Suad Husni
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Suad Mohammad Husni El-Baba (or Souad Hosni or Soad Hosny) (Arabic:سعاد محمد حسني) (January 26, 1942, in Ataba, Cairo, Egypt – June 22, 2001 in London). She was the 10th sibling from 17 brothers and sisters from her father side.
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 committed suicide in 2001 at the age of 59 by throwing herself from the window of her closest friend's flat in London, England. She was under therapy for depression at the time, her death was under investigation and is still generally considered a suicide although some evidence does exist to suggest otherwise. Husni sought out treatment in the United Kingdom after sustaining a spinal fracture that forced her to leave Egypt. She died on Abdel Halim Hafez's birthday – one of the many people who influenced her on screen and in her real life. Rumours persist that the two were secretly married for years.
Her final screen appearance was in the 1991 film The Shepherd and the Women, directed by her ex-husband Ali Badrakhan.
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[edit] Career
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.
[edit] Family
Her final screen appearance was in a 1991 film directed by her ex-husband, Ali Badrakhan.
[edit] 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
[edit] 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.
[edit] Death
Husni died 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 fallen from the balcony of her apartment. Courts in England could not decide whether Husni had committed suicide or had been killed by her care-taker. In 2002, however, British courts decided that the cause of Husni's death had been a suicide although substantial evidence suggested she had been murdered when she was found.
[edit] Selected filmography
- Hassan wa Na'ima (Hassan and Na’ima) (1959).
- Esha'a hob (Rumour 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).
[edit] External links
- Suad Husni at the Internet Movie Database
- Official website (Arabic)
- Egyptian screen star dies - BBC News
- Egyptians mourn screen Cinderella - BBC News
