BMW E36 fuel systems are typically very reliable, however overtime it does need maintenance and repair. This video describes how to diagnose a non starting bmw fuel problem. The problem with this vehicle in particular was the fuel pump relay and the fuel pump.
Typically with fuel issues you want to start by checking the fuse box, and then move on to testing the pump.
Fuel pumps can go out prematurely typically for three reasons: Dirty gasoline, letting the car run until the pump has to circulate the fuel at the bottom of the tank, and neglecting to add fuel treatment from time to time in the tank.
Diagnosis is not very difficult, and luckily fuel pump replacement is a relatively easy task on bmw e36s.