Fatma Ahmed Kamal Shaker, better known by her stage nameShadia, was an Egyptian actress and singer. She was famous for her roles in light comedies and drama in the 1950s and 1960s. She is one of the iconic actresses and singers in Egypt and the middle east region and a symbol of the golden age of Egyptian Cinema. Her movies and songs are greatly influential in the Egyptian and the Arabic cultures. Critics consider her the most important and successful comprehensive Egyptian and Arabic artist of all time. Her first appearance in a film was in Azhar wa Ashwak, and her last film was La Tas'alni Man Ana. She is also known for her patriotic song "Ya Habibti Ya Masr" and her breakthrough leading role in the Egyptian movie "Al Maraa Al Maghoula". Six of her movies are listed in the top 100 Egyptian movies of the 20th century. In April 2015, she became the first actress to be awarded an honorary doctorate by the Academy of Arts. She was given the nickname "Idol of the Masses" following her successful movie "Maaboudat El Gamaheer". Other notable nicknames include "The Guitar of the Arabic Singing" and "The Golden Guitar" .
Early life
Born as "Fatma Ahmed Kamal Shaker" in 1931, in the Helmyia El Gadida, in Cairo; Egypt. Shadia was born to an Egyptian father, Ahmed Kamal Sahker, from Sharqia city, and a mother of Turkish descent. In 1934, she fell in love with an Egyptian officer from Upper Egypt, and she got heartbroken after his death during the 1948 war. She had five sisters and brothers. She was the youngest of her sisters and the second youngest among all her siblings. Since her childhood, Shadia loved to sing and was encouraged to pursue music at primary school. Moreover, she began acting at the age of fifteen. Shadia was the voice of Egypt during hard and war times, she was famous of her Egyptian patriotic songs, especially "Ya Habibti Ya Masr" and "Aqwa Mn El Zaman". She participated in many operettas along with other notable Egyptian and Arabic singers about Egypt and the Arab world including: "Al Watan Al Akbar", "El Geel El Sa'ed", and "Soot El Gamaheer".
Career
Shaker was given the stage name "Shadia" by herself following the name of a newborn of one of her family's friends. In her heyday during the 1950s and 1960s, Shadia acted in numerous melodramas, romance, and comedy films. However, it was her musical talent as a singer that established Shadia as one of the most important Egyptian cinema stars of her era. Overall, as "Shadia", she performed in more than 100 films. She starred in more than 30 films with the actor Kamal El Shennawy, and sang opposite Farid El Atrash and Abdel Halim Hafez, such as in "Ma'boudat El Gamaheer". She also appeared with Faten Hamama in "Mawe'd Ma'a El Hayah", and in "El Mar'a El Maghola" she played the role of Fatma in a heavy melodrama. Other notable films she starred in include "El les we El Kelab" and in her comedy roles in films "El Zouga raqam 13" and "Meraty Modeer A'am". Indeed, Shadia was often cast in cunning and cheeky roles, however, she also played serious roles, such as in "El Tareeq", and in the stage version of "Raya and Sakina", which was based on the true story of two Alexandrian serial killers and directed by Hussein Kamal. Shadia also produced two films, and also appeared in several films in Japan. Upon returning from the premiere of "Raya and Sakina", Shadia stated that she gave serious thought that night to the idea of repentance. The following morning, she informed her producers that she wanted no part in the play from then on, but eventually promised to finish her work when they insisted that she do so. Thereafter, Shadia retired from the film and music industry, and went on a Umrah to Mecca, where she met the popular Egyptian Azhari scholar Sheikh El Shaarawy. Her meeting with El-Shaarawy influenced Shadia to reach her final decision to start wearing the hijab. Her mega hit song "Ya Habibti Ya Masr", was considered as one of the best patriotic songs ever. During a TV-interview, Shadia said regarding her famous patriotic song: "When i am singing to my home, it is even way more romantic and more honest than any romantic song. Here i am singing to my home, my land. There was a period when Egypt's name was erased, Egypt name will never get erased from our hearts". After almost 25 years of her retirement, Shadia's song became an anthem of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.
Illness and death
Shadia was hospitalized on 4 November 2017 after suffering a massive stroke in Cairo. She was placed under intensive care. Her nephew, Khaled Shaker, said during a televised phone conversation that she recovered from the stroke and could identify her relatives and the people around her. He added, however, that her illness was complicated by pneumonia, despite her recovery. Shadia's condition stabilized on 9 November, and President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi visited her that day at Al-Galaa Hospital. Shaker later said that the first words she spoke after recovering were "I want to go home", but had speech difficulties in general. On 28 November, Shadia died from respiratory failure caused by the pneumonia.
