Harper’s Bazaar Arabia 200th Anniversary Issue: May Calamawy And Dina Shihabi On The Highs And Heartache Of Friendship
Introducing the Harper’s Bazaar Arabia x Cartier LOVE cover series, celebrating the 200th April 2025 issue of Harper’s Bazaar Arabia…
Egyptian May Calamawy, 38, and Saudi Arabian Dina Shihabi, 35, have a really important message: women should be raising women. They certainly practice what they preach, forever cheering each other on. Their enduring love for each other – often played out via impulsive shenanigans based on blind trust – has left the two actresses with a plethora of hilarious anecdotes that they continue to add to on a daily basis. Although both started out their careers in the Middle East, their stars are now on the rise in Hollywood, with the former sharing screen space with Matthew Broderick in Netflix’s Painkiller and the latter’s turn in Ramy and Moon Knight. Bazaar Arabia catches up with the two as they recollect their escapades and share personal tributes to each other on set in Paris.
Dina: When I first met you in New York, you were talking about green juice. I remember thinking, “That girl’s cool and pretty, and we’ll probably be friends.” But it took a couple of years for us to actually be in the same city and develop a friendship.
May: I was in Dubai and you had released Amira & Sam. It was inspirational for me. I wanted to go back to the States to do that, too. And then I went, and we connected.
Dina: We became best friends overnight and annoyed all our friends. They hated it, remember? They felt we were so annoying together. Th at was so many years ago.
May: It’s fun when you don’t realise someone’s going to be in your life that long. And then you look at them one day and think, “Wow, you’re still here. Cool.”
Dina: I actually think we’ve gone through so much as friends – so much growing up and different versions of ourselves – that now we’re really honest with each other.
May: We’ve also done a lot of work on ourselves. I don’t know how many years ago we were getting into Ayurveda. Then, it’s energy work. We would follow the other.
Dina: I do everything she’s done; and vice versa. Down to food we eat or don’t eat, exercise we’re doing or not doing, coffee or matcha or a tonic or whatever.
May: The benefit of it is hopefully we have reached a place where we can go through anything with each other. If anyone has any feelings, we can talk about anything. Everything is transparent and honest, because we value our friendship. It’s nice when you look at someone and you just love the journey they’re on and they love the journey you’re on, and you both just want to support each other in that. I think it takes work to get there, and maturity.
Dina: We’ve gone through periods of being close, then not as close and then close again. It’s just so cool to be here doing this shoot with you. I feel like it comes at a time in our friendship where we’re the closest because it’s so real.
May: Effortlessly close, where you’re not like, “I’m excited that we know each other.” You’re just like, “Hi, I know you.” We’ve been in the trenches and we’ve gotten beat down and rejected non-stop, and we’re still going. It helps when you have someone who’s inspiring you.
Dina: Oh, I’m a Virgo, you’re a Scorpio, but I’ve got Scorpio rising.
May: And my moon is Virgo. And my moon’s Gemini. My rising is Aquarius. But we’re both Venus Scorpio also. Which is one of the most tiring Venuses to have. So we basically love the same way – which is very intensely. We can feel everything in the room.
Dina: Love for me is about being present. I think I’ve learned that with time. It’s so easy to be distracted in life. When I feel most loved is when I feel like someone’s looking at me; when I know they’re really there.
May: I love that. Just simple. Love is simple. And you just know it. You just know it when it’s there. It’s supported.
Dina: Do you remember when were on this health kick together – one of many.
May: The smoothie phase – that was 10 years ago. We were scooping every last bit out of the Magic Bullet. That’s when I looked at you and I was like, “We’re not okay” [laughs], because I’m fine with you doing that.
Dina: All of our stories are the same: you told me to do something, we did it – and then it ended terribly. Or, I told you to do something, we did it – and it ended badly. We’re open to experiences. We have the best stories.
