Sanaa Gamil

She was an orphan, thrown out by her elder brother from their home on a cold night for his refusal of allowing his sister to enter the movie business.

She endured much before entering the world of professional acting, but was exceptional and endowed with an individual style in performance, regardless of the nature of the characters she personified.

[4] She sought refuge with director Zaki Tulaimat, who helped her live in a student hostel and included her in the “Modern Theater” troupe.

[5] Sanaa Gamil started her career on stage, afterwards, she was cast in her early career in minor roles in a couple of successful films, such as Lady of the Train (1952) starring Laila Mourad and directed by Youssef Chahine, Ask My Heart (1952) by Ezz El-Dine Zulficar, A Window Overlooking Paradise (1953) by Ahmed Diaa Eddine, Shame on You (1953) directed by Essa Karama, starring Ismail Yassine, and April’s Fool (1954) by Mohamed Abdel-Gawad.

[6] Her real breakthrough came when she was cast for the role of Nefisah opposite Omar Sharif in The Beginning and the End (1960) directed by Salah Abouseif.

[7][8] After her breakthrough in 1960, she starred in a number of highly successful productions such as: The Impossible (1965) by Hussein Kamal, The Second Wife (1967) by Salah Abu Seif, The Message (1976), The Unknown (1984), La Dame du Caire (1992), Edhak El Soora Tetla Helwa (1998) directed by Sherif Arafa.

[9] In Egypt, her notable theatrical roles include; The Cactus Flower (1967), Carte Blanch (1970), and Cabaret (1974), and in a number of plays in the 1980s such as The Visit (El-Zeyara) with Gamil Ratib.

[17] She was transferred to intensive care in an hospital in the Mohandessin district, suffering from complete heart muscle weakness, failure of the right lung function.

Sanaa Gamil in 1968