If we’ve to pick out one lovely actress who had left an everlasting impression in the hearts of Arab and Egyptian people, it should definitely be the late Magda Al-Sabahi fondly known with the moniker ‘Screen Virgin’.
Today, May. 6 marks the 90th anniversary of the birth of Magda. As we celebrate the birth anniversary of this iconic actress; check out 10 fascinating facts about her.
Late Egyptian actress Magda, born as Afaf Ali Kamel Ahmed Abdel Rahman Al-Sabahi, is known for appearing in over sixty films and acting over 10 TV and Radio series.
At just 15 years of age, Magda forayed into cinema as a young girl artist in the comedy film ‘El Naseh’ (1949) starring Ismail Yassin and the giant Farid Shawqi.
The remarkable actress was endowed with a special style of performing the delicate girl and oppressed woman characters that distinguished her from those who made such roles their specialty to the extent that she became the founder of an acting technique emulated by others.
Despite the never-ending controversy over the authenticity of the content in Mada's dramatic life, Magda's stunning work in "Djamila Bouhired" takes off his hat for the legendary actress.
Contrary to widespread belief Magda’s best performance was not in 'Djamila Bouhired'. Though she was supremely powerful in the film her best performance is to be seen in a film called "Teenage girls" in 1958 where she played a reluctant young girl with just the right amounts of passion and pathos.
Magda is well-known for some of her seminal works, such as Malish had (1954), Hegret El-Rasoul, Ayna Omry (1957), Banat El-Yom (1957), Al-Ragol Allazy Ohebo (1962), El-Omr Lahza (1978), among many others.
In addition to acting, many big-name actresses of the 19060s went into producing not only as another revenue stream but to influence what projects are being made in Egyptian cinema as well.
Therefore, Magda decided to start their own production studios.
In 1958 she founded her own production studio called Mada Films and produced the historical movie 'Hegret El Rasoul' (1964) in which she starred.
Later on, Mada Films produced its second film (Who I love), which was the studio’s first attempt at the Egyptian franchise.
The recipient of various accolades, including numerous awards for best actress for her role in the cinema title (Jamila, the Algerian), the Damascus International Film Festival in Syria, and the International Cairo Film Festival in Egypt, she was the country’s highest-paid actress in the 1970s.
At the beginning of the 1960s, the iconic star married the renowned actor, Ihab Nafe, with whom she had her only daughter, Ghada, in 1965.
After Nafe married the veteran actress, both paired a group of successful movies.
Unfortunately, Magda died in her house in Dokki, Cairo, on 16 January 2020, aged 88.
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