Soad Hosny (January 26, 1943 - June 21, 2001) was an Egyptian actress born in Cairo to a household known as "the artists' home". Her father was renowned calligrapher Mohamed Hosni. Her half-sister Nagat El Saghira was a famous singer. Soad’s career began at a young age and her talents were first noticed by author Abdelrahman El Khamissy. She's one of the most influential actresses in the Arab world and is known as the "Cinderella of the Screen". Hosny appeared in no less than 9 movies listed in the "Top 100 Egyptian films", compiled in 1996 in celebration of the centenary of Egyptian cinema.

Soad was known for her versatility as an actress and her ability to play a wide range of characters, from comedic and lighthearted roles to dramatic and tragic ones. She was also known for her singing, which was featured in many of her films. Due to illness, she retired from acting in 1991 at just 48. Hosny's final screen appearance was in The Shepherd and the Women (1991), directed by her ex-husband, Ali Badrakhan. She starred alongside Ahmed Zaki in the TV series "Hekayat Howa wa Heya" (1985), a show that tackled social issues such as gender inequality. She received numerous awards in her career for starring in movies such as Sunset and Sunrise (1970), Where Is My Mind (1974), A Dinner Date (1981), and many other films.