Samia Gamal

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Samia Gamal
سامية جمال
Samia Gamal by Armand
Born	Zeinab Ali Khalil Ibrahim Mahfouz (1924-03-05)5 March 1924 Beni Suef, Egypt
Died	1 December 1994(1994-12-01) (aged 70)[1] Cairo, Egypt
Occupation(s)	Actress and belly dancer
Years active	1939–1972
Spouse	Rushdy Abaza ​ ​ (m. 1958; div. 1977)​

Samia Gamal (Arabic: سامية جمال, born as Zaynab Khalil Ibrahim Mahfuz (Arabic: زينب خليل إبراهيم محفوظ), 5 March 1924 – 1 December 1994) was an Egyptian belly dancer and film actress. Gamal performed in more than 50 movies during her career. She is regarded as one of the most prominent Egyptian belly dancers in the golden era of Egyptian cinema.^[2]

After working as an extra in films such as The Determination (1939), she became a leading lady in a number of Egyptian cinema classics, such as Red Lipstick (1946), Lady Ghost (1949), The Hawk, The Count of Monte Cristo (both 1950), The Monster (1954), The Second Man (1959), and Sukkar Hanem (1960).^[3] In 1949, she was made the National Dancer of Egypt by King Farouk.^[4] Gamal’s influence extended beyond the realms of Arabic cinema.^[5] She is credited with bringing belly dancing from Egypt to Hollywood and from there to the schools of Europe.^[6] In 1954, she starred as a belly dancer in the American film Valley of the Kings and the French film Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. She also appeared in the Italian film Hawk of the Nile (1950).^[7]

Gamal officially retired from cinema in 1972. She returned briefly on stage in 1984 before devoting herself exclusively to dance until the early 1990s.^[8]