Egypt-based Iraqi actress Nadia El-Iraqia, AKA Faten Fathy, has passed away at the age of 58 on Sunday at a Cairo hospital, after weeks of suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Many Arab celebrities and artistic entities have mourned the loss of El-Iraqia who appeared in dozens of popular Arab comic movies and TV series.
Born in Iraq in 1963, she made a fame there under her real name Faten Fathy, participating in many TV series and theater plays there, in which she showed skills in singing as well.
Getting married to an Egyptian man, she moved to Egypt in late 90s to start her career with minor roles in TV and theater in addition to a number of TV advertisements, to quickly becoming a favorite choice in comedy movies since the early 2000s.
El-Iraqia worked with a number of directors in Egypt, including Youssif Shahin. Among her memorized participations in Egyptian movies are Africano (2001), Ghawy Hob, Abo Ali, Al-Bahethat 'An Al-Gorreya (2005), The Yacoubian Building (2006), Keda Reda, Heya Fawda (2007), Waraqet Shafra, Nems Bond, El-Dada Dody (2008), Dokkan Shehata(2009), and Kalemny Shokran (2010), to name a few.
Her TV appearances included Zizinea (2000), El-Attar W Al-Saba' Banat (2002), Raya W Skeina (2005), QAdyet Ra'y A'am, Sultan El-Gharam and Hanan W'Haneen (2007), Ayza Atgawez (2010), Selsal El-Dam (2013), Azmy W'Ashgan (2018) with her last appearance was during the Ramadan season in Ahsan Ab (2021).
With minor but influential roles that included thematic lines quoted in memes and daily slang language, she is widely known for collaborating with almost all first row actors; from Omar El-Sherif, Nour El-Sherif and Yousra to Ahmed Helmy, Karim Abdel-Aziz and Mona Zaki to name a few.
On Sunday, many Egyptian and Arab papers republished her last social media statements; in which she warned about how severe the coronavirus could be.
With almost 3.4 million deaths globaly, the COVID-19 pandemic has taken the lives of many Egyptian beloved actors including Ragaa Al-Geddawy, Hadi Al-Gayar, Youssif Sha'aban and others.
Egypt reported 1,293 new coronavirus cases on Saturday bringing the total infection tally officially to 244,520 since the outbreak began in February 2021. The health ministry also reported 63 new deaths, bringing the total number of deaths from the virus to 14,269. For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture
