Veteran actress Samiha Ayoub, whose career spanned almost 80 years, passed away on Tuesday. She was 93.
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There has been no official statement about the cause of her death. However, rumors in early May suggested she was battling breast cancer, according to Gulf Today.
Speculation about her health arose after she was seen with swollen hands, which were reportedly caused by lymphedema—a condition often experienced by breast cancer patients after lymph node removal.
However, in a phone interview, Ayoub denied the rumors, according to the outlet.
“All these are false reports,” she said at the time. “I am in good health, and instead of spreading nice rumors, people spread bad ones.”
Ayoub was a prominent figure in Arab theatre, with a career that spanned from 1947 until her passing.
Ayoub was born on March 8, 1932, in the Shubra district of Cairo, Egypt. She graduated from the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts, where she studied under the famous theater director Zaki Tulaimat. While still a student, he cast her in the play Khedmet El-Malika (The Queen’s Service), which marked the start of her acting career.
Samiha Ayoub’s Acting Career Included Over 450 Credits
Ayoub had an impressive stage career, starring in numerous popular Arab-language plays. She became the director of the Modern Theatre in 1972 and later led the National Theatre from 1975, a role she held for 14 years.
Her career in theater included 170 plays, five of which she directed, including Maqalib Atia. According to Egypt Today, Ayoub’s remarkable career includes over 450 works, such as 44 films, around 220 TV series, and nearly 115 radio dramas.
Her last film role was in Eid Night (2024), a movie featuring a star-studded cast and directed by Sameh Abdel Aziz with a script by Ahmed Abdallah.