Dodi Fayed

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"Dodi Al Fayed" redirects here. Not to be confused with the Indonesian footballer Dody Alfayed.

Dodi Fayed
دودى الفايد
Born
Emad El-Din Mohamed Abdel Mena'em Fayed
عماد الدين محمد عبد المنعم الفايد

(1955-04-17)17 April 1955
Alexandria, Egypt
Died31 August 1997(1997-08-31) (aged 42)
Paris, France
Cause of deathTraffic collision
Resting placeFayed Estate, Oxted, England
OccupationFilm producer
Known forRomantic relationship with Diana, Princess of Wales
Spouse
Susanne Gregard
​
​
(m. 1986; div. 1987)​
Parents
Relatives

Emad El-Din Mohamed Abdel Mena'em Fayed (/faɪˈɛd/; Egyptian Arabic: عماد الدين محمد عبد المنعم الفايد, romanized: ʿImād ed-Dīn Muḥammad ʿAbd el-Munʿim el-Fāyid [ʕeˈmæːd ɪdˈdiːn mæˈħæmmæd ʕæbdelˈmenʕem elˈfæːjed], 17 April 1955 – 31 August 1997), better known as Dodi Fayed (Arabic: دودى الفايد [ˈduːdi]), was an Egyptian film producer and the son of billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed. He was the romantic partner of Diana, Princess of Wales, when they both were killed in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997.

Early life and education

Fayed was born in Alexandria and was the eldest son of Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed, the former owner of Harrods department store. He was the half-brother of Omar Fayed, Camilla, Karim, and Jasmine Fayed. Dodi's father was also the former owner of Fulham Football Club and the Hôtel Ritz Paris.[1] Dodi's mother was Saudi Arabian author Samira Khashoggi,[2] the daughter of Muhammad Khashoggi and sister of Saudi billionaire arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi.[2][3]

Fayed was a student at Collège Saint Marc before attending the Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland.[4][5] He also briefly attended Sandhurst.[1] After completing his education, he was an attaché at the United Arab Emirates Embassy in London.[5] He was the first cousin of the late Washington Post Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was assassinated in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey in 2018.[6]

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.[7]

Personal life

In 1986, Fayed married model Suzanne Gregard. They divorced eight months later.[7]

In July 1997, Fayed became romantically involved with Diana, Princess of Wales. Earlier that summer, he was engaged to an American model, Kelly Fisher, and bought a house in Malibu, California, for himself and Fisher with money from his father.[8][9] Fisher subsequently said Fayed jilted her for Diana and 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".[10] She dropped the lawsuit shortly after Fayed's death.[11]

Death

Innocent Victims, one of two memorials in Harrods

In the early hours of 31 August 1997, Diana and Fayed were killed 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.[12] The only survivor of the crash was bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones, who was seriously injured but remained conscious. Fayed was pronounced dead at the scene on his 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.[13][14] Fayed's father, Mohamed Al-Fayed, has said that the couple "were executed by MI6 agents".[15] Fayed's former spokesman, Michael Cole, has said that the couple became engaged before their deaths.[16]

Fayed was originally interred in Brookwood Cemetery near Woking, Surrey, but was re-interred on the grounds of the Fayed estate in Oxted, Surrey in October 1997.[17]

Legacy

Memorial to Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed in Harrods

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.[18] The second, unveiled in 2005 and titled Innocent Victims, is a 3-metre (10') high bronze statue of the two dancing on a beach, beneath the wings of an albatross.[19]

The memorials were designed by 80-year-old Bill Mitchell, a close friend of Dodi's father and architect for Harrods for more than 40 years.[20] In January 2018, it was announced that the statue would be returned to the Al-Fayed family.[21]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Peretti, Jacques (11 January 2009). "Death of a playboy". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  2. ^ a b Bradford, Sarah (2007), Diana, Penguin, ISBN 978-0-14-190673-7, Fayed had risen from his lowly beginnings through his connection with the Kashoggi family, Saudis of Turkish descent, who owned their position to their connection with the rulers of Saudi Arabia. In 1954 he had married Samira, the sixteen-year-old sister of Adnan Kashoggi, his contemporary, son of the head of the family Dr Mohamed Kashoggi. Their son, Emad, always known as 'Dodi', had been born in 1955...
  3. ^ Hubbard, Kim (25 August 1997). "Howdy, Dodi!". People. 48 (8). Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  4. ^ "Dodi Fayed: Biography". biography.com.
  5. ^ a b "Fayed saw himself as an Onassis". augusta.com. 4 September 1997. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  6. ^ Heimbrod, Camille (20 October 2018). "Princess Diana's 'Secret' Connection To Missing Saudi Journalist Jamal Khashoggi Revealed". International Business Times.
  7. ^ a b "Obituary: Dodi Fayed" Archived 29 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Independent.co.uk, 1 September 1997.
  8. ^ Dominick Dunne (19 May 2010). "Two Ladies, Two Yachts, and a Billionaire". Vanity Fair. New York. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  9. ^ "Diana's Darling Dodi letters are read". Associated Press. 14 December 2007. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2013. (HighBeam Research subscription required)
  10. ^ "Model claims Fayed jilted her for Diana". The Independent. 15 August 1997.
  11. ^ "Kelly Fisher Drops Lawsuit Against Dodi". Associated Press. 1 September 1997.
  12. ^ Read, Carly (22 September 2018). "Diana shock claim: Princess would be alive if she had worn seatbelt – pathologist". Daily Express. Express Newspapers. Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  13. ^ Paul Webster and Stuart Millar "Diana verdict sparks Fayed appeal" Archived 12 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine, The Guardian, 4 September 1999
  14. ^ Rayner, Gordon (7 April 2008). "Diana jury blames paparazzi and Henri Paul for her 'unlawful killing'". Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  15. ^ Mohamed al-Fayed: The outsider Archived 21 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine The Independent, 6 October 2007
  16. ^ Diana and Dodi 'were engaged' Archived 4 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine BBC
  17. ^ Moyes, Jojo (16 October 1997). "Dodi Fayed's remains re-buried in secret". The Independent. independent.co.uk. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  18. ^ "Jeweler: Diana, Dodi picked engagement ring – CNN". Archived from the original on 19 February 2008.
  19. ^ Harrods unveils Diana, Dodi statue Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, CNN, 1 September 2005.
  20. ^ Princes lead Diana remembrance Archived 15 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine BBC
  21. ^ Johnston, Chris (13 January 2018). "'Tacky' statue of Diana and Dodi Fayed to be removed from Harrods". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.

External links

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