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Dodi Fayed

Emad El-Din Mohamed Abdel Mena'em Fayed (; 15 April 1955 – 31 August 1997), commonly known as Dodi Fayed, was an Egyptian film producer and the eldest child of the businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed. He was romantically involved with Diana, Princess of Wales, when they both died from injuries sustained in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997.

Date of birth

Most sources state that Fayed was born on 15 April 1955. This is also the date that appears on his gravestone. However, since 2022, some sources have stated that he was born on 17 April. This may be an example of "citogenesis" (circular reporting) as Fayed's date of birth was changed on Wikipedia from 15 April to 17 April by an unknown person on 23 March 2022.

Early life and education

Fayed was born in Alexandria, Egypt, the eldest child of Mohamed Al Fayed (1929–2023), who was to later become the owner of Harrods department store, Fulham Football Club, and the Hôtel Ritz Paris. Fayed's mother was Saudi Arabian author Samira Khashoggi (1935–1986), daughter of Muhammad Khashoggi and sister of Saudi billionaire arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi. He was a first cousin of the late Washington Post Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was assassinated in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul in 2018. Fayed had four half siblings from his father's second marriage to Heini Wathén: Omar, Camilla, Karim, and Jasmine Fayed.

Fayed was a student at Collège Saint Marc in Alexandria before attending the Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland. He also briefly attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. After completing his education, he was an attaché at the United Arab Emirates Embassy in London.

Film production

Through his family's production company, Allied Stars, Fayed was an executive producer of the films Chariots of Fire, Breaking Glass, F/X, F/X2, Hook, and The Scarlet Letter, and an executive creative consultant for F/X: The Series. He also worked for his father on Harrods' marketing.

Personal life

In 1986, Fayed married model Suzanne Gregard. They divorced eight months later.

According to her memoir, Babylon Confidential, Claudia Christian had an on-again, off-again romance with Fayed.

In 1997, Fayed reportedly became engaged to American model Kelly Fisher and bought a house in Malibu, California, for himself and Fisher, with money from his father. In July 1997, Fayed became romantically involved with Diana, Princess of Wales, after entertaining her on his yacht Cujo. Fisher learned of Fayed's relationship with Diana only after seeing paparazzi photos of the two embracing. Fisher then announced that she was filing a breach of contract suit against him, saying he had "led her emotionally all the way up to the altar and abandoned her when they were almost there," and that he "threw her love away in a callous way with no regard for her whatsoever". Fayed denied that he was ever engaged to Fisher. Fisher dropped the lawsuit shortly after Fayed's death.

Death

In the early hours of 31 August 1997, Diana and Fayed died from injuries sustained in a car crash in the Pont de l'Alma underpass in Paris. They had stopped in Paris en route to London after spending nine days on holiday in the French and Italian Rivieras aboard his family's yacht, the Jonikal. Neither was wearing a seat belt. The only survivor of the crash was bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones, who was seriously injured but was conscious after the crash. Fayed was pronounced dead at the scene on removal from the wreckage.

Investigations by French and British police concluded that their chauffeur, Henri Paul, was driving under the influence of alcohol and prescription drugs; paparazzi chasing the couple are also believed to have contributed to the accident. Fayed's father, Mohamed Al-Fayed, has said that the couple "were executed by MI6 agents". Fayed's former spokesman, Michael Cole, has said that the couple became engaged before their deaths.

Fayed was originally interred in Brookwood Cemetery near Woking, Surrey, but was re-interred in October 1997 on the grounds of Barrow Green Court, the family estate in Oxted, Surrey.

Legacy

Fayed's father erected two memorials to his son and Diana at Harrods. The first, unveiled on 12 April 1998, consists of photos of them behind a pyramid-shaped display containing a wine glass still smudged with lipstick from Diana's final dinner, and a ring Fayed purchased the day before they died. The second, unveiled in 2005 and titled Innocent Victims, is a 3 metres (9 feet 10 inches) high bronze statue of the two dancing on a beach, beneath the wings of an albatross.

The memorials were designed by Bill Mitchell, a close friend of Fayed's father and architect for Harrods for more than 40 years. In January 2018, it was announced that the statue would be returned to the Al-Fayed family.

Films and television

Fayed was portrayed by Cas Anvar in the 2013 film Diana. He was portrayed in seasons 5 and 6 of The Crown by Khalid Abdalla.

Notes

References

External links

Dodi Fayed at IMDb

Text submitted to CC-BY-SA license. Source: Dodi Fayed by Wikipedia (Historical)

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