Google Doodle marks late Omar Sharif’s 86th birthday

Omar Sharif and Faten Hamama divorced in 1974. (MENA/AFP)

CAIRO: Google Doodle has marked the 86th birthday of late acclaimed Egyptian actor Omar Sharif.
The actor, who shot to international fame in the 1960s, was one of the few Arab stars who broke into Hollywood and played leading roles in some of its most iconic films.
Sharif is best known for starring in films such as “Doctor Zhivago,” and also won a bevy of Golden Globes for his role in David Lean’s “Lawrence of Arabia” in 1963’s award show.
Sharif was born in Alexandria as Michel Dimitri Chalhoub to a Catholic mother and Syrian father on April 10, 1932.
When he was four-years-old, the family moved to Cairo and were known to be close friends with Egypt’s King Farouk. He went on to study mathematics at Cairo Univeristy, before moving to London to study acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
He converted to Islam and changed his name to Omar Sharif so he could marry fellow Egyptian actor Faten Hamama, but they divorced after 19 years of marriage in 1974.