Haifa Wehbe هيفاء وهبي
Wehbe performing in Cairo, 2007
Born	Haifa Mohammed Wehbe هيفاء محمد وهبي (1972-03-10) March 10, 1972 Mahrouna, Tyre District, South Governorate, Lebanon
Nationality	Lebanese
Occupations	Singer actress model
Years active	2002–present
Spouses	Nasr Fayyad ​ (divorced)​ Ahmed Abou Hashima ​ ​ (m. 2009; div. 2012)​
Children	1
Musical career
Genres	Arabic pop music World music
Instrument(s)	Vocals
Labels	Rotana Records Mazzika CHBK Music

Haifa Wehbe (Arabic: هيفاء وهبي Lebanese Arabic pronunciation: [hæjfa wehbe]; born 10 March 1972) is a Lebanese singer and actress. She is considered one of Lebanon's most famous and successful singers, and one of the best-known artists in the Arab world.

She has been among the highest-selling and most successful Middle Eastern woman in the world, She was ranked 8th on the list of the "99 most desirable women” in 2006 by Askmen.com. During her career, she won many awards in the category of actresses, singers and performers. She has released seven 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.^[1] Wehbe is also the second richest Arab celebrity, with a reported estimated wealth of over $57 million.^[2]

In 1991, at the age of eighteen, she was chosen as Miss South Lebanon, and the holder of the title of Miss Lebanon for the year 1992, but the title was withdrawn from her because of her violation of the laws of the competition, as she was married and a mother. She began her life as a model and also participated as a model in several video clips and television commercials, then worked as a broadcaster on the Arab Radio and Television Network in 1999, and presented her first albums in 2001 and presented many albums and performed several concerts in many Arab countries. She entered the field of acting as a guest of honor in the film Bahr Al Nojoum in 2008, and in 2009 she was chosen to star in the film Dokan Shehata, which was directed by Khaled Youssef.

Life and career

Personal life

In the 1990s, Wehbe married her cousin Nasr Fayyad when she was 18 and traveled with him to Nigeria where he worked.^[24] During her pregnancy, she returned to Lebanon and separated from Fayyad, with whom she had one daughter, Zeinab.^[25]

On June 25, 2007, Wehbe survived an accident while filming a music video for the song "Hasa Ma Bena" in Lebanon. In the video, a single engine airplane was to chase Wehbe as she drove a car. However, the airplane inadvertently hit the car, taking off the front windshield of the convertible she was driving.^[26] Despite the severity of the accident, Wehbe suffered only minor cuts and bruises.

Wehbe married Egyptian businessman Ahmed Abou Hashima on April 24, 2009 in Beirut.^[16] Among the guests at the wedding party were singer Anastacia, Carmen Electra,^[27][28] Sean Combs, Googoosh, Nawal Al Zoghbi, Najwa Karam, Ragheb Alama, and Sherine.^[16]

It was announced that Wehbe and Ahmed Abou Hashima had split in November 2012.^[29] Wehbe is a Shiite Muslim.^[30]

Wehbe has two granddaughters, Rahab and Daniella, born to her daughter Zeinab.^[31]

Criticism and controversy

Political and social views

During the 2006 Israel–Lebanon War, she left her home, in Verdun, Beirut and moved to Egypt for the duration of the conflict.^[12] In a concert in the Lebanese town of Jounieh, Wehbe congratulated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah for his stand against Israel during the war.^[36]

Wehbe also refused to perform at any concert during the 34 days of the war, including fundraisers, saying that there were more ways than one to show support for Lebanon.^[36]

Another incident occurred after the 2009 Egypt–Algeria World Cup dispute, adding to the diplomatic tension between the two countries. Wehbe went on to make statements that she would not be performing in Algeria anytime soon, because Algerians "...wouldn't understand her music". Algeria's cultural minister responded by stating that Wehbe would be banned from performing in Algeria for insulting Algeria and the Algerian people regardless of whether she apologizes.^[37]

In January 2012, Wehbe tweeted that she loves all her fans including her "gay fan base".^[38] In June 2017, she replied to someone's criticism on Twitter by writing: "When a faggot speaks", which was later deleted.^[39] In 2018, she shared a photo on Snapchat with a rainbow flag, signaling her support for the LGBT community.^[40] In February 2019, Wehbe launched a fashion brand, Beau Voyou, which had rainbow colors, in which she commented, "For me, equality goes all the way", then added, "Get ready to celebrate unrestricted and boundless love".^[41]

Image

Wehbe was ranked 8th in the 2006 Edition of the Top 99 Most Desirable Women by the website AskMen.com.^[42]

Some in the more conservative Arab countries deem her revealing outfits as scandalous. One Bahraini member of parliament called her a sexual singer who spoke with her body, not her voice. Wehbe said she was aware of the efforts to ban her from performing at the concert but had chosen to ignore their attempts to silence her.

In November 2014, Wehbe caused controversy and was later heavily criticized, when she wore a revealing dress during a live episode of Arab Star Academy. She later apologized and blamed the stage lighting.^[43]

In April 2008, the Islamic-dominated parliament of Bahrain passed a motion urging the government to ban Haifa Wehbe's show in the country.^[10] As a result of the motion, Wehbe performed in Bahrain with more modest dress, wearing a long green gown with a low V-neckline during the performance.^[10]

Discography

Filmography

References

Further reading

• Arab youth revel in pop revolution by Sebastian Usher, May 21, 2007, BBC
• Head of Egypt's censorship board resigns after dispute over showing bombshell's steamy film. Associated Press

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