Remembering legendary Egyptian actress Mimi Chakib

CAIRO – 25 December 2017: Today marks legendary Egyptian actress Mimi Chakib’s birthday. To honor the great artist, Egypt Today presents a profile about her life and career.

Born in 1913, Mimi Chakib, according to elcinema.com, came from an aristocratic family of Circassian origin. Her mother spoke many languages, including Turkish, Greek, German and Italian.

Although she had a stable childhood, she did not like her father’s strict traditions, which often prevented her from going out of the house. So, after her father’s death, she decided to give theater a go, with her sister, Zozo.

She first trained with “Ansar El Tamthel Wi El Masrah” (Acting and Theater Friends), and later she formed her own theatrical troupe.

After the failure of her first play “Violet”, Chakib decided to join the Naguib Al Rihani theatrical troupe, performing a number of iconic roles with the group, such as “Al Daloaa” (Heartthrob).

Her theatrical success led her to conquer the magical world of Cinema. She performed various unforgotten roles, such as “Doaa El Karawan” (Nightingales Prayers), “Si Omar” (Mr. Omar), “El Hamawat El Fatenat” (Beautiful Mothers-in Law) and “Laila Bent El Madares” (Lailia, the Educated).

She had one of the greatest love and marriage stories in the history of Egyptian cinema, her marriage to iconic Egyptian actor, Serag Mounir, lasted for more than 15 years. She never married again after Mounir death.

Unfortunately, through her final years, she was involved in one of the famous cases in Egypt called “Qadeyet El Raqeq El Abyad” case in 1974, Chakib was accused that she uses her house for prostitution. After the trial, her innocence was proved.

On May 20, 1983, Chakib died in a tragic accident, after falling from her balcony.