Nelly Karim

Nelly Karim (Arabic: نيللي كريم; born 18 December 1974) is an Egyptian actress, former ballet dancer, and model known for her versatility and grounded, naturalistic acting style in both film and television. She began her artistic career at a young age as a ballet dancer with the Cairo Opera House and later transitioned into acting and modeling in the early 2000s. She gained major recognition in Egyptian cinema with standout roles in socially driven films and tv series, where she portrayes complex female experiences in contemporary Egyptian society, helping establish her as one of the most respected actresses of her generation. Nelly Karim is the daughter of a Soviet Russian mother from Leningrad and an Egyptian father from Zagazig. Born in Alexandria, Egypt on 18 December 1974, she lived much of her early life in Russia while spending summer vacations in Alexandria. Her family moved back permanently to Egypt in 1991 when her father died and she was 16. Karim's first career was as a ballet dancer. She started dancing as young child in the former Soviet Union, where she joined her first professional dance school and performed at the Odessa Opera House. Upon her return to Egypt in 1991, she secured a spot at the Academy of Arts in the Cairo Ballet Institute and the Cairo Opera Ballet Company. In less than a year, she won the Cairo Ballet Competition. She was performing at the Cairo Opera in 2000 as the prima ballerina when she was given an opportunity to appear on Fawazeer Ramadan, a popular Egyptian radio and television show that included dance routines. That same year Karim got her first acting role when Faten Hamama, one of Egypt's most famous actresses, saw Karim on Fawazeer Ramadan and picked her to play her daughter in the TV series, Wageh El Amar (Face of the Moon). The 2000 series received wide attention because of Hamama's return to the screen after a seven-year hiatus, and won the Best Series award in the Egyptian Radio and Television Festival in 2001. In 2002 Karim landed her first film role in Youth on Air (Shabab Ala El Hawa) starring alongside Hanan Turk, another Egyptian ballerina turned actress. Similar to Turk, Karim got her first big break in a film directed by Youssef Chahine, among Egypt's most celebrated filmmakers. She appeared in the role of Rita Hayworth in his 2004 film Alexandria... New York, a fictional retelling of his life. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.