Hussein Fahmy Mourns the Late Samihah Ayoub: Farewell to a Giant of Arab Theatre

The artist Hussein Fahmy mourned the late actress Samihah Ayoub with heartfelt words expressing his deep sorrow over the loss of one of the most prominent icons of Arab theatre. He wrote on his official Instagram account:
“Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un. Today, the esteemed artist Samihah Ayoub passed away. With her death, Egyptian and Arab theatre have lost one of their giants. May God have mercy on her and grant her spacious paradise.”



Samihah Ayoub was born in the Shubra district of Cairo and graduated in 1953 from the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts, where she studied under the great director Zaki Tulaimat.

Throughout her artistic career, she performed in nearly 170 theatrical works, among the most prominent of which were: Rabaa Al-Adawiya, Sikka Al-Salama, Blood on the Curtains of the Kaaba, Agha Mamnoun, and The Caucasian Chalk Circle. Despite her strong connection to the theatre, she also left a clear mark in cinema and television, starring in films such as Land of Hypocrisy, Dawn of Islam, With Happiness, and Among the Ruins, along with several successful TV series including The Wandering Light, The Flower’s Time, A Princess in Abdeen, and Al-Masraweya.

The late artist received high-level honors from several heads of state, including Gamal Abdel Nasser, Anwar Sadat, Hafez Al-Assad, and Valéry Giscard d’Estaing. One of her last public expressions was her happiness meeting President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi during the Police Day celebration, along with her pride in having her biography taught within the Egyptian education curriculum.

In one of her recent statements, she said:
“I feel that the state appreciates me, most recently the appreciation from President El-Sisi, which is an indescribable feeling. I am proud that I presented art that respects people’s minds, and that is what I have been committed to since I was sixteen years old. I was always keen to offer works worthy of the Egyptian and Arab audience and that make my family proud.”