On Her 79th Birth Anniversary, Remembering Legendary Actress Zizi Badrawy

The Egyptian film industry has been blessed with some of the most outstanding talents ever seen in the Arab world - be it actors, actresses, photographers, or filmmakers. One of the amazing classic actresses of the Egyptian film industry, who charmed the audiences and became famous for her stint is Zizi Badrawy.

On the legendary actress' 79th birth anniversary, we take a look at her journey in the film industry.

Fondly known as “The Blonde of Egyptian Cinema,” she was born in Cairo on 9 June 1944 to an Egyptian mid-class family. She featured in a number of successful films and timeless classics, including ‘Al-Qeshra Al-Zahabiya‘, Forgiveness, foundling, and A Widow with Three Daughters.

Elbadrawy made her artistic debut as a fourteen-year-old in (Port Said movie) in 1957, directed by Ezz El-Din Zolfaka.

After a while, she was once noticed by the director Hassan Al-Imam for her charm and innocence; she was selected to play the lead role in his film ‘Aawatef -1958’, in which she received her first good salary.

At the beginning of the 60s, filmmakers began to realize that the public’s taste had changed and began to produce relatively good family drama movies, which continued throughout the 1970s. Another factor was the emergence of actresses who fitted this kind of drama, such as Lubna Abdel-Aziz, Zubaida Tharwat, Laila Taher, and naturally Zizi Al-Badrawi.

Among these remarkable actresses, Al-Badrawi was the most suitable to ride the tide of family drama, reflecting her distinctive charm in the films of this period.

At that time, she managed to embody the character of a cute girl in 'Emraa alal hamish' (1964), 'El Omr Ayyam' (1964), Hekayet Nus El -lail' (1964) “Hobi Fel Kahera” (my Love in Cairo), ‘Shafiqa Al-Qebteya’, Seven Girls, and I’m Being Charged.

Between the 1990s and 2000s, there was hardly any series that did not feature her as an aristocratic lady and a good mother like her role as a pearl of wisdom in the Amr Ibn Alas series, starring Nour El-Sherif.

Throughout her long-standing career, the late actress was allocated many awards for her immense contribution to Egyptian cinema, including the Cairo Arab Media Festival award and the Alexandria International Film Festival award. She also won Dubai International Film Festival Award during her career, which spanned over four decades.

Elbadrawy was married twice, the first to the maven Egyptian director Adel Sadeq whom she met during the shoot of Hobi Fel Kahera” (my Love in Cairo). They got married in 1966. Then to Tawfiq Abdel Guelil, a lawyer that she loved very much as she said to the press.

Elbadrawy’s memorable roles were always in the Egyptian high-class milieu where she used to portray Classy Lady and elegant women such as ‘Qadiat Maeali alwazira’, Bial’amr Almubashir’, The Emperor, and ‘Hulm abn alsabil’.

Unfortunately, the acclaimed actress died of lung cancer on 13 January 2014.