Haifa Wehbe

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Haifa Wehbe هيفا وهبي

Background information
Born	March 10, 1976 (age 31)
Origin	Mahrouna, South Lebanon
Genre(s)	World, Arabic,Pop
Occupation(s)	Singer, Model, Designer Entertainer
Years active	2002 — present
Website	www.haifawehbe.com

Haifa Wehbe (Arabic: هيفا وهبي; also spelled Haifa Wehbeh, Haifaa Wahbi, Hayfa Wehbe, Hayfa Wehbi, Hifaa Wahby; born March 10, 1976^[1]), is a Lebanese model, actor, and singer who rose to fame in the Arab world with the release of her debut album It is Time (Arabic: هو الزمن Howa el Zaman). She is considered a Lebanese sex symbol.

1 Biography
2 Personal life
3 Image
4 Discography
5 References
6 External link

[edit] Biography

Haifa Wehbe was born in a small farming town near South Lebanon.^[2] 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.

Wehbe's next distinction came in 1995 when she was runner up for Miss Lebanon. However, it was shortly discovered that she was married and had a daughter named Zeinab (Zaza). Her title was revoked due to this reason. By 1996, she had recovered from the scandal and continued to model. She was seen on over 100 magazine covers.^{[citation needed]}

She released her first album, titled It is Time (Arabic: هو الزمن Howa el Zaman) which was a hit thanks to her debut single "Agoul Ahwak (I say I love you)".

Her second album Baddi 'Eish (Arabic: بدي عيش I Want to Live) was released in 2005 and lived up to expectations due to the success of its lead single "Hayat Albi." The album was released after the assassination of Lebanese politician Rafik Hariri and was titled to show her stance against Syria.^[3] Her follow-up single is her biggest hit to date, "Ana Haifa" (I am Haifa) which became her novelty song. In 2006 she released a follow up single Bous El Wawa which so far has done respectably in the charts.

On June 10, 2006 Haifa became the first artist in the Arab world to introduce international hip-hop superstar 50 Cent when she performed as an opening act for his first concert in Lebanon, at BIEL in Beirut.

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 El Wadi), based on the French reality show La Ferme Célébrités. The show aired for three months. It was critically acclaimed and won over many of her harsh critics. The show featured weekly live performances in which Haifa played a central role as well as singing songs from her new album. She also discussed her engagement, showing off her ring.

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

[edit] Personal life

Wehbe is a Shi'a Muslim.^[4] Her sister is named Rola Wehbe.^[5] The singer lost her brother who died at the age of 24 during a conflict against Israel in the 1980s.^[1]^[4] During Wehbe's first marriage, she gave birth to a daughter named Zaza. Due to Lebanese child custody laws, Wehbe has not seen her child since the divorce. Her ex-husband has engaged in parental alienation for over 10 years.

In 2005, she later on announced her engagement to a Saudi businessman Tariq Al-Jaffali. Rumors about the expensive gifts he offered her began to circulate immediately. However, after only a few weeks, she and her fiancée decided to split for personal and family issues. It was believed that her fiancé's family pressured him not to marry her.

In 2006 at a concert in the Lebanese town of Jounieh, Wehbe made headlines by congratulating Hassan Nasrallah for his stand against Israel during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict.^[4] In an interview shortly after with Reuters, Wehbe claimed that Israel attacked Lebanese civilians intentionally while Hezbollah attacked only military targets. "I believe the whole world knows who started this war and who aggressed on whose land." she said, "There isn't a war that starts from nothing and he who begins is the unjust one..."^[6] 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 to Lebanon.^[4]

[edit] Image

Haifa Wehbe is known for her sexy, provocative image among her fans.

In addition to her great success in music, Wehbe is known for her sensual image. Her racy outfits have been considered scandalous in some conservative countries and drew criticism from Islamists.^[7] In March of 2006 a video of Wehbe's dress coming undone reportedly circulated on the web. Her management stated that the video was fabricated and "not worth worrying about." Her controversial song "Rejab" (pronounced Regab ) was filled with Egpytian sexual innuendo. In a later interview, she claimed that Regab was a real person named Ahmed Rejab. Haifa Wehbe, although stating that Rejab was one of her lovers, refuses to release his identity.^{[citation needed]}

She was ranked forty-nine[1] in the 2006 Edition of the Top 99 Most Desirable Women by the popular website AskMen.com.