DURING his life, Dodi Al Fayed pursued a career as a businessman and film producer, with homes all over the world.
Sadly his life was cut tragically short when the car he was travelling in with his lover Princess Diana crashed in Paris, killing both of them.
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Who was Dodi Al Fayed?
The oldest son of former Harrods owner and billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed, Dodi was born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1955.
His mother was Samira Khashoggi – sister of Saudi Arabian-born billionaire arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi – and his dad also owned Fulham Football Club and the Hôtel Ritz in Paris.
Dodi attended schools in Paris, the exclusive Le Rosey in Switzerland and had a brief stint at Sandhurst military academy, which Princes William and Harry also attended.
He split his time between the Khashoggi homes in Paris, the Riviera, Cairo, and his father’s home in Alexandria, Egypt.
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When he was 15, Dodi moved to London and became a familiar face on the nightclub scene.
He worked as a junior officer in the United Arab Emirates air force, stationed in London, but he soon moved into the film industry.
Did Dodi Al Fayed produce Chariots Of Fire and did he win an Oscar for it?
Dodi won an Academy Award as part of the production team, along with David Puttnam, on the 1981 film Chariots Of Fire.
The legendary movie actually won a total of four Oscars, which also included Best Picture.
The film is based on the true story of two British athletes competing in the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris.
What other films did Dodi Al Fayed produce?
Through his family’s production company, Allied Stars, Dodi was an executive producer on a number of successful films.
This included Hook, Breaking Glass, and The Scarlet Letter.
He was also executive creative consultant for F/X: The Series.
Who did Dodi Al Fayed date before Princess Diana?
The Playboy was linked to a string of famous women – including rumours he dated actresses Brooke Shields, Winona Ryder and Nancy Sinatra.
He married model Suzanne Gregard in 1986 but they divorced after just eight months together.
In 1997, he got engaged to American model Kelly Fisher and bought a house in Malibu for themselves using money from his dad.
She later claimed Dodi had dumped her for Princess Diana and tried suing him for $500,000 because she said she had sacrificed her modelling career to marry him.
The lawsuit was later dropped out of respect for Dodi’s family after he and Diana died in the car crash.
When did he start dating Princess Diana?
The pair first met at a 1986 polo match in Windsor while Diana was still married to Prince Charles, although nothing came from the exchange.
In the summer of 1997, Dodi invited Diana, William and Harry to spend time on his yacht in the south of France.
She later returned to the ship in August without her sons and a photo of the pair kissing made headlines around the world.
The lovers spent time in the South of France and Sardinia before flying to Paris where they later died.
How did Dodi Al Fayed and Princess Diana die?
The summer in 1997 saw Princess Diana become the focus of relentless media attention after she embarked on her relationship with Dodi.
On August 31, 1997, after a dinner at Mohamed Al Fayed’s Ritz hotel in Paris, the pair were hounded by French paparazzi on motorbikes.
As they drove through the Pont de l’Alma tunnel, they crashed into a pillar.
Princess Diana, Dodi and driver Henri Paul were all killed in the horror smash but bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones survived.
The Royal Family was initially just told Diana had a broken arm, and Charles was even making plans to visit her in hospital after the crash.
But he was informed at 3.45am UK time that the Princess had died of her injuries.
An inquest held in London concluded in 2008 that the Princess had been unlawfully killed, blaming the crash on grossly negligent driving by Paul and the pursuing paparazzi.
Paul was speeding and over the drink-drive limit at the time of the smash.