OMAR SHARIF – THE LEGENDARY ACTOR
Omar Sharif was born on 10th April 1932 in Alexandria, Kingdom of Egypt, to a Melkite Catholic family of Lebanese descent, making him and his family members of the Antiochian Greek Christian minority also known as Rum. His original name was Michel Yusef Dimitri Chalhoub. Sharif, whose adopted surname means "noble" or "nobleman" in Arabic.
His father, Yusef Chalhoub, a precious-woods merchant, moved to the port city of Alexandria with his mother in the early 20th century from Zahle in Lebanon. Sharif was later born in Alexandria. His family moved to Cairo when he was four. His mother, Claire Saada, was a noted society hostess, and Egypt's King Farouk was a regular visitor prior to his deposition in 1952.
In his youth, Sharif studied at Victoria College Alexandria, where he showed a talent for languages. He later graduated from Cairo University with a degree in mathematics and physics. He worked for a while in his father's precious wood business before beginning his acting career in Egypt. In 1954, Sharif starred in the film, ‘Struggle in the Valley with actress Faten Hamama, who shared a kiss with him although she had previously refused to kiss on screen. The two fell in love; Sharif converted to Islam, changed his name, and married her in 1955. And he adopted the stage name "Omar Sharif". They had one son, Tarek Sharif, born in 1957 in Egypt, who appeared in Doctor Zhivago as Yuri at the age of eight. The couple separated in 1966 and their marriage ended in divorce in 1974. Sharif never remarried; he stated that after his divorce he never fell in love with another woman again. Before their divorce, Sharif dated actresses, Pat Sheehan and Dodie Marshall.
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