Haifa Wehbe
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Haifa Wehbe (Arabic: هيفاء وهبي); (also spelled Haifaa Wahbi, Haifa Wehbe, Hayfa Wehbeh, Hayfa Wehbi) (born March 10, 1976 in Beirut, Lebanon). Wehbe is an Arab model and singer from Lebanon who took the Arab world by storm after the release of her first album It is Time (Arabic: هو الزمن Howa el Zaman).
Biography
Wehbe was born to a Lebanese Shiite father and a Egyptian Coptic mother. She grew up in Beirut, Lebanon, 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 released her first album, titled It is Time (Arabic: هو الزمن Howa el Zaman) which surprised many people given the low expectations. Although she is not widely regarded as a talented singer, she is famous for her performing abilities and seen by many to be one of the prettiest women in Lebanon.
Her second album I Want to Live (Arabic: بدي عيش Baddi 'Eish) was released in 2005 and is living up to expectations, and this is due to the success of its lead single Hayat Albi which came at major ranks in charts. She remains popular among Lebanon's youth and makes countless television appearances. She has certainly cemented herself in Lebanese popular culture as the ultimate sex symbol.
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, 24/7. It was critically acclaimed and won over many harsh critiques. The show featured weekly live performances in which Wehbe played a central role as well as singing songs from her new album.
Later on, Wehbe announced her engagement to a Saudi businessman, Tariq Al-Jaffali, surprising many people in the Middle East and around the world. 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 familial reasons.
Wehbe was ranked forty-nine in the 2006 Edition of the Top 99 Most Desirable Women by the popular website [AskMen.com]. She was also included in People's 2006 100 Most Beautiful People list.
In late 2005, Pepsi announced that Wehbe would be the new face of the company.
On June 10th, Haifa became one of the first artists in the Arab World to introduce international hip-hop superstar 50 Cent when she performed as an opening act for his first-ever concert in Lebanon, at BIEL in Beirut.
Recently, Wehbe released a her newest single titled Bous El Wawa. The video was launched in early June 2006.
External links
- [Official Website site]
- [Haifa Wehbe Yahoo! Group]
- [Haifa Wehbe Fans Website]
- [Haifa Wehbe Un News Website]
- [Haifa Wehbe Non-Official Forums]
- [3ArabiaPhoto.com : Haifa Wehbe Bio, Pictures and Wallpapers]
- [Lebanon Wire]: Article about Wehbe's plans running for Parliament
- [Arabic Nights] Haifa Wehbe profile
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