Yehia Chahine was born in Imbaba, Giza. His father's name was Yehia Chahine too. He received a diploma in performing arts and started acting in theatre. His first performance was in the play Murtafat w Darag (Heights and Stairs). In 1935, he acted in his first film. He acted in numerous films, but his most notable role is that of Al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad, a Cairene patriarch, in the Cairo Trilogy films. The three films, Bayn al-Qasrayn (Palace Walk, which is based on the Palace Walk novel) in 1964, Qasr al-Shawq (Palace of Desire) in 1967, and Al-Sukkariya (Sugar Street) in 1973, were set in Cairo and followed the family of Abd al-Jawwad across three generations, from World War I to the overthrow of King Farouk in 1952. They were well received and successful in Egypt and the Arab world.
