Styled Archives: Samia Gamal’s Most Memorable Moments

Trailblazing her way through Egyptian history one swift and practiced swerve at a time, Egyptian belly dancer and silver-screen veteran, Samia Gamal, undoubtedly earned her status as a true Egyptian icon who remains to this very day a household name. With dreams to become the next Badia Masabani, the Syrian ‘Godmother of Oriental Dance’ and Egypt’s pioneering belly dance artist at the time, Gamal’s path to stardom began when she indeed - as fortune and timely connections would have it - began working under her idol.

Proclaimed by His Majesty King Farouk of Egypt, for whom she had frequently performed, as the ‘National Belly Dancer of Egypt,’ Gamal’s fame quickly seeped through the Egyptian scene, garnering the attention of renowned US-based Albanian photographer Gjon Mili, who invited Gamal for a photoshoot that would change the trajectory of her life.

Later marrying ‘Texas Billionaire’ Sheppard King III, Gamal’s career found its footing in America, allowing her to live a socialite dream that had remained, to many back home, nothing short of a fantasy. However, seeing how the marriage was short lived, Gamal later returned to Egypt, taking the silver-screen by storm. Having starred in over 50 classic cinematic works, Samia Gamal’s legacy continues to live on today.

From humble beginnings to international stardom, the ‘Butterfly of Egyptian Cinema’ seemingly took Egypt, and the world, by storm, forging for herself a dance identity hitherto unassumed by her predecessors, as she infused both Latin and Italian influences into her belly dance routines.

Glowing radiant with confidence, Gamal’s fashion echoed her always-rising star; daring, dashing, and debonair. For this week’s Styled Archives, we’re taking a look at some of her most memorable moments.