (Faten Amal Harbi)
Awards and Recognitions
- Best Actress at the Cairo International Film Festival (2004, for Enta omry, You are my Life)
- Special Award at the Cairo National Festival for Egyptian Cinema (2010, for Wahed-Sefr, One Zero)
- Jury Grand Prize at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (2011, group award with Nahed El Sebaï and Bushra for 678)
- Best Actress at the Arab Film Festival (2012, for 678)
- Honourary award at the 37th Cairo International Film Festival (2015)
- Golden Tanit Award, the Carthage Film Festival (2021)
Images for kids
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Nelly Karim
See also
In Spanish: Nelly Karim para niños
