Madiha Salem ( ar, مديحة سالم; 2 October 1944 – 19 November 2015) was 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 ...
actress who appeared in 29 films, and 13 radio and TV serials. She is known for playing the "dreamy teenager" in Egyptian classics from the 1960s.
Early life
Salem was born in the
Zamalek
Zamalek ( ar, الزمالك , ''al zamalek'') is an affluent district of western Cairo encompassing the northern portion of Gezira Island in the Nile River. The island is connected with the river banks through three bridges each on the east ...
neighborhood of
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
. In high school she studied at the Zamalek School for Girls. Her father died shortly after she finished high school, forcing her to abandon further studies and to look for work.
Career
Known as the "teenager of the cinema" and the "innocent cat of the screen," she played many supporting roles during the golden era of
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 ...
of the 60s and 70s, mainly in the role of the dreamy teenager. She acted on TV and worked as a voice actress in radio serials as well. She is said to have drawn attention for her "light-hearted and unassuming" performances of her roles on the Egyptian screen. She quit acting in the early 80s, preferring to spend her time with her husband and family.
She briefly reappeared on the TV screen in the religious drama "The Judiciary of Islam" (القضاء في الإسلام), appearing in 1998 and 2001–2002, but did not subsequently appear in any other acting role.
She died on November 19 in
El Safa Hospital due to respiratory problems. Her funeral took place the next day at the
Hamidiyya-Shadhiliyya Mosque in the
Mohandessin
Mohandiseen ( ' , "The Engineers"), is a major 1940s sub-division project originally named Madinat al-Awqaf, and made up most of the Wasat (middle) district in the city of Giza, before being divided in 1997 into the districts of Agouza (cov ...
neighborhood in
Giza and she was buried in a Cairo cemetery.
Filmography
Film
*بلا دموع (Without Tears) (1961)
*
Mother of the Bride (1963)
*
Dearer than My Life (1965)
*
Three Thieves (1966)
*
The Nile and the Life (1968)
*
Those People of the Nile
Those People of the Nile (Egyptian Arabic: الناس والنيل, French: ''Ces gens du Nil'', translit: ''Al Nass Wal Nil or Al Nas wal Nil'', aliases: People of the Nile) is a 1972 drama film directed by Youssef Chahine. It stars Salah Zulfi ...
(1972)
*The Night (1978)
*Trees Die Standing (1980)
*Who Killed This Love (1980)
*الرجل والحصان (The Man and the Horse) (1982)
Television
*إلا دمعة الحزن (But a Tear of Sorrow - series) (1979)
*Dalia El Masriya (1982)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salem, Madiha
1944 births
2015 deaths
Actresses from Cairo