Lady of Arab Theatre Samiha Ayoub dies at 93 - Stage & Street - Arts & Culture

Al-Ahram Weekly

03-06-2025

Egypt's iconic actress Samiha Ayoub, dubbed Lady of Arab Theatre, died in her apartment in Cairo's Zamalek district on Tuesday morning at the age of 93.
Ayoub was born in Cairo's Shoubra district on 8 March 1932 and enjoyed the longest artistic career in Arab cinema's history for a female actress.
She studied at the Nuns' School in Cairo. When she was still very young, she made her debut in the role of Mary Magdalene in the 1938 film The Life and Passion of the Lord Christ. The film starred Ahmed Allam, Aziza Helmy, Kamal Hussein, and Tawfik Al-Daqn.
Then, she joined the Zaki Tulaimat Troupe, and her first performance was in a play, In the Service of the Queen.
Tulaimat, an Egyptian actor and director, is one of the Egyptian theatre's pioneers. He founded the School of Theatre and the Institute of Dramatic Arts in Cairo and played a fundamental role in the young actress's formative years.
One of Ayoub's early breakthroughs came in Al-Motasharida (The Homeless, 1947), a film directed by Mohamed Abdel-Gawad and starring Hikmat Fahmy, Mohsen Sarhan, Siraj Mounir, and Mary Munib.
Encouraged by Tulaimat, Ayoub joined the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in 1949, where he continued to mentor her alongside other renowned Egyptian artists.
Throughout her career, Ayoub collaborated with the most renowned directors and participated in over 170 theatrical productions. This was topped by dozens of roles in radio, television series, and films.
Ayoub was among the first Egyptian female artists to venture into the directing field in the 1970s. She has directed four theatre plays and co-produced a few plays and films.
In the Egyptian theatre, film, radio, and television, she created dozens of iconic characters, acting in works such as Al-Bakheel (The Miser), Kobry Al-Namoos (Mosquito Bridge), and Sikkat Al-Salama (The Right Way).
Several films starring Ayoub, such as The Monster (1954), appear on lists enumerating the 100 best Egyptian films of all time.
Her most recent roles include those in the television series El-Tawoos (2021), Agaza Maftouha (2021), Sukkar Zeyada (2020), and Awraq El Toot (2015); the films Teta Rahiba (2012), Al-Leila Al-Kebira (2015), Sanaa's Tale, a 2016 documentary; and a number of theatre plays, including Almaz and Si Abdo (2021).
She continued to be active until her final years. In 2021, Ayoub was honoured at the Sharm El-Sheikh Theatre Festival for Youth and remained honorary president throughout the following years.
Ayoub repeatedly expressed her love for acting during this festival.
'Deep inside of me is this very humble person who feels she has not done much. When standing on stage, I find my strength; it is in front of the audience that I am alive; the presence of the audience allows me to create the true character that I portray,' she said during one of the symposiums in 2021.
The 17th edition of Egypt's National Theatre Festival (2024) carried the actress's name and honoured her.
Ayoub was also director of the Modern Theatre (1972-1975) and headed the National Theatre twice, between 1975 and 1989.
She received numerous national and international awards, including the Republic Medal of the First Class for Art from President Gamal Abdel-Nasser (1966), the Knight Medal from French President Giscard d'Estaing (1977), and a Certificate of Appreciation from President Anwar El-Sadat (1979).
In 2015, she received the Nile Award in the Arts, the highest prize of the State Awards granted to people who have made a significant contribution to the arts. The same year, the large hall in the National Theatre was named after her.
A year later, the Writers and Critics Association released The Charming Woman: A Vocation of Creativity, a new book celebrating Ayoub's life. Journalist Sayed Mahmoud wrote the book.
According to the media, Ayoub was married four times, and all her husbands came from the artistic community. Her longest-lasting marriage was 30 years to playwright Saad El-Din Wahba, until he died in 1997.
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