Leila Mourad

Birth Name: Lillian Zaki Mordechai

Date of Birth: 17 February, 1918

Place of Birth: Cairo, Egypt

Date of Death: 21 November, 1995

Place of Death: Cairo, Egypt

Ethnicity: Iraqi Jewish, possibly Polish Jewish

Leila Mourad was an Egyptian singer and actress. She was one of the most prominent superstars in the Arabic-speaking world in her era.

Leila was the daughter of Gamilah Ibrahim Roushou and Ibrahim Zaki Murad Mordechai. Her family was Jewish. Her father, from Baghdad, was a singer, musician, and Hazzan/religious cantor. Her brother, Mounir Mourad, was an actor and composer. Leila is sometimes said to have been of Polish Jewish descent on her mother’s side. It is not clear if this is accurate.

Leila converted to Islam in 1964.

She had one child with her former husband Wagih Abaza; and one child, actor and film director Zaki Fatin Abdel Wahab, with her former husband, film director Fatin Abdel Wahab.

Leila’s paternal grandfather was named Mordechai Assouline (the son of Jacob Assouline and Clementine).

Leila’s paternal grandmother was named Leah Sellick.

Leila’s maternal grandfather was named Ibrahim Roushou. Ibrahim was a concert contractor in the early 20th century, who regularly booked her father Mourad to sing.

Source: Genealogy of Leila Mourad (focusing on her father’s side) – https://www.geni.com