One of the greatest actors of the Middle East: Who is Omar Sharif?

Born on April 10, 1932, as Michel Demitri Chalhoub, in Alexandria, Egypt, as the son of a Catholic family, Omer Sharif graduated from Victoria College and studied mathematics and physics at Cairo University.

Omar Sharif, who had his first acting experience in the Egyptian movie Sira`a Fi al-Wadi in 1953, starred in 17 movies with his wife between 1953 and 1962.

Goha, a romantic film, won the Special Jury Prize at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival. The success of Omar Sharif, who gained international fame with the movie Lawrence of Arabia, brought him a nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the 1962 Oscars and the Best Supporting Actor award at the Golden Globe Awards.

Omar Sharif (born Michel Yusef Dimitri Chalhoub 10 April 1932 – 10 July 2015) was an Egyptian actor, generally regarded as one of his country's greatest male film stars. He began his career in his native country in the 1950s. He is best known for his appearances in American, British, French, and Italian productions. His career encompassed over 100 films spanning 50 years, and brought him many accolades including three Golden Globe Awards and a César Award for Best Actor.

Omar Sharif, who took part in more than 60 films and TV series during his long artistic career spanning over 55 years, never married again after leaving Faten Hamama in 1974.

Omar Sharif passed away due to a heart attack on July 10, 2015.

Who is Omar Sharif?

He is remembered for his roles as Yuri Zhivago in Doctor Zhivago (1965) and Sharif Ali in Lawrence of Arabia (1962). Omer Sharif was born in Alexandria under the name Michel Demetri Shalhoub. His family was of Lebanese origin and belonged to the Catholic Melchite Church. His father, Joseph, was a timber merchant who emigrated from Zahle, Lebanon. His mother, Claire Saada, was of Syrian and Lebanese origin.

Şerif studied at Victoria College in Alexandria with the famous director Yusuf Şahin and the philosopher of Palestinian origin Edward Said.

Şerif, one of the greatest actors produced in the Middle East, won the Golden Globe for best-supporting actor for his role as Şerif Ali in Lawrence of Arabia in 1962. In 1965, he took home the Golden Globe for best actor for his performance as Yuri in Doctor Zhivago.

He won the Cesar Award for best actor for his role as İbrahim Demirci, an old Turk, in the 2003 film İbrahim Bey and the Flowers of the Qur'an (Monsieur Ibrahim et les Fleurs du Coran). Sharif had a bachelor's degree in mathematics and physics from Cairo University.

In 2015, it was announced by his son that he had Alzheimer's disease. Shortly after this statement, he died of a heart attack in the hospital where he was treated in Cairo on July 10, 2015.

His body was buried after the funeral ceremony at Mushir Tantawi Mosque on July 12. The artist, who married the famous Egyptian actress Faten Hamama in 1954, had a son named Tarık, born in 1957. The marriage of Şerif and Hamama, who became Muslims while marrying Hamama, ended in 1974. Sharif did not remarry afterwards.