Born to a Jewish mother and a Muslim father, Omar Sharif Jr. was given his name by his iconic grandfather. His maternal grandparents were Holocaust survivors, while his paternal grandparents were famous actors. As a child, he frequently shuttled between his birthplace of Montreal, Paris, and Cairo. By the age of 26, Omar had obtained both a Master's Degree in Comparative Politics from The London School of Economics and a degree in Performing Arts from The Lee Strasberg Institute.
Omar balanced his studies with living an irresponsible socialite lifestyle, garnering considerable attention from international ad and spokesperson campaigns for Calvin Klein and Coca-Cola, as well as from his celebrity relationships. In 2007, he was offered a role in a hit Egyptian TV series, which piqued his interest in "the family business." He then went on to film two Arabic language films, most notably Hassan wa Morcus with his grandfather.
At the 83rd Annual Academy Awards, he was invited to be the sole male trophy presenter and performed a memorable comedic sketch with screen legend Kirk Douglas.
In 2013, shortly after the Muslim Brotherhood was elected to parliament in Egypt, Omar published an open letter in The Advocate, in which he came out as gay and half-Jewish and questioned the new Egyptian government's commitment to basic human rights and diversity. He is the first public personality to ever come out as openly gay in the Arab World. He immediately faced a barrage of condemnation, criticism, and threats of violence.
From 2013 to 2015, Omar served as National Spokesperson for GLAAD, an organization which serves to promote LGBT equality by ensuring positive media portrayals of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and trans community. He currently serves as Ambassador for the Human Rights Foundation and travels extensively promoting freedom.
In 2015, Omar was hired by six-time Oscar-nominated director Jim Sheridan to act opposite Eric Bana and Rooney Mara in The Secret Scripture. In 2016, they collaborated again on 11th Hour, with Salma Hayek, in an artistic response to the global politics of division. The film was selected by the Tribeca Film Festival in 2017.
Omar is fluent in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Hebrew, and Yiddish.
