Egyptian actress Somaya Al Alfi died Saturday in Cairo after a long illness, at the age of 59 after a long battle with cancer, Egyptian media reported.

Al Alfi died at a private clinic after complications linked to a rare cancer that doctors began treating in 2017 through several complex surgeries. Her health declined in recent weeks.

In 2023, Al Alfi announced her recovery from cancer and spoke publicly about overcoming the disease. The illness later returned, according to Egyptian media.

The actress combined practice with academic training as she studied sociology at the Faculty of Arts, a background that shaped her approach to characters and storytelling.

Al Alfi built her career mainly in television drama, where she gained wide recognition for quiet, emotionally controlled performances. She broke through in the late 1970s with Afwah wa Araneb (Mouths and Rabbits), a series that introduced her to Egyptian audiences and opened the door to steady roles across major networks.

During the 1980s and 1990s, she appeared in several family and social dramas that focused on class, identity and everyday struggles. Directors often cast her in roles centered on social realism, where dialogue and expression carried the story rather than spectacle.

Al Alfi also worked in cinema, though television defined most of her career. Her choices reflected an interest in character depth and social context, a direction shaped by her academic background in sociology.