Shams al-Baroudy studied at the Institute for Theatrical Arts for two and a half years. Thereafter she decided to leave the institute in order to free herself up for acting. She portrayed feminine roles in several films as she worked between Cairo and Lebanon, she has also worked on radio series. Shams has remarkable talent which she has only revealed in a few film titles. She married prince Khalid in 1969 for a period of 13 months. She later married artist Hassan Youssif and the couple had two children: Nariman and Mahmoud. Shams also worked with Hassan on most of the movies that he has directed. In 1983 Shams decided to retire from acting and donned the veil.