Haifa Wehbe هيفاء وهبي |
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Background information | |
Born |
Mahrouna, Lebanon |
10 March 1976
Genres | Arabic pop, world |
Occupation(s) | Singer, actress |
Website | HaifaWehbe.com |
Haifa Wehbe (Arabic: هيفا وهبي or هيفاء وهبي Lebanese pronunciation: [ˈhaifa ˈwehbe]; born 10 March 1976) is a Lebanese singer and actress. She has released five studio albums and made her acting debut in the 2008 Pepsi-produced film Sea of Stars. In 2006, Wehbe was on People Magazine's 50 most beautiful people list.
Wehbe was born to Lebanese father Nadim Antar and an Egyptian mother from Cairo, to a Muslim family. Wehbe won the title of Miss South Lebanon at the age of sixteen and was a runner-up at the Miss Lebanon competition, which was revoked after it was discovered that she was ineligible because she had been married and had a child.
Wehbe released her second studio album Baddi Aech (Arabic: بدي عيش, English: "I Want to Live") in early 2005, following the success of lead single "Ya Hayat Albi." Released after the assassination of Lebanese politician Rafik Hariri, the title single of the album is about "freedom, considered to be among the most basic of human rights". Follow-up single "Aana Haifa" (Arabic: أنا هيفاء, English: "I Am Haifa") became her biggest hit to date. In 2006 she released "Bus al-Wawa" (Arabic: بوس الواوا, English: "Kiss the Booboo"), the song was later used in a Pepsi advertisement. The song was also voted Song of the Year in 2006 by Radio Scope and Sawt Al Musika.
Wehbe starred in the Pepsi-produced film Sea of Stars released in early 2008, along with Carole Samaha, Ahmad el Sherif, Wael Kfoury, Brigitte Yaghi, and Ruwaida al-Mahrooqi