23 Facts About Leila Mourad

Leila Mourad or Layla Morad was an Egyptian singer and actress, and one of the most prominent superstars in Egypt and the entire Arab world in her era.

Lilian Zaki Ibrahim Mordechai was born in the El Daher district of Cairo on February 17,1918, to Zaki Mordechai and Gamilah Ibrahim Roushou, the daughter of Ibrahim Roushou, a local concert contractor in the early 20th century who regularly booked Zaki Mourad to sing at concerts and wedding parties.

Leila Mourad's parents were Jews of Syrian, Moroccan and Polish descent.

Leila Mourad's father was a respected singer, musician, and religious Jewish cantor.

One of her brothers, Mounir Leila Mourad, was an actor and composer.

Leila Mourad made her first stage appearance, aged nine, at the Saalat Badi'a, one of Cairo's most successful Music Halls.

Leila Mourad was trained by her father and Dawood Hosni, who was Jewish.

Leila Mourad went on to make a further 20 films of which the most outstanding is Ghazel el-Banat, directed and co-starring Wagdi.

Shortly thereafter, a rumor that Leila Mourad had visited Israel, where she had family, and donated money to its military, raised suspicions of spying and caused some Arab radio stations to boycott her.

Families of the detainees were allowed to visit beginning in 1968, and some noted that Leila Mourad was never seen visiting her brother.

Leila Mourad made a few brief reappearances during Ramadan in 1970, when she was scheduled to read Salah Jaheen's "Fawazeer Ramadan", a daily traditional radio program held during the Holy month of Ramadan.

Leila Mourad gained much public attention when she converted to Islam in 1946.

Leila Mourad's religion continued to be a point of public attention as she was accused of maintaining allegiance to Israel throughout the 1940s and 1950s, and again in the 1990s.

Leila Mourad seemingly fell for her first husband, actor and filmmaker Anwar Wagdi, while acting in his film Layla Bint al-Fuqara' in May 1945.

Wagdi apparently did not want Leila Mourad working with other production companies, but did not pay her when she worked with his company.

In 1979, more than two decades after Wagdi's death, Leila Mourad commented that she did not know of his kidney disease that caused him to be angry over the course of their relationship, and expressed continuing affection for him.

Leila Mourad married film director Fatin Abdel Wahab in 1957 and gave birth to their son Zaki Fatin Abdel Wahab in 1961; they divorced in 1969.

The first film Leila Mourad starred in was Mohammad Karim's Yahya el hub in 1938.

Mizrahi was keen to boost Leila Mourad's career, doing so by including her name in four of the film's titles and allowing her to perform five songs in each film, effectively making Leila Mourad a household name.

Leila Mourad starred in filmmaker Kamal Salim's Shuhada' al-Gharam in October 1944.

Leila Mourad's father managed and legally represented her until the age of 21 when she was able to have full control of her legal and financial responsibilities according to Egyptian law.

Laila Leila Mourad has starred in 27 film between 1938 and 1955.

The Ramadan television series " Ana Albi Dalili ", about the life of Leila Mourad, debuted in 2009.