Omar Sharif, Jr.

Omar Sharif Jr. (born in Montreal, 28 November 1983) is an Egyptian-Canadian actor, model, and gay activist who currently lives in the United States.

Early life and education

Sharif is the son of a Muslim father, Tarek, and a Jewish mother, Debbie. His paternal grandparents were Omar Sharif and Faten Hamama, both well-known Egyptian actors; his maternal grandparents were Holocaust survivors. During his childhood Sharif was shuttled back and forth between Montreal, Paris, and Cairo.^[1]

When Sharif was a child, his grandfather and namesake “made sure I went to horseback riding and polo lessons every day,” he wrote in a memorial article. “We'd go to the racetrack, and he'd give me 50 francs — maybe $10 at the time — to bet on the races with him so I could feel the excitement of it.”^[2]

He has a B.A. from Queen's University, a Master’s in Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics and a degree in Performing Arts from The Lee Strasberg Institute.^[3]

Career

Sharif has worked as an actor, appearing in the 2000 Egyptian miniseries Wagh el qamar, the 2005-6 Canadian series Virginie, the 2008 Egyptian film Hassan wa Morcus, and the 2016 Irish film The Secret Scripture.^[1]

When he became an actor, his grandfather said to him: “I gave you my name, I gave you my looks. I'm not going to give you anything else. You have to do it entirely on your own.”^[2]

He has also worked as a model. He was “the face of Coca-Cola for the Arabic world and appeared in a major Calvin Klein print campaign in Egypt.”^[4] He was a presenter at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards in 2011.

In 2012, Sharif came out as gay in The Advocate, a gay newsmagazine. Noting that the recent parliamentary elections in Egypt had “dealt secularists a particularly devastating blow,” he stated that the vision of “a freer, more equal Egypt — a vision that many young patriots gave their lives to see realized in Tahrir Square — has been hijacked.”^[5][6]

At the same time he revealed his half-Jewish ancestry. He is said to be “the first public personality to ever come out as openly gay in the Arab World.” His announcement led to widespread criticism and threats of violence.

From 2013 to 2015, he was the National Spokesperson for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).^[1]

In May 2015, he was hired to handle community affairs by New York developer Ian Reisner.^[7]

In an August 2015 interview, Sharif said that his recently deceased grandfather, Omar Sharif, had been aware of his homosexuality and had never had a problem with it. He also said he hoped to change Egyptian attitudes toward gay people. “I’m a son, I’m a brother, I’m a coworker, I’m a friend,” he said. “I’m not a fact, or a figure, or a statistic. I’m not a moral or an ethical debate.”^[8]

As of 2012 he was living in Cairo,^[5] however shortly thereafter, uneasy about the “new Egypt,” he left the country.^[5] He now resides in Los Angeles.^[3]

Honors and awards

He was honored as one of the “Out 100” in 2012,^[4] The Advocate's "40 Under 40" in 2014 and 2015, and won Attitude Magazine's 'Inspiration Award' in 2016.^[9]

Other

Omar is fluent in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Hebrew, and Yiddish.^[1]

References