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Haifa Wehbe (Arabic: هيفا وهبي also spelled Haifa Wehbeh, Haifa Wahbi, Hayfa Wehbe, Hayfa Wehbi; born March 10, 1976), 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). By 1996, Wehbe had modeled for several magazines, and soon after released her first album, It is Time. In 2005, she released her second album, I Want to Live, featuring the successful single “Hayat Albi.” It was followed up with her signature hit song, “Ana Haifa (I am Haifa).” On June 10, 2006, Haifa performed as an opening act for 50 Cent, at his first concert in Lebanon. Haifa Wehbe has had nearly two decades of accomplishments. At 16, she won the title of Miss South Lebanon and has been a cover girl ever since. She's put out two records, Howa el Zaman and Badi Aish, and four million readers of Al Jamhouria newspaper voted her the Best Young Arabic Female Singer in 2004. She's since become a total media personality, appearing on the show Al Wadi, and taking parts in the play In Kibir Ibnak and the movie Rasa' el Al Bahr. Haifa is certainly famous in the Middle East. Her many magazine appearances, concerts, and even a stint on the non-stop reality TV show Al Wadi (which she recently stormed off of in a huff), have kept her in the public eye. The BBC even enlisted her to help promote learning English. Yet Haifa is still an unknown outside the Arab world; there doesn't even seem to be a standard English spelling of her name. Wehbe was born in Mahrouna, a small farming town in Southern Lebanon. 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. 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. 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). 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 "Hayat Albi." Released after the assassination of Lebanese politician Rafik Hariri, the song of the same name is about "freedom, considered to be among the most basic of human rights." Her follow-up single was her biggest hit to date, "Ana Haifa" (أنا هيفا I am Haifa) which became her novelty song. In 2006 she released a follow up single Bus al-Wawa which so far has sold respectably. Wehbe was interviewed by CNN, Arte TV, Canal plus (France) and the first Arabic 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. In 2005, Wehbe and fourteen other Arab celebrities starred in the critically-acclaimed reality show series The Valley, which aired for three months. Wehbe played a central part in the show, often singing her songs and flaunting her engagement ring from Saudi businessman, Tariq Al-Jaffali. The couple was only engaged for a few weeks prior to calling off the wedding, amidst rumors that Al-Jaffali’s family had disapproved of the union. Meanwhile, Wehbe’s ex-husband has retained custody of their daughter, Zaza, whom Wehbe has not seen in over ten years due to Lebanese child custody laws, in which fathers get custody of their children. In addition to being known for her stunning looks, Wehbe also has a reputation for being catty and hypocritical with other women, especially when criticizing them for wearing revealing clothing. Wehbe, however, is no stranger to exposure herself. At the 2004 London Lebanese Fashion show, Wehbe sported a skin-tight dress that stole the spotlight from the show's models, who seemed conservative in comparison. In March 2006, a video of her dress coming undone reportedly hit the internet and went straight into cyber-circulation, creating a scandal in her home country. Her management later stated that the video was fabricated and "not worth worrying about." 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. The readers of Al Jamhouria newspaper have elected Haïfa as the 'Best Arabic Young Female Singer', where statistics showed that 4 million people voted her for this title. In June 2005, Haifa 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. 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. Wehbe is born to a Sunni Muslim mother from Egypt and a Shia Muslim father from Lebanon. Her three sisters are Alia, Hanna and Rola. The singer lost her brother at the age of 24 during the 1982 Lebanon War. During Wehbe's marriage, she gave birth to a daughter named Zeinab Zaza. Wehbe has not seen her child since the divorce. 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, an airplane was to chase Wehbe as she drove a car. However, the helicopter inadvertently hit the back of Wehbe's car, causing the car to crash. Despite the severity of the accident, Wehbe only suffered minor cuts and bruises. Haifa's first marriage ended and she later on 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 family issues. It was believed that her fiancé's family pressured him not to marry her. Outside of her love life she has also had an image for being difficult and catty. She has been known to criticize singers for running around in skimpy outfits while herself doing that. She reportedly had issues with her family members, although she denies that, fellow musicians, and her record company. During the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, she left her home, in Verdun, Beirut and moved to Egypt for the duration of the conflict. In a concert in the Lebanese town of Jounieh, Wehbe congratulated Hassan Nasrallah for his stand against Israel during the war. In a further interview with Reuters, Wehbe stated 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. There isn't a war that starts from nothing and he who begins is the unjust one.” 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. Her revealing outfits have been considered scandalous in some conservative countries, 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." In April 2008 the Islamist-dominated parliament of Bahrain passed a motion urging the government to ban Haifa Wehbe's show in the country. |
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