CAIRO: Egyptian actress Hend Rostum passed away Monday night in a hospital after suffering a fatal heart attack. Nicknamed the “Marilyn Monroe of the East” for her blonde hair and the types of roles, she was 82-years-old. Rostum is known for iconic roles in the 1950s and 1960s such as Hanouma, the railway station vendor in Youssef Chahin's Bab al-Hadid. Born in 1929 to an Egyptian mother and a Turkish father, she started acting in small roles when she was 17-years-old. She moved on to do many films and win numerous awards before she quit acting in 1979. She left her mark in playing sensual women, but later played more serious dramatic roles. Among her films is Rud Qalbi (Return my Heart) directed by Ezz Edeen Zulfaqar, Been el-Sama wel Ard (Between Heaven and Earth) by Salah Abou Seif and Sera'a Fawq al-Nile (Struggle Over the Nile) by Atef al-Tayeb. BM
