Biography

Zahrat Al-Ola was one of the iconic Egyptian actresses with a career spanning over 5 decades. She gained popularity for her roles in light comedies and drama films in the 1950s and 1960s, the golden age of Egyptian cinema.

She was born in Alexandria to an Egyptian mother and a Turkish-Egyptian father, who worked as an agricultural inspector. She moved with her family to Cairo, where she attended the Scientific Institute. Her passion for acting emerged when she was about ten years old as she admired Laila Mourad and wished to become an actress to get to see her face to face. She attended the Institute for Theatrical Arts in 1954, and learned acting under the tutelage of Youssef Wahbi.

She played diverse roles in around 120 films, including Back Alive (1957), Ismail Yasin fi el-Ustool (1957), Tarik el amal (1957), Sir Taqiyyat el-Ikhfa (1959), The Nightingale's Prayer (1959), Fi Baytena Ragul (1961), I'm Not Lying But I'm Beautifying (1981) and The Bus Driver (1982). In addition to participating in several plays and radio drama series. In addition she acted in nearly 50 television series throughout her career such as Flowers and Cactus (1983) and Mr. Abu Al Elaa Al Bishri Journey (1986).