As part of a large biographical research, this presentation has two goals. First, I provide and evidence-based account of Layla Murad’s relationship with the Free Officers’ regime since 1952. Then, I analyze how Egyptians have told Layla Murad’s story since the interruption of her career under Nasser until now to juxtapose these narratives with historical evidences-based account. I use these narratives to show how Egyptians constructed Layla Murad’s persona as a reflection of their understanding of their identity as it has continuingly changed over time, in part due to the prolonged Arab-Israeli conflict, Arab nationalism, and the current Islamization of the Egyptian society. The construction and representation of Layla Murad’s persona by the state and middlebrow intellectuals from all over the political spectrum have shaped the memory and meaning of her life to serve their needs; they have actually told their story, not hers. Layla Murad’s impressive career blossomed under the monarchy, and, for a short time, she was the voice of the new Free Officers regime. She was a female popular star and a Jew who converted to Islam in the gloom of the first Arab-Israeli war. Her career was ruptured shortly after Nasser consolidated his power in mid-1950s, and soon the definitive end of her cinematic career came just after Operation Suzanna and on the eve of the 1956 war; both events constituted a watershed for the Egyptian Jews. No life other than hers could provide the ruling regimes, Nasserists, Nasser-antagonists, Arab nationalists, neo-liberals and Islamists with a protagonist through which they could tell their version of the dramatic changes Egypt experienced since the fall of the monarchy. Layla’s legacy demonstrates the power of interpretation in the formation of historical meaning of Egyptian identity.