Emad El-Din Mohamed Abdel Mena'em Fayed (; arz, عماد الدين محمد عبد المنعم الفايد, ʿImād ed-Dīn Muḥammad ʿAbd el-Munʿim el-Fāyid , 17 April 1955 – 31 August 1997), better known as Dodi Fayed ( ar, دودى الفايد ), was an Egyptian film producer and the son of billionaire
Mohamed Al Fayed
Mohamed Al-Fayed (; arz, محمد الفايد ; born 27 January 1929) is an Egyptian-born businessman whose residence and chief business interests have been in the United Kingdom since the late 1960s. His business interests include ownership of ...
. He was the romantic partner of
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...
, when they both
were killed in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997.
Early life and education
Fayed was born in
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
and was the eldest son of Egyptian billionaire
Mohamed Al Fayed
Mohamed Al-Fayed (; arz, محمد الفايد ; born 27 January 1929) is an Egyptian-born businessman whose residence and chief business interests have been in the United Kingdom since the late 1960s. His business interests include ownership of ...
, the former owner of
Harrods
Harrods Limited is a department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It is currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. The Harrods brand also applies to other ...
department store. He was the half-brother of Omar Fayed, Camilla, Karim, and Jasmine Fayed. Dodi's father was also the former owner of
Fulham Football Club
Fulham Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, London, which compete in the . They have played home games at Craven Cottage since 1896, other than a two-year period spent at Loftus Road whilst Craven Cottage un ...
and the
Hôtel Ritz Paris
The Ritz Paris is a hotel in central Paris, overlooking the Place Vendôme in the city's 1st arrondissement. A member of the Leading Hotels of the World marketing group, the Ritz Paris is ranked among the most luxurious hotels in the world.
T ...
.
Dodi's mother was Saudi Arabian author
Samira Khashoggi
Samira (also spelled Samirah, Sameera, and Sameerah /sæˈmiːrə/, ar, سميرة is an Arabic female given name. It is derived from the root s-m-r ('to spend the night in talking'), ultimately meaning ''night-companion'', ''entertaining compani ...
,
the daughter of
Muhammad Khashoggi
Muhammad Khaled Khashoggi ( ar, محمد خالد خاشقچي) (1889–1978), also spelled as Mohamed Khaled Khashoggi, was a Saudi medical doctor. He was King Abdulaziz Al Saud's personal doctor.
Personal life
Khashoggi's remote Turkish ancest ...
and sister of Saudi billionaire arms dealer
Adnan Khashoggi
Adnan Khashoggi ( ar, عدنان خاشقجي, ‘Adnān Khāshuqjī; 25 July 1935 – 6 June 2017) was a Saudi businessman and arms dealer known for his lavish business deals and lifestyle. He was estimated to have had a peak net worth ...
.
Fayed was a student at
Collège Saint Marc
In France, secondary education is in two stages:
* ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15.
* ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...
before attending the
Institut Le Rosey
Institut Le Rosey (), commonly referred to as Le Rosey or simply Rosey, is a private boarding school in Rolle, Switzerland. Founded in 1880 by Paul-Émile Carnal on the site of the 14th-century Château du Rosey in the town of Rolle in the canto ...
in Switzerland.
He also briefly attended
Sandhurst.
After completing his education, he was an
attaché
In diplomacy, an attaché is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified accor ...
at the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
Embassy in London.
He was the
first cousin
Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, " ...
of the late ''
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' Saudi journalist
Jamal Khashoggi
Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi (; ar, جمال أحمد خاشقجي, Jamāl ʾAḥmad Ḵāšuqjī, ; 13 October 1958 – 2 October 2018) was a Saudi journalist, dissident, author, columnist for ''Middle East Eye'' and ''The Washington Post'', and a ge ...
, who was
assassinated
Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...
in the Saudi Arabian consulate in
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
, Turkey, in 2018.
Film production
Through his family's production company,
Allied Stars
Allied Stars Ltd is a film production company created by Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed in 1979.
The company was formed as a subsidiary of United Star Shipping, part of the Fayed group. Al-Fayed appointed his son, Dodi Fayed as the chief ...
, Fayed was an executive producer of the films ''
Chariots of Fire
''Chariots of Fire'' is a 1981 British historical sports drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland and produced by David Puttnam. It is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a de ...
'', ''
Breaking Glass'', ''
F/X'', ''
F/X2
''F/X2'' (also known as ''F/X2: The Deadly Art of Illusion'') is a 1991 American action thriller film directed by Richard Franklin and starring Bryan Brown and Brian Dennehy. It is a sequel to the 1986 film '' F/X''. This was Franklin's final A ...
'', ''
Hook
A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...
'', and ''
The Scarlet Letter
''The Scarlet Letter: A Romance'' is a work of historical fiction
Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym ...
,'' and an executive creative consultant for ''
F/X: The Series''. He also worked for his father on Harrods' marketing.
["Obituary: Dodi Fayed"]
. Independent.co.uk, 1 September 1997.
Personal life
In 1986, Fayed married model Suzanne Gregard. They divorced eight months later.
In July 1997, Fayed became romantically involved with
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...
. Earlier that summer, he was engaged to an American model, Kelly Fisher, and bought a house in
Malibu, California
Malibu ( ; es, Malibú; Chumash: ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, situated about west of Downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate and its strip of the Malibu ...
, for himself and Fisher with money from his father.
