Haifa Wehbe

Wehbe won the title of Miss South Lebanon at the age of sixteen,[2][3] and was a runner-up at the Miss Lebanon competition,[4] which was revoked after it was discovered that she was ineligible because she had been married and had a child.[5]

Wehbe released her second studio album Baddi Aech (Arabic: بدي عيش, English: "I Want to Live") in early 2005, following the success of lead single "Ya Hayat Albi." Released after the assassination of Lebanese politician Rafik Hariri, the title single of the album is about "freedom, considered to be among the most basic of human rights".[6] Follow-up single "Aana Haifa" (Arabic: أنا هيفاء, English: "I Am Haifa") became her biggest hit to date. In Summer 2005, she participated as a guest in Al Wadi, a local version of The Farm.[7]

In 2006, she released "Bus al-Wawa" (Arabic: بوس الواوا, English: "Kiss the Booboo"), the song was later used in a Pepsi advertisement. It was also voted Song of the Year in 2006 by Radio Scope and Sawt Al Musika.[8]

Wehbe starred in the Pepsi-produced film Sea of Stars released in early 2008, along with Carole Samaha, Ahmad el Sherif, Wael Kfoury, Brigitte Yaghi, and Ruwaida al-Mahrouqi.[9]

On July 4, 2008, Wehbe released her third studio album Habibi Aana (Arabic: حبيبي أنا, English: "My Love") which contains 15 songs including the lead single "Moush Adra Estana".

Wehbe released a children's album titled Babe Haifa in March 2010 under Rotana Records.[10]

In April 2010, Wehbe was featured on French DJ David Vendetta's album Vendetta on the song "Yama Layali".[11]

In September 2011 Al Bawaba reported that Wehbe was threatening to leave her label Rotana "for neglecting her and not paying any attention to her work".[12]

"Malikat Jamal Al Kawn" (MJK; English: "Miss Universe") was released on May 8, 2012 under Rotana Records, where she worked with Aphex Twin.

During summer 2013, Webhe released her new song "Ghala Ghala".

In 2014, she signed with Tarik Freitekh's label and Wehbe shot her new song "Farhana" on June 21, 2014 in “Your Face Sounds Familiar” 2014 (Arabic translation: شكلك مش غريب).

In August 2014, she announced that she would be releasing a new song titled "Breathing You In" along with a video clip featuring Casper Smart.[13]

In 2018, she starred in an Egyptian drama Lanaat Karma.[14]

In September 2018, Haifa released her seventh studio album, Hawwa.[15] The album features 15 songs, and debuted at No. 1 on iTunes charts. The album was produced independently by Wehbe herself, without a record label.[16] In 2020, she accused her ex-business manager, Mohamed al-Waziry, of stealing $4m from her bank account, including also her fees from producers and party organizers.[17]

In 2009, the lyrics "Where is my teddy bear and the Nubian monkey?" in Wehbe's song "Baba Fein" (from her unreleased 2010 kids' album) seemed to refer to Nubians as "monkeys".[25][26] Nubians in Egypt accused the artist of racism and singing a song that fueled racism and discrimination against them.[27]

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.[28]

Wehbe claimed once that she was born in 1976, a date repeated by numerous sources.[29][30][31] At one point, she mentioned that she is three years younger than her ex-husband Ahmed Abou Hashima, who was born in 1975.[32] Her half-sister Rola Yamout posted a leaked document indicating that she was born in 1972.[33]

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.[34]

• Houwa Al Zaman (2002)
• Baddi Aech (2005)
• Farashet El Wadi (2006)
• Habibi Ana (2008)
• Baby Haifa (2010)
• Malikat Jamal Al Kawn (2012)
• Hawwa (2018)

• Sea of Stars (2008)
• Dokkan Shehata (2011)
• Halawet Rouh (2014)
• Khair and Baraka (2017)
• Renegades of Europe (2020)

• Kalam Ala Warak (2014)
• Mawlid wa Sahibuh Ghayb (2015)
• Maryam (2015)
• Al Herbaya (2017)[37]
• Lanaat Karma (2018)