Remembering Zeinat Sedki

Yesterday (May 4) marked the death anniversary of the late remarkable Syrian actress Zeinat Sedki, best known for playing the "Hamida" role in the "Ibn Hamidu" film (1957).

Born in Alexandria to a constructive family, she is well-known for playing the role of a maid who does the cleaning and other chores in the vein of actresses like Widad Hamdy.

Her seminal works have made the world of theater and cinema laugh, cry and feel for years and still continue to leave their charm.

In the 1930s, Sedki, fondly known as (Egypt’s Queen of Comedy), made her showbiz debut as a singer, belly dancer, and comedienne, then she was noticed by the renowned actor and comedian Naguib Al Rihani, who offered her a job in his comedy troupe.

Sedki started her career in theatrical productions and skyrocketed to fame when she starred in The Egyptian Pound 'El-Guineih El Masrî'.

Flowing her successes in the theater, she gained greater fame and attention with "The Accusation" movie (1934) directed by Mario Volpe.

Her real breakthrough came with the Women’s Barber movie (1960) directed by Fateen Abdel-Wahab, in which she surprised the audience with her portrayal of a wealthy upper-class woman. Interestingly, her comedic roles also had more variations than one might think.

Thereafter, she featured in many White-black films, such as ‘Ghost Lady’ starring Farid El-Atrash and Ismail Yassin (1949) directed by Barakat, with Sabah in ‘Miss Mammy’ (1950) by Helmy Rafla, with Anwar Wagdi in ‘Dahab’ (1953), with Abdel-Halim Hafez, Ahmed Ramzi, Omar Sharif and Faten Hamama in ‘Our Sweet Days’ (1955) by Helmy Halim, with the Hassaballah Company in ‘The Street of Love’ (1958) by Ezz-Eldin Zulfikar, and with Abdel-Halim Hafez again in ‘Female Idol’ (1967) by Helmy Rafla.

As she grew older, job offers diminished, and towards the end of her life, producers stopped hiring her altogether.

For this reason, Sedki became penniless and resorted to selling her furniture to make ends meet.

Sedki was the recipient of numerous awards and nominations for excellence throughout her successful career, including the Art Lifetime Achievement Award in 1976, the highest Art honor given by the Late Egyptian president Anwar El-Sadat.

Unfortunately, the charming actress passed away on 2 March 1978 at the age of 66.