[ (]HighBeam Research
HighBeam Research was a paid search engine and full text online archive owned by Gale, a subsidiary of Cengage, for thousands of newspapers, magazines, academic journals, newswires, trade magazines, and encyclopedias in English. It was headquar ...
subscription required) Fisher subsequently said Fayed jilted her for Diana and announced that she was filing a breach of contract suit against him, saying he had "led her emotionally all the way up to the altar and abandoned her when they were almost there," and that he "threw her love away in a callous way with no regard for her whatsoever".
She dropped the lawsuit shortly after Fayed's death.
Death
![112407-Harrods-DiannaDodiMemorial1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/112407-Harrods-DiannaDodiMemorial1.jpg)
In the early hours of 31 August 1997, Diana and Fayed were
killed in a car crash in the
Pont de l'Alma
The Pont de l'Alma ( en, Alma Bridge) is a road bridge in Paris, France, across the Seine. It was named to commemorate the Battle of Alma during the Crimean War, in which the Ottoman-Franco-British alliance achieved victory over the Russian army ...
underpass in Paris. They had stopped in Paris ''en route'' to London after spending nine days on holiday in the
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
and
Italian Riviera
The Italian Riviera or Ligurian Riviera ( it, Riviera ligure; lij, Rivêa lìgure) is the narrow coastal strip in Italy which lies between the Ligurian Sea and the mountain chain formed by the Maritime Alps and the Apennines. Longitudinall ...
s aboard his family's yacht, the ''Jonikal''. Neither was wearing a
seat belt
A seat belt (also known as a safety belt, or spelled seatbelt) is a vehicle safety device designed to secure the driver or a passenger of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result during a collision or a sudden stop. A seat belt reduc ...
.
The only survivor of the crash was bodyguard
Trevor Rees-Jones, who was seriously injured but remained conscious. Fayed was pronounced dead at the scene on his removal from the wreckage.
Investigations by French and British police concluded that their
chauffeur
A chauffeur is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or limousine.
Originally, such drivers were often personal employees of the vehicle owner, but this has changed to speciali ...
,
Henri Paul
In the early hours of 31 August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales died from injuries sustained earlier that day in a car crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris, France. Dodi Fayed, Diana's partner, and Henri Paul, their chauffeur, were found ...
, was
driving under the influence
Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...
of alcohol and prescription drugs;
paparazzi
Paparazzi (, ; ; singular: masculine paparazzo or feminine paparazza) are independent photographers who take pictures of high-profile people; such as actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, and other celebrities, typically while subjects ...
chasing the couple are also believed to have contributed to the accident. Fayed's father,
Mohamed Al-Fayed
Mohamed Al-Fayed (; arz, محمد الفايد ; born 27 January 1929) is an Egyptian-born businessman whose residence and chief business interests have been in the United Kingdom since the late 1960s. His business interests include ownership of ...
, has said that the couple "were executed by
MI6
The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...
agents". Fayed's former spokesman,
Michael Cole, has said that the couple became engaged before their deaths.
Fayed was originally interred in
Brookwood Cemetery
Brookwood Cemetery, also known as the London Necropolis, is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. The cemetery is listed a Grade I site in the Regist ...
near
Woking
Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...
,
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
, but was re-interred on the grounds of the Fayed
estate in
Oxted
Oxted is a town and civil parish in the Tandridge district of Surrey, England, at the foot of the North Downs. It is south south-east of Croydon in Greater London, west of Sevenoaks in Kent, and north of East Grinstead in West Sussex.
Oxte ...
, Surrey in October 1997.
Legacy
![112407-Harrods-DiannaDodiMemorial2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/112407-Harrods-DiannaDodiMemorial2.jpg)
Fayed's father erected two memorials to his son and Diana at
Harrods
Harrods Limited is a department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It is currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. The Harrods brand also applies to other ...
. The first, unveiled on 12 April 1998, consists of photos of them behind a pyramid-shaped display containing a wine glass still smudged with lipstick from Diana's final dinner, and a ring Fayed purchased the day before they died. The second, unveiled in 2005 and titled ''
Innocent Victims
''Innocent Victims'' is a copper statue of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed, which was on display at the Harrods department store in London, England, between 2005 and 2018. It was commissioned by Dodi's father Mohamed Al-Fayed when h ...
'', is a 3-metre (10') high bronze statue of the two dancing on a beach, beneath the wings of an albatross.
[Harrods unveils Diana, Dodi statue]
, CNN, 1 September 2005.
The memorials were designed by 80-year-old Bill Mitchell, a close friend of Dodi's father and architect for Harrods for more than 40 years.
Princes lead Diana remembrance
BBC In January 2018, it was announced that the statue would be returned to the Al-Fayed family.
See also
* Operation Paget
Operation Paget was the British Metropolitan Police inquiry established in 2004 to investigate the conspiracy theories about the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in a car crash in Paris in 1997. The inquiry's first report with the findings of t ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fayed, Dodi
1955 births
1997 deaths
People from Alexandria
Egyptian film producers
El Fayed family
Egyptian diplomats
Egyptian expatriates in the United Kingdom
20th-century Egyptian businesspeople
Egyptian businesspeople
English people of Egyptian descent
Egyptian Muslims
Egyptian emigrants to England
Collège Saint Marc, Alexandria alumni
Egyptian people of Saudi Arabian descent
Khashoggi family
Alumni of Institut Le Rosey
Harrods
Road incident deaths in France
Diana, Princess of Wales
Male lovers of royalty