Lobna Abd al-Aziz
Actress and Radio Presenter
Lobna Abd al-Aziz is an Egyptian actress, and one of the woman pioneers of Egyptian and Arab cinema. In the interview, she traced her journey with art, cinema, and media, from presenting a children’s radio program when she was just a child, until her participation in nearly 19 movies over the course of her acting career. Lobna received the Fulbright Commission scholarship, and earned a master’s degree in performance arts from the University of California. She was awarded a medal by the late President Gamal Abd al-Nasser.
Lobna was raised by her father, whom she considered as her role model, and her first and most influential teacher. He worked as a journalist in Al-Ahram Newspaper, and was interested in literature. Since Lobna’s early childhood, her father was keen on telling her stories that he adapted and simplified from major world literature, such as Romeo and Juliet, Salome, and other plays and novels. As a result, literature in general was a significant aspect of her childhood, and later her character. When she grew up, Lobna was eager to read the plays and novels that she heard from her father as tales in her childhood.
Lobna attended Saint Mary’s English School, and was mostly taught by Irish nuns, who cared about education, as well as arts and culture. She loved the nuns at her school dearly, and was greatly affected by them. When Lobna traveled to Ireland many years later, she went to visit the school principal. She also recalled the diverse nationalities of her schoolmates, who were Australian, British, and French. Lobna was one of the only two students at school who were Egyptian nationals.
At the age of eleven, a family relative accompanied Lobna to the radio to work in the Children’s Corner, which was run by a British administration. For years, Lobna worked at the radio under the name “Auntie Lulu.” As soon as she started taking part in the radio dramas, her love for acting sparked, and she took up acting as a hobby.
Lobna attended the Department of Journalism at the American University in Cairo, where she participated in a number of theater productions performed at the university’s Ewart Hall. She was awarded the title “The University Girl.” Lobna recalled that many of the top directors and producers at that time watched her performances at the university theater, and tried to convince her to work professionally as an actress. At first, she ruled out the idea entirely because society at that time did not approve of the acting profession. Lobna recounted that her uncle got so angry and slapped her on the face when she expressed her desire to work as an actress.
Upon her graduation, Lobna traveled to the United States to study for a master’s degree in performance arts at the University of California, during which time she worked as a correspondent for al-Ahram Newspaper. She lived in Los Angeles, which gave her the opportunity to visit Hollywood’s movie sets, art studios, and theaters, and to write articles about them. After returning to Egypt, Mr. Othman al-Antabli, who was in charge of the last page of al-Ahram, asked Lobna to compose an article comparing between the studios in America and in Egypt. Since she was not familiar with the studios and movie sets in Egypt, Mr. Othman took her to al-Nahas Studio. Lobna recounted that on the day of their visit, a movie was being filmed inside the studio. The movie was produced by Ramses Naguib, who came to meet with Lobna’s father four days later, in order to offer Lobna an acting job. It came as a surprise to her, but her father left the decision up to her, promising to support her decision no matter what it was. She asked for some time to make up her mind, during which author Ihsan Abd al-Quddous, who was a friend of her father, advised her to try, just for the experience. Lobna also received encouragement from the director Salah Abu Seif, and artist Abd al-Halim Hafez. At the end, Lobna decided to give acting a try.
Ramses Naguib offered Lobna a deal to work on three movies, but she declined and decided to sign for one movie only as a trial, after which she would decide whether or not to continue acting. Lobna promised to work with Ramses Naguib if she decided to pursue an acting career. Lobna’s first movie was The Empty Pillow, which was released in 1957, and garnered huge success. Lobna recalled the rejection she experienced from some of her family members, and recounted how her mother found it difficult to accept her decision at first, and how her friends were surprised at what they considered a very bold decision. Lobna also recalled how her colleagues within the filmmaking industry were reserved with her, due to her uncommon cultural background, in their opinion, to the extent that some of them used to treat her as if she was a foreigner.
Lobna participated in several movies, such as Masters’ Passion, which was produced and directed by Ramses Naguib, and I Am Free, which was a movie adaptation of Ihsan Abd al-Quddous’s novel. She also played roles in Don't Remember Me, directed by Mahmoud Zulfiqar, and A Message from an Unknown Woman, produced by Salah Zulfiqar and directed by Salah Abu Seif, in addition to Bride of the Nile, directed by Fatin Abd al-Wahab. Her last movie was The Beggars’ Strike, directed by Hassan al-Imam.
In 1976, and at the peak of her cinema success, Lobna traveled with her husband, Dr. Ismail Barrada, to the United States, where he studied for his PhD. Although she had no intentions to stay there, she became preoccupied with the matters of her personal life, and the years passed. Lobna lived in the USA for nearly 30 years, before returning to Egypt, and resuming her artistic activities. She recalled the hardship of living abroad at first, due to the limited financial resources. Lobna and her husband started their lives in the USA from scratch, and lived in a modest house at the student’s neighborhood, where they had their daughters. When visiting Egypt for the first time, Lobna’s daughters were amazed at the way Egyptians greeted their mother, because for the longest period of their life, they did not know anything about Lobna’s acting career, and had no idea that their mother was a famous movie star in Egypt. Lobna Abd al-Aziz lived a simple life, as any ordinary mother would, and took care of her daughters. She decided with love, and from all her heart to play this role, without thinking of her past or fame.