Samia Gamal was born on May 27, 1924 in Bani Swaif, Egypt as Zeinab Ali Khalil Ibrahim Mahfouz. Her career began with "Badia Masabni" band where she was involved in dancing in groups, and in 1943 began working in the field of cinema where she formed a successful dual team with the artist "Farid al-Atrash" in several movies and did the most famous dances with him. Her dance was characterized by combining Eastern dancing and Western dances, as Samia Gamal focused in her dance on providing a state of fascination for the spectators through clothing, music, and lighting, She is known for Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1954), Little Miss Devil (1949) and Sigarah wa kas (1955).

She was married to Rushdy Abaz and died on December 1, 1994 in Cairo, Egypt.