Egyptian actress Madiha Yousri died on Wednesday morning at the age of 96, after a long struggle with illness. Born as Hanouma Habib Khalil on 3 December 1921, Yousri starred in dozens of classic Egyptian films, as well as in a number of TV dramas, over the course of more than half a century. She is credited with roles in over 60 films between the 1950s and the early 2000s, ranging from drama, to comedy, to romance. She started her career with a silent role in the 1940 movie El-Hob Mamnou (Love is Prohibited) alongside prominent Egyptian musician Mohamed Abdel–Wahab. Yousri went on to become one of very few actresses who starred in movies with all four of Egypt's leading musical stars of the 20th century; as well as Abdel-Wahab, she acted alongside Abdel-Halim Hafez, Mohamed Fawzi and Farid Al-Atrash. She then starred in three movies with Youssef Wahbi - a leading stage and film star in the 1930s and 1940s – Ibn El-Haddad (The Blacksmith's Son), Fanan Azeem (Great Artist), and Awlady (My Sons). Her career includes roles in many classic Egyptian films including Al-Khataya (The Sins, 1962), Lahn El-Kholoud (Immortal Song, 1952), Ard El-Ahlam (The Land of Dreams, 1956). Her last cinematic appearance was in El-Erhaby (The Terrorist, 1993), which also featured one of the country's best-loved movie stars, Adel Imam. Other notable films from her repertoire include Shahr El-Assal (The Honeymoon, 1946), Azhar wa Ashwak (Roses and Thorns, 1947), Lahn El-Kholood (Eternal Melody, 1952), and Wafaa (1954). In 1955, her film Hayaa aw Mout (Life or Death) was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes film festival. The film's director, Kamal El-Sheikh, cast her alongside stars Emad Hamdy, Youssef Wahby and Hussein Riad. In the same year she was also a producer of the successful film Inni Rahela (I am Leaving). As a producer she is credited for the 1950 film El-Avocato Madiha (Madiha the Lawyer), alongside Youssef Wahbi, who also directed it, as well as Wafaa lel Abad (Forever Faithful) in 1953 and Qalb Yahtareq (The Burning Heart) in 1959. Towards the end of her career, She starred in several television series , taking on the role of a mother or grandmother, most notably as Khadiga Hanem in the successful series Hawanem Garden City (The Ladies of Garden City) that aired in 1997. Yousri also appeared in the TV shows Loaloa wa Asdaf and Yahya El-Adl, among others. Qalby Younadik (My Heart Calls You) in 2004 was her last television appearance. She was awarded Egypt's State Medal of Creativity in 1963 by then-president Mohamed Anwar Sadat. Her funeral will be held at Al-Sayeda Nafisa mosque in Cairo on Wednesday afternoon. Madiha Yousri and Egyptian star Soad Hosni Madiha Yousri and Singer/actress Laila Mourad Madiha Yousri and Youssef Wahbi Madiha Yousi and film star Emad Hamdi Yousri with Anwar Wagdi and child actress Fairuz Madiha Yousri and singer/actor Mohamed Fawzi On TV with Adel Emam, Salah Zoulfeqar and Sherine