May: We have matching tattoos, but it wasn’t planned. We were in New York one night and thought let’s go to the West Village and get tattoos. So we went. We wanted a moon and a sun. My mum, who passed away, used to call me Amar – that’s why. And it turns out your dad calls you that. So we had a moon, then balanced it out with a sun. At the time we thought it was the best idea.
Dina: I’m so proud to be your friend May, I’m going to cry.
May: You’re going to make me cry. I can’t do this.
Dina: I think you’re incredible in so many ways. You’re so loving. You’re so brave. You put yourself and your inner child first in a way that is so generous. You really give yourself space, for yourself. I’m so inspired by you. You’re so talented. I love seeing you soar. It’s so fun to do this alongside you and share that. I love all the shifts and changes. I feel like we’ve really grown up together and I’m proud of where we are.
May: I’m so proud of you every day. Every time I think, “That’s it,” you show me a completely different side of you. When I was in Dubai and having the hardest time of my life because my mum died, you were the most inspiring person to me. It’s true. I was gifted because we became friends. You showed me my dream could be real. You were my mentor for so long. You believed in me so much. You have such a huge heart, you see the good in everyone. You have talked me off the ledge so many times. You’ve made me feel like I want to be a mother because of how you raise your daughter and how it came to you naturally. I’m going to stop because I don’t want to get even more emotional, but the one time we’ve ever had an issue – I was devastated.
Dina: We had a friend break-up for a minute. Not a break-up, but we went through a separation and it was the worst.
May: It was gut-wrenching for me. I did a lot of therapy because I felt it wasn’t normal.
Dina: I feel like that’s partly why we have the friendship we have now. When you know someone for over 10 years, you change so much and you’re trying to hold on to things you had before. But you’re changing and it’s really fascinating. I think that’s inspiring though, for young women to know that friendships can ebb and flow. And that is what is great about female friendships – we’re still here, at the end of the day. So much in romantic life can change. But your girls are your girls.
May: And the world makes you think that there’s not enough for everyone. And that you have to ‘one up’ in this world, especially when it comes to women. And that’s a lie. Th at needs to be eradicated. It’s when you reach a point where you accept each other’s strengths, and you want the other person to win, that you’re winning. It’s hard to get to that point, because the system isn’t in place for that at all. I think that our friendship has made us look inward at times. And now we truly want the other to shine; then it helps us shine. It’s just joy.
Lead Image Credits: May and Dina wear Cartier Love Jewellery, all Cartier. May wears: Dress; Shoes, both Jacquemus. Dina wears: Dress, Loewe. Shoes, Jacquemus.
Editor-in-Chief: Olivia Phillips. Acting Editor-in-Chief: Sophia Serin. Creative Director: Marne Schwartz, Tamim Mortaza; Vice President: Farrah Taylor. Group Managing Editor & Words: Natasha Faruque. Art Director: Paul Solomons. Photographer: Mattia Guolo, Vladimir Marti. Movement: Jamie Neale, Adrien Galo. Production: Steff Hawker, Jean-Marc Mondelet. Make-up Direction: Anna Sadamori, Raffaele Romagnoli. Set Styling: Camille Rousseau. Videography: Maycon Dehan. Fashion: Gabriela Cambero, Charlotte Marsh-Williams. Hair Direction: Jean-Luc Amarin, Adam Garland. Nail Artist: Nafissa Djabi, Leyla Mistry. Photography Assistants: Alessia Azzolini, Alessio Spanu, Manfredi Prestigiacomo, Macky Navarro; Videography Assistants: Larissy Leandro. Production Manager: Gijo Thomas. Image Editor: Jemima Joy. Production Coordination: Erin Steel, Chloe Christodoulou, Marina Moravenova. Hair Assistants: Tracey Nguyen, Yihan Jen, Ziyan Zhang, Wenting Zhangn, Bella Hudgell. Make-up Assistants: Ismahane Benabbou, Natalia Bokan, Roberto Meloni, Sitara Nash, Gabriel Leggieri. Nail Assistants: Yasmine Hilali. Editorial: Milli Midwood, Meeran Mekkaoui.
