One cannot talk about Omar Sharif without addressing the women in his life, a subject that has long been the focus of local and international newspapers, starting with his only ex-wife Faten Hamama, through to the most famous stars that appeared in his movies.
Sharif told the Al Jazeera magazine in 2002 that love had ceased to exist for him 30 years ago, after he and Faten Hamama were divorced.
On what he looks for in a woman, he said her independent personality.
Al-Masry Al-Youm lists women in the life of Omar Sharif that he will no longer remember:
Jan Lee Mueller:
Sharif met Jan Lee Mueller when he was in Paris with his mother. He was happy to learn that she came from Alexandria.
Although he fell in love with her, his father rejected the marriage because she was a Protestant, while Sharif’s family was Catholic.
This was the first emotional shock for Sharif.
Faten Hamama:
This love story that shook the entire artistic community started in 1954 when filmmaker Youssef Chahine was shooting his film “Struggle in the Valley.”
Actor Shoukri Sarhan was recommended to star with Hamama in the film. But Hamama, who was still married to filmmaker Ezz Eddin Zulfikar at the time, suggested they find a new face. As a result, Chahine nominated his colleague at Victoria College in Alexandria, Michel Shalhoub (Sharif’s real name), who wanted to travel abroad to study cinema.
Hamama and Zulfikar got divorced before the film was completed. it is said the reason was that she accepted to kiss the hero of the flim, something she had always objected to.
She married Sharif when he converted to Islam in 1955, and had Tarek, Sharif’s only son. Together, they starred in a number of films that are considered marks in the history of Egyptian cinema.
But they got divorced when she refused to live abroad with him as he started to become an international actor. “I left her because I did not want to betray her,” said Sharif.
Sharif has always avowed his love for Hamama even after their divorce. The last time was in 2014 when he said that she was his first and last love.
Soheir Ramzy:
Sharif was engaged to Soheir Ramzy after she decided to stop acting and wear a headscarf, but they were soon separated, although there were rumors that they were married secretly for several months, which they have both denied.
“I do not deny that I fell in love with the stars of my films for some time, such as Ava Gardner, Ingrid Bergman, Barbra Streisand and Anouk Aimé,” Sharif said. “But this was just infatuation.”
Barbra Streisand:
Omar Sharif and Barbra Streisand starred in several films, the most famous of which was “Funny Girl” in 1968.
“I will never forget how she stood with me when there were objections to me starring in the film because I was an Egyptian and Egypt was at war with Israel,” Sharif said.
“Though she was not good looking, she had an attractive personality,” said Sharif. “We had a secret love story for just four months.”
Julie Andrews:
Julie Andrews was the actress who most starred with Sharif in films. She always talked well about him.
Sophia Loren:
She was a famous and beautiful Italian actress who liked Sharif very much. They both starred in “More than a Miracle” in 1967.
“She had the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen in my life,” Sharif said about her. “I thought she was a snob in the beginning, but found out that she was very modest.”
“I thought she was taller than me, which made me buy high heel shoes so that I do not appear shorter than her in The Fall of the Roman Empire,” he said. “But she wasn’t.”
Ava Gardner:
Ava Gardner starred with Sharif in the film "Mayerling", which was directed by Terence Young in 1968.
Ingrid Bergman:
There were rumors in the sixties about Bergman going out with Sharif because she always spoke fondly of him. She starred with him in “The Yellow Rolls-Royce” in 1964.
Diane McBain:
There were also rumors about a short love story between McBain and Sharif because she appeared with him at many public and private events.
Anouk Aimée:
Sharif said that he fell in love with French actress Anouk Aimée when they were shooting the film “The Appointment”, which was directed by Sidney Lumet.
“She was beautiful but peculiar, and she knows how to please a man,” said Sharif. "I wanted to marry her, but I preferred my independence."
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
