Inherited Talent: Arab Mother-Daughter Powerhouses
You know that saying, “like mother, like daughter,” well nothing exemplifies it more than a mother-daughter team who go big and reach their goals together.
Whether it’s on the fashion runway, behind the glistening glow of the camera, or on a stage with a mic, there are many iconic Arab mothers and daughters who rose to the top. Let’s meet some of our standout picks:
Azza Fahmy, Amina & Fatma Ghali
Stepping back 50 years ago, armed with a passion and love for jewelry making, Azza Fahmy entered the bustling market of Cairo. There, she met a master goldsmith and convinced him to take her on as an apprentice.
From there, she became the first woman in Egypt to enter the jewelry trade in that way. Today, she’s one of the most esteemed jewelry designers in the MENA region.
Following along the ride are her daughters, Amina and Fatma Ghali. With Amina, since the days she used to visit her mother’s workshop, she strived to become a designer herself. Turning her dream into a reality, she followed in her mother’s footsteps and joined Azza Fahmy Jewelry in 2005 as a designer.
There, she spent 3 years working behind the scenes, designing and developing jewelry pieces in the brand’s various collections. Fatma Ghali, on the other hand, took a very different path by becoming the CEO of Azza Fahmy Jewelry.
Lina Soualem & Hiam Abbas
For French-Palestinian-Algerian filmmaker Lina Soualem, cinema is a true family affair. As a filmmaker, she’s known to direct introspective documentaries that explore family life, like her Oscar-nominated Bye Bye Tiberias.
In that same cinematic world is her mother, the inimitable Palestinian-French actress Hiam Abbas. She has been in the cinema business for years and recently rose to fame for her role as Marcia Roy in HBO’s Succession.
In a beautiful mother-daughter duo moment, the two made an appearance at the 96th Academy Awards.
Gigi, Bella & Yolanda Hadid
Today, Gigi and Bella Hadid dominate the fashion world as two of the most famous supermodels, but a lot of the credit has to go to their mother, Yolanda Hadid.
She paved that special path for them. The former model came to fame during the 1980s after getting signed by Ford Models. Today, all three of her children follow in her footsteps as her son, Anwar Hadid, is also a model.
Beyond modeling, Yolanda Hadid also took on acting, as she graced the screen on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills for three seasons from 2012 to 2016. Stardom and fame seem to be a big part of the family.
Nevin Darwish & Perihan El-Badrawy
Soaring through the skies, this mother-daughter duo is unlike any other. They made airline history by becoming the first non-American Arab mother-daughter duo to operate on the same airline.
It was a very special moment and was commemorated by Darwish on Facebook, where she expressed her pride in making her dreams come true.
This major moment is nothing new to the two, as before that, Captain Nevin became the first Arab woman in the world to command the largest commercial aircraft.
Mai & Mama Wafaa
Who doesn’t love bantering and bickering with their mom? There’s one mother-daughter duo who rose to fame just for that very reason. Meet Mai and Mama Wafaa, the Egyptian mother and daughter who know how to crack us up on TikTok because of their hilarious content.
Whether it’s Mama Wafaa expertly throwing “flip flops” at Mai or telling Mai off for not knowing how to chop vegetables, when the two share a screen, it becomes literal comedy gold.
Now that you’ve met all the moms, and seen their accomplishments and their journey together, let us know about your own story. Did you share a similar path with your own mom?
