Born and raised in Sohag in Upper Egypt, Azza Fahmy graduated from Helwan University with a Bachelor of Arts in Interior Design.[5] In 1969, she stumbled upon a Medieval jewellery design book, which became an inspiration for her work.[6] Then a government employee, she kept her day job but ventured into Cairo’s jewellery quarter to learn at the hands of the techniques of the craft at the hands of master goldsmiths.[7] It was in these workshops that Fahmy worked on her very first designs. In the mid-1970s the British Council offered her a fellowship to study jewellery design at Sir John Cass College, where she learnt theory and manufacturing techniques. Upon her return, she set up her first workshop with two employees.[4][5]