Laila Taher (born 1942, Arabic: ليلي طاهر, Sherouette Moustafa Ibrahim, Arabic: شيرويت مصطفي إبراهيم) is an Egyptian film, stage, television actress and presenter who is mostly known for her successful collaborations with Salah Zulfikar in film, television and theater. She participated in over hundred artworks through her career mostly in television. In films, Taher is known for her notable roles in; Saladin the Victorious (1963), Soft Hands (1963), A Husband on Vacation (1964), Al Qadisiyya (1981), and The Peacock (1982). And her television roles include; Monsieur Le Directeur (1988) and The Family of Mr. Shalash (1990).
Early life
Sherouette Moustafa Ibrahim was born on 13 March 1942 in Cairo to an Egyptian family, her father was an agricultural engineer and her mother a housewife. Her family took care of her education until she obtained a bachelor's degree in social work.
Career
She holds a bachelor's degree in social work and was supposed to be a social worker, as her father had planned, but her tendency to acting while studying at the university prevented her parents from achieving her plan.
The life of fame as a TV presenter began with the beginning of the Egyptian television broadcast in 1960, where she was collected by many meetings and situations with the television director Robert Sayegh, who was one of the first generation of television directors, as he helped and encouraged her and her family until she became a successful broadcaster to present many important programs. The most prominent of which was the (TV Magazine) program, which was presented for a long time even after Ramses Naguib discovered and chose her stage name from the heroines of Ihsan Abdel Quddous's novels.
She chose Laila for her love and intense love for the late singer Laila Mourad, and she says about herself: My beginning in the Egyptian cinema was through Abu Hadid (1958), in which I played a supporting the role with actor Farid Shawqi. After she refused to be hired as a full-time television presenter she became a full time actress.
Her real breakthrough to fame was in 1964, when she was paired with box-office mogul Salah Zulfikar, and won her first leading role opposite him in A Husband on Vacation (1964), the film was a box office hit. Taher says about this film: It is one of the most important films of my career, in addition to Soft Hands (1963) and Saladin the Victorious (1963). She formed a lovely duet with Salah Zulfikar in over twenty artworks in film, television and in stage. In 2021, she announced her full retirement from acting.
Personal life
She married six times, and her first husband was Mohamed El-Sherbiny, with whom she gave birth to her only son, Ahmed. After their separation, she married director Hussein Fawzy, then she was divorced and married journalist Nabil Esmat.
After her divorce, she married actor Yousuf Shaaban and separated from him and married music composer Khaled Al-Amir. After her separation from him, she married her last husband outside movie business.
Films
1958: Abu Hadid
1960: Love and Adoration
1960: Ya Habibi
1961: El Hub Keda
1961: Waheeda
1961: The Sun Will Never Set
1962: Struggle of the Heroes
1963: Saladin the Victorious
1963: Soft Hands
1963: Hero till the End
1964: A Husband on Vacation
1965: Artistic Director
1971: Confessions of a Woman
1975: I Want a Solution
1981: Al Qadisiyya
1982: The Peacock
1984: The Addict
1987: I Wanted to Apologize
1988: Red Mourning Clothes
1988: Monsieur le Directeur
1989: Mr Aliwa's Apartment
1992: Anything But My Daughter
2008: Ramadan Mabrouk Abu al-Alamein Hamouda
On stage
1964: A Bullet in the Heart
1966: Afifi's Loves
1973: A Man for Every Home
1983: The Marital Happiness Trap
1986: Watch out, couples!
1988: The Lost Day
Television
1979: The Searcher
1982: Detective Inspector
1990: The Family of Mr Shalash
1991: The Peacock
2009: Monsieur Ramadan Mabrouk.