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12/22/2024 11:20:57 pm

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Legendary Lebanese Entertainer Sabah Dies at 87

Sabah, Lebanon's ultimate show business legend whose prolific career and peerless performance has entertained audience from the 1940s onwards, passed away in her home in Beirut.

She was 87.

She was born Jeanette Gergis Al-Feghali on Nov. 10. 1927.

Hailed as Lebanon's "Diva of Music," Sabah has recorded over 50 albums and 3500 songs and has starred in 98 movies.

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She also lent her star power on 20 stage plays.

It is safe to say that Sabah was Lebanbon's first international celebrity. She was the first Arabic singer to perform at some of the world's renowned theatres, including the Olympia in Paris, Carnegie Hall in New York, Piccadilly Theatre in London and the Opera House in Sydney.

She started singing in the 1940s, becoming popular for her versions of patriotic songs and folkloric ballads. It was her light-hearted technique that really made her a fan favorite.

Sabah diversified her popularity into the big screen, eventually becoming a screen goddess in Egypt, the most popular of which was the The Heart Has One and starring alongside Egyptian matinee idols, including Rushdi Abaza.

Her personal life, though, seemed to have eclipse her professional successes. She was said to have married nine times, a feat to surpass Hollywood's Elizabeth Taylor, thus landing her in the headlines.

Her first husband was Najib Shammas, who she married in 1946. Their marriage bore a son, Sabah.

Meanwhile, she had a daughter with her marriage to Egyptian violinist Anwar Mansy.

She also tied the knot with Egyptian television host Ahmad Faraj and Lebanese lawmaker Yousef Hammoud.

She married Abaza, but the marriage only lasted days. She nevertheless spent 17 years as wife of Lebanese artist Fadi Lebnan.

She never ceased from attracting intrigues. As late as 2003, she got engaged to a Mr Lebanon winner who was decades younger than she. The engagement was eventually called off.

She was vocal about her unfaithfulness to most of her husbands, who she accused of also cheating on her. She also worried that her husbands would take advantage of her wealth and popularity.

Despite her age, Sabah still maintained that youthful look, lavishing herself with clothes, jewelry and cosmetic procedures.

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