March 8th marks the birthday of the great artist Samiha Ayoub, who is one of the prominent figures in the history of Egyptian theater. She has the longest artistic career in the history of Arab cinema, alongside the artist Amina Rizk.

She has worked in cinema and theater for more than 75 years. That is why critics and audiences called her “The Lady of Arab Theatre." In the following lines, we bring you the most important facts about Samiha Ayoub that you may not be aware of.

Her Birth and Early Life

Her full name is Samiha Ayoub Othman Ahmed. She was born on March 8th, 1932, in the Shubra district of Cairo. She studied at the Nuns’ School, which helped her to be fully committed and to master the classical Arabic language. Then she joined the Institute of Dramatic Arts, where she studied at the hands of its founder, the great artist Zaki Tulaimat, and graduated from it in 1953. 

As for the story of her joining the institute, it came by pure chance, as she wished to become a ballet dancer, and one day she went with a friend of hers who was taking admission exams to the institute. Committee members saw Samiha Ayoub standing in silence close to them. They asked her if she liked acting, and she replied that she liked acting for Youssef Wehbe and Laila Murad; unbeknownst to her, Youssef Wehbe was among the committee members. 

After she excelled in presenting a scene in front of the committee, Zaki Tulaimat obtained a request from the Minister of Education to let her join the institute, as she was only 16 years old at the time, younger than the permitted age at the institute. He also asked her to join his theater group.

Her Acting Career

Samiha Ayoub began her artistic career in conjunction with her studies at the institute. Her first work was in 1938, where she presented the character of Mary Magdalene in a movie entitled “The Life and Pain of the Lord Christ” with Ahmed Allam, Aziza Helmy, Kamal Hussein, and Tawfiq Al-Daqn.

Her real breakthrough came in 1947, when director Mohamed Abdel Gawad and author Abdel Aziz Salam chose her to participate in the movie “The Homeless” with Hikmat Fahmy, Mohsen Sarhan, Siraj Mounir, and Mary Munib.

After that, other films followed, in which she embodied many diverse roles, and her films amounted to about 40 films, the most famous of which are: “The Beach of Love, The Rose of Love, My Heart is on My Son, A Date with Happiness, God is with Us, The Heart Has Provisions, The Daughter of the Desert, Among the Ruins, The Flower Seller, The Sun Does Not Extinguish, Adham Al-Sharqawi, The Land of Hypocrisy, The Dawn of Islam, The Big Night, A Terrible Tita.”

She also participated in television series, including “The Virgin of Mecca, A City Story, Scare Fantasy, Escape, Ladies and Gentlemen, Mashrabiya, Muhammad is the Messenger of God, Al-Mahrousa, The Adventures of Zakia Hanim, Saad Al-Yateem, Dhul-Nun Al-Masry, The Crescentic Biography, Stray Light, Inheritance of the Wind, Time of Roses, Seizure and Fetch, Princess In Abdeen, Street Children, Soldiers and Thieves, Silver with a White Heart, Bats, Birth and Absent Owner, Extra Sugar, Good Mood, Peacocks.”

The Lady Of The Arab Theater

Samiha Ayoub’s acting debut came on stage with the participation of the Zaki Tulaimat Troupe. Her first performance was a play entitled “In the Service of the Queen." In addition to acting, Samiha Ayoub managed the Modern Theater between 1972 and 1975. After that, she held the position of General Director of the National Theater from 1975 to 1981.

Over the course of her artistic career, her theatrical balance amounted to nearly 170 plays. Including: “Soft Hands, Disciple of Satan, Rabi’a al-Adawiya, The Safety Rail, The Stairwell, The Death of Cleopatra, Antonio and Cleopatra, Blood on the Curtains of the Kaaba, The Soft Hands, Agha Memnon, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, The Khedive, The People in the Third, In the Middle of the Day, Near and Strange, The Network, Oh We, Oh She.”

She has 5 experiences in theatrical direction, including the plays “Maqlab Attiyat” and “The Night of Henna.”

Awards and Honors

Samiha Ayoub has won many awards, and the sixth Sharm El-Sheikh International Festival for Youth Theater was named after her in 2021. Among the most important awards she received are:

- The Republic Medal of the First Class for Art from President Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1966.

- Knight Medal from French President Giscard d’Estaing in 1977.

- Certificate of appreciation from President Mohamed Anwar al-Sadat in 1979.

- The Order of Merit, first class, from Syrian President Hafez al-Assad in 1983.

- The State Appreciation Award in Arts from the Supreme Council of Culture in 2015.

List Of The 100 Best Films In The History Of Egyptian Cinema

"The Monster," a 1954 film in which Samiha Ayoub starred, has been selected as one of the 100 best Egyptian films, ranking number 70.

Anwar Wajdi, Samia Jamal, Mahmoud Al-Meliji, and Abbas Faris also starred in the movie. It was written by Naguib Mahfouz and directed by Salah Abu Seif.

Personal Life

Samiha Ayoub got married four times, all from within the artistic community. Her first marriage was to the artist Mohsen Sarhan, when she was still at the beginning of her artistic career. She starred as his little sister in the movie “The Tramp." They separated after a short marriage that lasted three years, during which she gave birth to her son, "Mahmoud," who passed away in 2010.

As for the second marriage, she married the artist Mahmoud Morsi, whom she met for the first time while he was teaching at the Institute of Dramatic Arts. She bore him a son, “Alaa.” However, they soon separated.

After that, she married playwright Saad El-Din Wahba, and they began a deep love story during the performance of "Al-Sibnsa” play. They were married for 30 years until he died in 1997.

Her last marriage was to director Ahmed Al-Nahhas, which lasted 18 years.