Biography

• Full name: Zahrat El-Ola Ahmed Hassan
• Profession: Egyptian film and television actress
• Date of birth: June 10, 1934
• Place of birth: Alexandria, Egypt
• Date of death: December 18, 2013
• Place of death: Cairo, Egypt

Early Life and Education

• Her family moved between several cities in Egypt’s Nile Delta before settling in Cairo.
• She enrolled at the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts and began her career on the stage, later transitioning to cinema in the early 1950s.

Career

• Zahrat El-Ola emerged as one of the emblematic faces of Egyptian cinema in the 1950s and 1960s, delivering a wide range of roles—romantic, social, and comedic.
• Her gentle screen presence and understated performances helped her leave a clear mark on the films of that era; she then continued her artistic contributions in television drama.
• She is credited with more than one hundred films, in addition to dozens of television works.
• Her on-screen appearances declined in the 1990s, and she eventually stepped away from acting due to health reasons.

Selected Works

• Taqiyet al-Ikhfa’ (The Invisible Cap, 1959) — a fantasy-comedy centered on a magical hat that grants invisibility.
• Bahbouh Effendi — “Effendi” was a common honorific in mid-20th-century Egypt, roughly akin to “Mr.”
• Al-‘Ardhahalji (The Petition Writer) — about the traditional profession of drafting petitions and complaints for the public.
• Sawwaq al-‘Otobees (The Bus Driver) — a social drama.
• Al-Maganin fi Na‘im (Madmen in Paradise) — a comedy.
• Ismail Yassin fi al-Bolis (Ismail Yassin in the Police) — part of the beloved Ismail Yassin comedy series.
• Huwwa wa Hiya (He & She) — TV series.
• Al-Zawja Awwal Man Ya‘lam (The Wife Is the First to Know) — TV series.
• Al-Qada’ fi al-Islam (Justice in Islam) — historical/educational TV series.
• Umm al-‘Arousa (Mother of the Bride) — TV series.
• Hawa’ al-Sa‘a 12 (Eve at Twelve O’Clock) — stage play; a classic of Egyptian theatre.

Awards and Honors

• She received multiple tributes in Egypt honoring her body of work over the course of her career.

Personal Life

• She married briefly early in her life and later divorced.
• She subsequently married theatre director Hassan Abdel-Salam; their marriage lasted until his passing, and they had two daughters.

Passing and Legacy

• She died in Cairo after a period of illness.
• Zahrat El-Ola is regarded as an icon of classic Egyptian cinema, remembered for roles that remain vivid in the public memory—especially her work from the late 1950s and 1960s.