Ouardia Hamtouche

Ouardia Hamtouche (Arabic: وردية حمتوش), born Ouardia Annab on February 18, 1930, in Algiers, and who passed away on January 2, 1991, in Épernay, France, was an Algerian actress. She was the maternal grandmother of the French rapper of Algerian descent Karim Zenoud, known by the stage name Lacrim. Ouardia Hamtouche was born in 1930 in Algiers into a Kabyle family originally from Akbou, Béjaïa. Married at a young age, she worked as a cleaner at the Mustapha Pacha Hospital in Algiers while pursuing her studies. Her career as a performer began when she started participating in radio broadcasts, all while continuing her night-shift cleaning job at the hospital. A few years later, she began acting in comedies, taking on various roles in television, theater, and cinema. She appeared in major popular Algerian films of the 1980s and 1990s, such as *Hassan Niya* by Ghaouti Bendedouche, starring Rouiched (1982); *De Hollywood à Tamanrasset* (1991)—an Algerian comedy classic that brought together the finest actors of the era; *Le Mariage des Dupes* by Hadj Rahim, alongside Mustapha El-Anka; *Taxi El Makhfi (Le Clandestin)* with Athmane Ariouet and Yahia Benmabrouk; and *Sombrero* by Rabah B