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Mona Zaki
Mona Zaki
	Zaki in 2015
Born	Mona Ali Mohamed Zaki; 18 November 1976 (age 48); Cairo, Egypt
Citizenship	Egyptian
Education	Cairo University
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1991–present
Spouse	Ahmed Helmy (m. 2002)
Children	3

Mona Ali Mohamed Zaki (Egyptian Arabic: منى على محمد زكى; born 18 November 1976) is an Egyptian actress.^[1]^[2]

Early life and Education

Mona Ali Mohamed Zaki was born in Cairo to her parents Ali Mohamed and Tahini Zaki on 18 November 1976. Her father was a university professor who held a number of international posts. After living in the United States, the UK and then Kuwait, Zaki returned to Cairo when she was thirteen. Since her Kuwaiti diploma was not accredited in Egypt and not accepted by any school, Zaki had some free time and auditioned on a whim for Bil 'Arabi Al-Fasih (In Formal Arabic), a play directed by Mohamed Sobhi. ^[3]She got the role and put her schooling on hold until the end of the play's year-and-half run, at which point Zaki returned to the United States to enroll in a two-year program at the Heritage Academy in Louisiana. Upon returning to Cairo in 1993 ^[4] she briefly attended the Institute of Dramatic Arts before enrolling at the Faculty of Mass Communication, Cairo University.^[3]

Career

1990s

In 1989, when she was 13, Zaki landed her first acting role in Mohamed Sobhi's play Bel Araby El Faseeh (In Formal Arabic) after answering a casting call.^[5] The production ran for a year-a-half. Her next role came in 1994 while a student at Cairo University, in her TV debut in El A'elah, (The Family), a Ramadan television series. She appeared in a succession of popular TV series in the 90s including Layali el Helmiyyah 5 (Al Helmeya Nights) in 1995; Zizinia (1997-2000); Ahalina (Our Kin) in 1997 and El Daw' El Sharid (The Stray Light) in 1998.^[3]

Her first film role was in the 1998 crime drama El Katl ElLaziz (Sweet Killing), starring Mervat Amin, one of Egypt's most popular actresses at the time. Other films followed including Idhak El Soura Titla' Hilwa (Smile, the Photo Comes about Better) (1998); Sa'idi fil Gam'a Al-Amrikiya (Upper Egyptian in the American University) (1998); Omar 2000, El Hobb El Awal (The First Love), and Leih Khallitni Ahibbak all of which were box office hits.

During this period, Zaki continued to take to the stage in several plays, including Le'b Eyal (Child's Play), Ya Messafer Wahdak, (Lone Traveler), and Afrouto.^[3]

The 2000s

The year 2000 was prolific for Zaki who starred in four movies including Mustafa Qamar in El Hobb El Awwal (First Love); Omar, opposite Khaled El Nabawy and her husband, Ahmed Helmy—the first of several films they would subsequently film together; Leh Khalletni Ahebbak (Why Did You Make Me Love You Too) again alongside Helmy and Karim Abdel Aziz.

In 2001 Zaki took on the role of Jehan Sadat in the biopic The Days of Sadat about Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, among that year's highest grossing films in Egypt. She was awarded the Egyptian Order of Cultural Merit for her portrayal.^[6] That same year she starred in the comedy Africano which was a box office success, grossing 8 million EGP^[7] and her second in a series of collaborations with co-star Ahmad Al-Sakka. They starred again in the action film Mafia (2002) which was another commercial hit bringing in about 13 million EGP at the box office ^[8] In 2003 Zaki appeared in Hani Khalifa's feature debut Sleepless Nights (2003), a commercial and critical success, that pushed Egyptian social boundaries in addressing sex and marital issues. It has since become a cult classic in contemporary Egyptian cinema.^[9]^[10] Khalifa and Zaki would again collaborate in the 2024 box office hit Flight 404.

In 2007 she starred in Taymour and Shafika, once again opposite Al-Sakka, playing childhood sweethearts whose love is put to test when her character is appointed a minister and he is charged as her bodyguard. While a romantic comedy, the film aimed to show the serious challenges faced by modern-Egyptian women in balancing career ambitions with love and marriage. ^[11]

The 2010s

In 2016, starred in the Ramadan TV series Afrah El-Qoba (The Ooba Weddings) adapted from a novel by Naguib Mahfouz which garnered Zaki the Best Actress Murex D'Or.^[5]

In 2019, Zaki became the first female Egyptian actor to be honored with her own star at the Dubai Stars Walk of Fame in Dubai.^[12]

2020s

In April 2021, Zaki appeared in the mega hit Ramadan drama series Newton's Cradle playing a pregnant woman whose plans go awry when she travels to the United States to have her child born on American soil. Egypt's most watched television series of the year, it became a global hit after it was picked up by Netflix and released in January of 2022. ^[13] ^[14]

