Haifa Wehbe (Arabic: هيفاء وهبي‎ also spelled Haifa Wehbeh, Haifa Wahbi, Hayfa Wehbe, Hayfa Wehbi; born March 10, 1976^[1][2]) is a Lebanese model, actress, and singer who rose to fame in the Arab world as runner up for Miss Lebanon and later the release of her debut album Huwa az-Zaman (هو الزمن It is Time).

Biography

Wehbe was born in Mahrouna, a small farming town in Southern Lebanon.^[3] to a Lebanese father and an Egyptian mother. She grew up listening to jazz and R&B. She became a model at a very young age and won the title of "Miss South Lebanon" at age sixteen. She won an ancillary title at the "Miss Lebanon" competition, which she had to relinquish when it was discovered that she had already been married, disqualifying her.^[2]

Wehbe's next distinction came in 1995 when she was runner up for Miss Lebanon. By 1996, she was seen on over 100 magazine covers. In 2006, she was on People Magazine's 50 most beautiful people list.^[4]

She released her first album, titled Huwa az-Zaman (هو الزمن It is Time) following her first single "Agoul Ahwak" (أقول أهواك I say I love you).

Musical career

Her second album Baddi 'Ayš (بدي عيش I Want to Live) was released in 2005 and lived up to expectations due to the success of its lead single "Ya Hayat Albi." Released after the assassination of Lebanese politician Rafik Hariri, title single of the album is about "freedom, considered to be among the most basic of human rights."^[4]

Her follow-up single was her biggest hit to date, "Ana Haifa" (أنا هيفاء I am Haifa) which became her novelty song. In 2006 she released a follow up single "Bus al-Wawa" (بوس الواوا Kiss the wawa).

Wehbe was interviewed by CNN, Arte TV, Canal plus (France) and the first Arab artist to perform on the Italian TV channel Rai Uno during the "Una notte a Roma" event which took place in "Piazza Navona" in Rome with the presence of celebrities and fashion designers.

Wehbe performed in many concerts and special events in Lebanon and the whole world noting that her performance in Kartaba & Rayfoun in Lebanon has reached an audience of over 20,000 and in Tunisia at the Carthage Festival. In Egypt, Haifa performed a duet with Shaggy.

In June 2005, Wehbe launched her own jewelry line collection that she designed with other jewelers. It is sold throughout the Middle East, Persian Gulf countries and Arab world.

On June 10, 2006 Haifa became the first artist in the Arab world to perform with rapper 50 Cent when she performed as an opening act for his first concert in Lebanon, at BIEL in Beirut.

On July 4, 2008 Haifa released her long awaited new album "Habibi Ana"(My love) which contains 15 new songs including the hit "Mosh Adra Astana".

Television appearances

She remains popular among Lebanon's youth and makes countless television appearances. In July 2005, Wehbe, along with 14 other celebrities from the Arab world, began airing the live pan-Arab reality show series The Valley (Arabic: الوادي Al-Wadi), based on the French reality show La Ferme Célébrités. The show aired for three months. The show featured weekly live performances in which Wehbe played a central role as well as singing songs from her new album.

Her other non-musical successes include a few movie roles and TV hosting. Wehbe has also designed her own range of diamond jewelry. She has also been a spokesperson for Pepsi.

Personal life

Wehbe was born to an Egyptian mother and Lebanese father. ^[5][6] Her three sisters are Alia, Hanna and Rola.^[7] Wehbe's brother died at the age of 24 during the 1982 Lebanon War.^[8][9]

During Wehbe's marriage, she gave birth to a daughter named Zeinab Zaza.^[2]

In 2005, she announced her engagement to a Saudi businessman Tariq Al-Jaffali. After only a few weeks, she and her fiancé decided to split for personal reasons and family issues.

On June 25, 2007, Wehbe survived a serious car accident while filming a music video for the song 'Hasa Mabena Fi Haga' in Lebanon. In the video, a helicopter was to chase Wehbe as she drove a car. However, the helicopter inadvertently hit the car, taking off the front windshield of the drop-top convertible she was driving.^[10] Despite the severity of the accident, Wehbe only suffered minor cuts and bruises.

Political views

During the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, she left her home, in Verdun, Beirut and moved to Egypt for the duration of the conflict.^[4] In a concert in the Lebanese town of Jounieh, Wehbe congratulated Hassan Nasrallah for his stand against Israel during the war.^[9]

In a further interview with Reuters, Wehbe stated that Israel attacked Lebanese civilians intentionally while Hezbollah attacked only military targets.

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.^[9]

Image

Wehbe was ranked 49 in the 2006 Edition of the Top 99 Most Desirable Women by the website AskMen.com.^[12] Some in the more conservative Arab countries deem her revealing outfits scandalous.^[13] In March 2006, a video of her dress coming undone reportedly circulated on the web. Her management stated that the video was fabricated and "not worth worrying about." In April 2008, the Islamist-dominated parliament of Bahrain passed a motion urging the government to ban Haifa Wehbe's show in the country.^[14] Despite the motion, Wehbe performed in Bahrain with a more conservative dress.^[14]

Discography

Albums

• 2002:Houwa El-Zaman
  
• 2005:Baddi Eesh
  
• 2008:Habibi Ana
  

References

Further reading

• Arab youth revel in pop revolution by Sebastian Usher, 21 May 2007, BBC

External links

• Haifa Wehbe.com: Official website
• Official Myspace page
• Haifa Wehbe's Official fan club