Camelia (actress)

Camelia (Arabic: كاميليا, born Lilian Victor Cohen), was a Jewish-Egyptian actress. She was born on December 13, 1929, and died on August 31, 1950.^[1]

Camelia
Camelia in 1949
Born	Lilian Victor Cohen (1919-12-13)December 13, 1919 Alexandria, Egypt
Died	August 31, 1950(1950-08-31) (aged 20) Egypt
Nationality	Egyptian
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1947–1950

Biography

Camelia was born in Alexandria^[2] to an ethnically Jewish, Egyptian–Italian religiously Catholic family.^[3][1] She was discovered by Egyptian director Ahmed Salem who cast her in her first film in 1946.^[1][4]

As a beautiful socialite in the high society of Alexandria, she loved partying. Events surrounding her and her high-society relationships frequently appeared in the tabloids. In particular, gossip surrounding her relationships was often associated with her public partnership with that of Farouk of Egypt.^[1][2][5]

Camelia in the 1940s

Camelia was killed in the crash of TWA Flight 903 in 1950 when she was 20 years old. The accident added to the fame and mystery surrounding her image. Her wild lifestyle and tragic death are often compared to that of Marilyn Monroe. Conspiracy theories and speculation about espionage, especially in the context of Israel were also widespread in Egypt, but nothing has ever been proven. Despite a short career, she gained a place in the memory of Egyptian and Arab audiences and left a mark in the films that are still shown all over the Arab world. Famed Egyptian director Atef Salem dedicated his film, "Hafeya A'la Gesr El Zahab" (Barefoot on a Golden Bridge) to her.^[4][2][5]

Selected films

• 1947: The Red Mask (el Qenaa el ahmar)
• 1947: All Song (el Kol yeghany)
• 1948: Temptation (Fitnah)
• 1948: A woman's Imagination (Khayal Imra’ah)
• 1949: Dazed Souls (Arwah haynnah)
• 1949: Such are Women (el Setat Kida)
• 1949: El Bahlawan Street (Shaare' el Bahlawan)
• 1949: The Penny Owner (Sahbet El malalim)
• 1949: Midnight (Nos el layl)
• 1949: My Own Child (Walady)
• 1949: The Female Murderer (el Qatelah)
• 1950: A Woman of fire (Imra'ah men Nar)
• 1950: Dad is Groom (Baba ‘aris)
• 1950: Full Moon (Qamar arba ‘tachar)
• 1950: The Millionaire (el Millionair)
• 1950: Mind is a Blessing (el ‘aal zenah)
• 1950: Last Lie (Akher kedbah)
• 1950: Cairo Road (El Tariq ela el Qahirah)