Born on November 28, 1983 to a Jewish mother and Muslim father, Omar Sharif Jr. was given his name by his iconic grandfather. With maternal grandparents who were Holocaust survivors and paternal grandparents who were famous actors, Omar was assured a colorful life. As a child, he shuttled frequently between his birthplace of Montreal, and Paris and Cairo. Omar obtained a Master's Degree in Comparative Politics from The London School of Economics at Queen's University, by the age of 23.
Omar balanced his studies with living the life of an irresponsible socialite. He garnering considerable attention from international ad and spokesperson campaigns for Calvin Klein and Coca Cola, as well as from his celebrity relationships. He was offered a role in a hit Egyptian TV series in 2007, which piqued his interest in "the family business".
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 the Eastern National Spokesperson for GLAAD; an organization which serves to promote LGBT equality by ensuring positive media portrayals of the gay, lesbian and trans community.
Omar is fluent in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Hebrew and Yiddish.