In 2022, Zaki appeared in Netflix's first ever Arabic language film Perfect Strangers, a huge hit in North Africa and Middle East. A remake of the 2016 Italian film, the film proved controversial with many Egyptians in light of its depictions of sexuality, including homosexuality, and cursing. Particularly strong criticism was directed at Zaki, the sole Egyptian cast member and with the long-held image of "the girl next door."^[15]

In February 2023, Zaki appeared in the Ramadan series Taht El Wesaya (Under Guardianship), in the role of a widow with two children whose struggles after her husband’s death are amplified by the Egyptian Guardianship Law that privileges the parental grandfather or guardian rights over those of the mother. The popular series prompted calls for reforming Egyptian family law.^[16]

In January 2024 Flight 404 was released in Egyptian theaters with Zaki in the starring role. The film was a regional box office hit and broke Egyptian box office records for a female-led film.^[17] In October of that year the film was selected as the Egyptian submission for the Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards.

In January 2024 Zaki co-founded with publishing entrepreneur May Abdel-Azim an incubator program called HerStory aimed at supporting female Egyptian filmmakers. Its inaugural program funded 20 short films, and in late 2024, they established a sister chapter in Bahrain with the support of the Bahrain Ministry of Information and the Bahrain Film Festival.^[18]

Upcoming projects include El-Set (The Lady), a biopic of the iconic Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum with Zaki in the title role. The film is to be directed by Marwan Hamed with a screenplay by Ahmed Mourad.^[19]

Personal life

Mona is married to Egyptian actor Ahmed Helmy. They have three children: Lilly (2003), Selim (2014), and Younis (2016).

Philanthropy

Zaki has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2009 and in that capacity has appealed for donations surrounding regional events impacting children such as the 2020 Port of Beirut explosion or in, 2023, the conflict in Gaza. ^[20] ^[21] In 2010 she was a spokesperson for the Egyptian Springs of Life blood donation campaign conducted in cooperation with the World Health Organization. ^[22] ^[23]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Original Title	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
1997	The Delicious Killing	El Atl el Laziz	Sherin
1998	Upper Egyptian in the American University	Se'idi fi el Gam'a el Amrikiyya	Syadah
1998	Laugh, Picture Be Sweet	Edhak El Sura Tetla Helwa	Tahani
2000	The First Love	El Hobb El Awwal	Ranya
	Horseback Knight	Fares Zahr el Khel	Zin
	Why You Let Me Love You	Leh Khalletni Ahebbak	Dalya
	Omar 2000	Omar 2000	Bibo
2001	The Days of Sadat	Ayyam Elsadat	Jehan Sadat
2001	Africano	Africano	Gamilah
2002	Mafia	Mafia	Maryam
2003	From Look Of Eye	Men Nazret En	Sarah
2003	Sleepless Nights	Sahar el Layali	Berihan
2004	My Aunt France	Khalti Faransa	Battah
2005	Abu Ali	Abu Ali	Salma
2005	Dreams Of Our Life	Ahlam Omrena	Nada
2006	Blood Of Gazelle	Dam el Ghazal	Hanan
	About Longing and Love	'An el sho' w el Hawa	Alya
	Halim	Halim	Nawal
2007	Taymur and Shafi'ah	Taymur w Shafi'ah	Shafi'ah
2009	Scheherazade, Tell Me a Story	Ehki Ya Shahrzad	Hebah
2009	Escaping Tel Aviv	Welad El Am	Salwa
2011	18 Days	18 Yom	Mona
2016	30 Years Ago	Men 30 Sanah	Hanan
2020	Black Box	El Sandu' el Eswed	Yasmin		^[24]^[25]
2022	Perfect Strangers	Ashab, Wala Aaz	Mariam	Netflix film	^[26]
2022	The Spider	El Ankabout	Laila
2024	Flight 404	Rehla 404	Ghada

Series

Year	Title	Original Title	Role	Ref(s)
1994	The Family	El 'Elah	Awatef
1995	Nights of the Helmiyyah 5	Layali el Helmiyyah 5	Sonia
1997–2000	Zizinia	Zizinia
1997	Our Kins	Ahalina
1998	The Stray Light	El Du el Shared
2002–2003	Egyptian Goha	Goha el Masri
2006	Cindrella	Cindrella
2007	Critical Moments	Lahazat Haregah
2013	Asia	Asia	Asia
2014	Equal 100 Man	Be 100 Ragel
2016	Saturday Night Live	Letet el Sabt mobasher	Guest
2016	Wedding of El'obbah	Afrah El'bbah	Tahiat Abdeh
2021	Newton’s Game	Le’bet Newton
2023	Under Guardianship		Hanan	^[27]