Rushdi Said Abaza was born to an Italian mother, Tereza Luigi, and an Egyptian father who worked as a police officer. He graduated from St. Marc College in Alexandria and did not complete his university education.

A turning point in the life of the handsome gentleman was in 1948 when Abaza attracted the attention of director Kamal Barakat while he was playing billiards in the Riviera Casino. Barakat found something fresh about the 22 year old young man that made him give Abaza the main role in The Young Millionaire (el Millionnairah el saghîrah) for L.E.150.

In 1950, Abaza traveled to Italy to try his luck there. Italian director Goffredo Alessandrini who directed Abaza’s second film Amina (Aminah) tried to help him but in vain. During the six months he stayed in Italy, he was given only minor parts.

He did not fare any better in the cinema on his return to Egypt, so he turned to other things, such as working in the Suez Canal and buying a restaurant. But his love for the cinema was overpowering and he returned to it again, starting at the beginning this time. He accepted small parts that matched his ability and experience.

Abaza’s career is rich and complex. He reached the peak of his career in political films such as Jamila the Algerian (Gamîlah), A Man in Our House, No Time For Love , Sunset and Sunrise , Something in My Heart and Behind the Sun. He also played some situation comedies in the films Wife Number 13, Beware of Women, For a Bunch of Children, and Half an Hour of Marriage.

Abaza wrote the film Achour the Lion Heart in 1961 and produced The Naughty Men.

He died in 1980.