
Acting
Born December 21, 1951 · Cairo, Egypt
Fatma El-Zahraa Hussein Fathi was born on 21 December 1951. is an Egyptian actress. She started her acting career in 1967 and has played a role in over 80 films. She established a production company and produced films, including Supermarket (1990). The award-winning actress also wrote the screenplay for Tomorrow I Will Exact My Revenge(1980). Fathi started her acting career in Egyptian cinema at the age of 15 when she was approached by producer Adly El-Mowalid, while she was at the beach in Alexandria with her friends. She dropped out of school in 1967 to get involved in acting. Her career began in earnest and she starred in the 1968 Egyptian film Afrah, produced in Beirut, Lebanon. The director of the film, Ali Badrakhan had reservations about Fathi, but fellow producer Ramses Naguib saw her as a potential romance icon. Throughout the 1970s, she acted in roughly 15 films a year, predominantly romantic dramas. In the Egyptian film industry, she was only second to actress Faten Hamama in the number of romance films acted in, though not as popular since she was mostly given secondary roles to male characters. During the 1980s, Fathi largely departed from this role and began acting in more complicated roles in movies dealing with a social and political dimensions. She received an award for best actress for her starring role in El Garage (1995), where she played a deserted and impoverished single mother who lives inside a garage with her five children, all of whom she gradually gives up to other families as her health deteriorates. The film was based on a true story and Fathi described it as the "most difficult and painful" role she has had to play. According to writer Nagla El-Baz, the movie was a success in raising awareness about the issue of overpopulation.

Battal min Al-Janub
2000

Concerto in Darb Saada
1998

The Garage
1995

Disco Disco
1994

Ihzaru Hazehi Al-Maraa
1991

Eshtibah
1991

Supermarket
1990

Below Zero
1990

اللص
1990

Dreams of Hind and Camilia
1988

The Iron Lady
1987

Lack of Evidence
1987

Graveyards for Rent
1986

Eimra mutlaqa
1986

The Law, Excuse Us
1985

Saad the Orphan
1985

The Unknown
1984

Ghdaan saantaqim
1983

Aietida'
1982

Farewell to Torment
1981

Me In His Eyes
1981

Al Sharida
1980

Al-Aqwiyaa
1980

Hob La Yara Al-Shams
1980

Wa Tamdi Al-Ahzan
1979

Alexandria… Why?
1979

Aqwa Min Al-Ayam
1979

Journey to oblivion
1978

Hob Fauq Al-Burkan
1978

The Judge and the Executioner
1978

Remember me
1978

Madness of Love
1977

Sonya and the Madman
1977

First Year of Love
1976

La waqt lil-demoue
1976

No My Ex-Lover
1976

Qamar Al-Zaman
1976

The White Dress
1975

Love... Sweeter Than Love
1975

Sabreen
1975

Bedour
1974

Al-Wafaa Al-Azeem
1974

The Most Beautiful Days of My Life
1974

El Banat Lazem Ttgawz
1973
Girls Must Get Married
1973

Soul lover
1973

My blood, My Tears and My Smile
1973

Abou Rabiea
1973

Youth on Fire
1972

A Nose And Three Eyes
1972

The Devil is a Woman
1972

From home to school
1972

Love & Pride
1972

Body and Passion
1972

Eashiqat nafsiha
1972

Boy, Girl And the Devil
1971

Then the sun rises
1971

Sweet Trip
1971

5 شارع الحبايب
1971

Date with the Beloved
1971

حسناء المطار
1971

Shadows on the Other Side
1971

My Sister
1971

End of the devils
1970

Hayati
1970

أوهام الحب
1970

The Three Madmen
1970

The Mirror
1970

My Husband’s Woman
1970

The Lottery Ticket Thief
1970

The Two Friends
1970

Girls' Secrets
1969

Marriage for Half an Hour
1969

A Schoolgirl's Romance
1969

Ebn Al-Shaitan
1969

Seraa All Mohtafeeen
1969

Joys
1968

End of the Road
1968

Rawaat El Hob
1968

The Three Friends
1966