She is fondly called the pretty face of the movies.
Mona Ali Mohamed Zaki discovered her career path quite early in life albeit accidentally. As is common with 16year olds, Mona wished earnestly for the day she would have the opportunity of meeting her favourite actor and director; Mohamed Sohbi.
Well, to the teenager, it was just a mere wish and nothing more, you know like the very many wishes we had as children, which reminds me, as a child I truly wished that every day was Christmas but my mum always had a better wish; that every day was a school day, this made me really sad.
Quite surprisingly, Mona’s wish became a reality.
She almost could not believe what luck handed her, when she came face to face with the popular movie star; Mohamed Sohbi.
Mohamed immediately saw in the pretty teenager what she never knew she possessed; the charisma and grace of the next movie star. He knew this was an opportunity to sharpen and quicken a talent and so he organized ballet and voice trainings for Mona and then gave her a role in his play Bel Araby El Faseeh.
This opportunity sparked up something interesting in the heart of the teenager, a desire and passion for acting.
Mona Zaki was born to parents Ali Mohamed Zaki and Tahani, on November 18, 1976. Until the age of 13, Mona lived in Kuwait. After her secondary education, Mona gained admission into Cairo University to study Mass Communication.
While there, she was introduced to director Ismail Abdel Hafez who chose her to play a role in El A’elah, a Ramadan series that marked her TV debut.
Soon, countless doors began to open for Mona in the movie industry and her pretty face became a regular feature in the movies.
She acted the leading roles in several movies like; Idhak El Soura Titla’ Hilwa, a performance for which she received an award, Sa’idi fil Gam’a Al-Amrikiya, Omar 2000, El Hobb El Awal, and Leih Khallitni Ahibbak .
All of which were box office hits. Mona also enrolled for short courses in the Institute for Theatrical Studies. She is considered the most talented and beautiful actress in the Middle East.
The pretty movie star also invaded the Cinema with her great performances, one of which was in the popular El Katl ElLaziz, with Mervat Amin.
She went on from one movie to another, presenting Sahar El Layali, Africano (where she acted as Gamila, a young lady leaving in South Africa who thought that her cousin “Ahmed El Sakka” stole her money), Mafia, Men Nazret Ein, Khalti Faransa and many more.
Soon Mona Zika became a household name and the movie lovers’ sweetheart. Mona also played the role of Gihan El Sadat in the masterpiece Ayam El Sadat (which was about the Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat). The young actress was given an award, along with the rest of the cast of the movie, by President Hosni Mubarak.
Mona’s desire is to make good remarkable roles in her career as a Super Star.
What I find very impressive about this movie star is that she has a clear vision and is incontrovertibly purpose driven.
A popular writer once said that “A vision is not just a picture of what could be; but an appeal to our better selves, a call to become something more”.
Mona said recently in a television programme that she would never be seen playing any sexy role as she will never be able to respect herself again if she did those roles. These were the words that fanned the flames of her growing popularity.
Mona is married to Ahmed Helmi, a popular Egyptian actor and they are the parents of a pretty girl named Lilly.
