ET celebrates the birthday of the Egyptian diva Yousra

CAIRO – 10 March 2019: Yousra is an Egyptian actress, singer, United Nations goodwill ambassador and an internationally acclaimed artistic icon.

She is one of the most prominent actresses not only in Egypt but in the Arab region as well.Egypt Today commemorates the birthday of the Egyptian diva.

She was born on March 10, 1951 as Sevin Hafez Nesim. In 1980, she debuted in the film “Athkiya' Laken Aghbiya” (Smart yet Stupid).

Yousra performed in numerous movies such as “Kasr Fel Hawaa” (Castle in the Air), “Fatah Tabhath Ann al-Hob” (A Girl Looking for Love), “Alf Bossa Wa Bossa” (A Thousand and One Kisses), and “Ebtessama Waheda Takfi” (One Smile is Enough).

Yousra formed a successful duo with superstar Adel Emam; the matter that resulted in a number of successful films that enriched the Egyptian cinema such as “Shabab Yarkoss Fawk al-Nar” (Youth Dancing on Fire) , “Al-Ensan Yaeesh Mara Waheda” (Man Only Lives Once) , “Ala Bab al-Wazeer” (At the Door of the Minister) , “Al-Avocato” (The Lawyer) , “Al-Ins Wa al-Gen” ( The Human and the Goblin) , “Karakoun Fel Shareih” ( A Police Station in the Street), “Al-Mansi” (The Forgotten), “Al-Irhab Wal Kabab” (Terrorism and Kebab), “Toyour Al-Zalam” (Birds of Darkness), and “Bobos” among others.

Yousra was included by Arabian Business among The World’s 100 Most Powerful Arab Women and by The Middle East among the 50 Most Influential Arabs.

In 2015, she was awarded the Achievement in Cinema Award at the Arab Women of the Year ceremony in London.

Throughout her artistic career, yousra was granted more than 60 local, regional and international awards, most prominently at Cannes Film Festival and Venice Film Festival.

Yousra's cooperation with the internationally acclaimed director Youssef Chahine greatly influenced her career.

Among her important movies with Chahine are “Hadduta Masreya” (An Egyptian Tale), "Iskendereya Kaman we Kaman" (Alexandria More and More), and “Al-Mohager “ ( The Immigrant).

After a long career including 85 films and 20 television series, Yousra started to dedicate some of her efforts to social issues, particularly human trafficking.

She engages in humanitarian and advocacy work for women and children.

Yousra participated in the World Economic Forum’s sessions in Switzerland, Jordan and Egypt because of her humanitarian work.

She is currently a goodwill ambassador for many United Nations institutions, including the United Nations Development Programme, UNAIDS and the joint United Nations program on HIV/AIDS.

She was the honorary president of Cairo International Film festival in 2017.

In honor of her rich artistic career, one of El-Gouna city streets was named after the Egyptian superstar Yousra.