Fifi Abdou
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Fifi Abdou ( ar, فيفي عبده, , born Atiyat Abdul Fattah Ibrahim (), ; April 26, 1953) is an
Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
belly dance Belly dance (Egyptian Arabic: رقص بلدي, translated: Dance of the Country/Folk Dance, romanized: Raks/Raas Baladi) is a dance that originates in Egypt. It features movements of the hips and torso. It has evolved to take many different f ...
r and
actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...
. She has been described as "synonymous with belly dancing in the years she was performing."


Early life and career

Abdou was born as Atiyat Abdul Fattah Ibrahim'' in Cairo on April 26, 1953. Her father is a policeman and she has 11 siblings, including her brother Abdelraheem Abdul Fattah Ibrahim, who encouraged her career. When she was 12 years old she joined a
baladi Baladi ( ar, بلدي ' relative-adjective 'of town', 'local', 'rural', comparable to English ''folk'', with a lower-class connotation) can refer to an Egyptian musical style, the folk style of Egyptian bellydance (Raqs Baladi), or the Masmoud ...
troupe and later found work as a
model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...
. She began to gain attention in the early 1970s when she became the main attraction at the Arizona. Over the years she danced at many other venues such as Le Meridien, Mena House and the El Gezira Sheraton. Her performances usually lasted around two hours and she received up to $10,000 per performance. In addition to dancing, her routines often included circus tricks and even
rapping Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
. The Moroccan newspaper '' La Vie Eco'' reported in 2004 shortly before her retirement that she possessed 5,000 costumes with the most expensive being valued at $40,000. Abdou has been criticized by some Egyptians who see her dancing as contrary to the tenets of Islam. In 1991, she was charged with "depraved movements" by a Cairo court and sentenced to three months in jail. In 1999,
Grand Mufti The Grand Mufti (also called Chief Mufti, State Mufti and Supreme Mufti) is the head of regional muftis, Islamic jurisconsults, of a state. The office originated in the early modern era in the Ottoman empire and has been later adopted in a num ...
Sheik Nasr Farid Wasil issued an edict against her going to
Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
for
hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...
, but eventually retracted it. In 1980s, she made some films in
Egyptian cinema The cinema of Egypt refers to the flourishing film industry based in Cairo, sometimes also referred to as Hollywood on the Nile. Since 1976, the capital has held the annual Cairo International Film Festival, which has been accredited by the Intern ...
granting her the chance in the early 1990s to perform some minor roles in notable films with movie stars such as
Salah Zulfikar Salah El Din Ahmed Mourad Zulfikar ( ar, صلاح ذو الفقار; ; 18 January 1926 – 22 December 1993) was an Egyptian actor and film producer. He started his career as a police officer in the Egyptian National Police, before becoming an ac ...
, Ahmed Zaki and
Yousra Yousra ( ; ar, يسرا, ; born Seveen Nessim, ) is an Egyptian actress and singer. She is considered as a glamorous icon for the Middle East and is an influential voice in the region. Career Yousra participated as a main Role actress in almo ...
. In recent years, she has starred in several serial television dramas of the kind that are broadcast throughout the
Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...
during
Ramadan , type = islam , longtype = Religious , image = Ramadan montage.jpg , caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...
. In 2006, she took the lead in ''Souq El Khudar'' (''The Greenmarket''), playing a headstrong marketwoman with a love interest. For her role in the drama ''Al Hakika wa Al Sarab'' she was paid . She is also acted in a television series for Ramadan 2014 with her brother Abdelraheem. In 2019, she starred in the Ramadan series ''
Kingdom of Gypsies ''Kingdom of Gypsies'' (Arabic: مملكة الغجر) is an Egyptian television serial. It debuted during Ramadan on May 6, 2019 and lasted for 30 episodes. The series stars former Miss Egypt, Horeya Farghaly, and actress/dancer Fifi Abdou. The c ...
''.


Personal life

She married five times and has two daughters and one adopted daughter; One of her daughters, Azza Mujahid, is also an actress and has a daughter, Quisha Mujahid. Abdou's husband is the ambassador of
Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...
. She is estimated to be one of the wealthiest women in Egypt and is known for her charitable donations to the poor of Cairo. In 1996, she was the victim of a robbery when thieves stole $100,000 in jewelry and cash from her home. In 2003, Abdou filed a complaint against singer
Medhat Saleh Medhat may refer to: *Medhat Abdel-Hady (born 1974), retired Egyptian footballer * Mohamed Medhat Bahgat (born 1926), Egyptian basketball player * Medhat Haroun (1951–2012), Egyptian-American expert on earthquake engineering * Mohamed Medhat Hass ...
for unpaid debts and sued his ex-wife, the actress Shireen Saif, for slander after she accused Abdou of breaking up their marriage.


Selected filmography

* 1990: ''One Woman is not Enough'' * 1993: '' Minister in Plaster''


References


External links

*
Fifi Abdou: Egypt's most celebrated belly dancer
' - performance review o
Belly Dance UK
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abdou, Fifi 20th-century Egyptian actresses 21st-century Egyptian actresses Egyptian female dancers Belly dancers 1953 births Living people Actresses from Cairo