Sabah (Jeanette Gergis Al-Feghali, 10 November 1927 – 26 November 2014) was a Lebanese singer and actress. Considered a "Diva of Music" in the Arab World, (the same title often given to Oum Kalthoum, Warda Al-Jazairia and Fairuz), she released over 50 albums and acted in 98 movies as well as over 20 stage plays. She had a reported 3,500 songs in her repertoire. She was one among the first Arabic singer to perform at Olympia in Paris, Carnegie Hall in New York, and Piccadilly Theatre in London and Sydney Opera House in Sydney. She was considered one of the four Lebanese icons along with Fairuz, Wadih El Safi and Zaki Nassif and was nicknamed "Empress of the Lebanese Song" (Arabic: إمبراطورة الأغنية اللبنانية‎) for it.Sabah, known locally as “Al-Sabbouha” was born in Bdadoun, Lebanon. Her father was severe towards her, even beating her sometimes. When she started making a small amount of money out of her movies, he used to take it away from her. She married early to leave her father’s overbearing financial control. Her brother killed her mother because he believed she was seeing someone outside marriage. She began singing and acting in the 1940s in Egyptian movies when Egyptian filmmaker Henry Barakat recognized her talent. Her first featured film was “El Alb Laho Wahed” produced by Asia Dagher. Although a Lebanese national, the majority of her films were co-produced with or focused on Egypt. She starred with many famous actors, such as Abdel Halim Hafez, Kamal El Chenawi, Ahmad Mazhar, Rushdy Abaza and Hussein Fahmy.
She released her first song in 1940, aged just 13. The singer soon caught the eye of Egyptian film producer Asia Dagher, who immediately signed her for three films. The first of these, El-Qalb Louh Wahid (The Heart Has Its Reasons), made her a star - and she was known by her character's name - Sabah, which is Arabic for morning - ever after. But she also acquired several affectionate nicknames, including "Shahroura", Arabic for "singing bird", and "Sabbouha," a diminutive of Sabah. Among her most popular films were Soft Hands (1964), Ataba Square (1959) and The Second Man (1960), in which she played a cabaret singer who vows to avenge her brother's death at the hands of a smuggling ring. In her parallel music career, she recorded more than 3,000 songs, working with a string of legendary Egyptian composers, including the late Mohammed Abdul-Wahhab. She specialised in a Lebanese folk tradition called the mawal, and her most famous songs included Zay el-Assal (Your Love is Like Honey on my Heart) and Akhadou el-Reeh (They Took the Wind). The star held Egyptian, Jordanian and US citizenship as well as Lebanese, and continued to perform and make television appearances into her 80s.
At home, she was humorously mocked for refusing to leave the limelight, as well as her garish outfits and use of cosmetic surgery. But she was unabashed: "I'm proud that I'm a village girl but I had a lot of ambition," she said in 2008. "She broke so many taboos. I don't know if she was even aware of it," said Chady Maalouf, head of programming at Voice of Lebanon radio. "She was the example of a star, she was totally complete in her appearance, behaviour and voice. She shocked people all the time." Sabah released over 50 albums and acted in 98 films during her career. She married nine times, most most notably to Egyptian actor Roshdi Abaza and Lebanese author-director Wassim Tabbara. Her last marriage, to Lebanese artist Fadi Lubnan, lasted 17 years. She had two children, Dr Sabah Shammas and actress Howayda Mansy, both of whom live in the United States.
Sabah received many awards during her lengthy career. Recent examples include:
• Lifetime Achievement Award from the Dubai International Film Festival
• Honoured by the Egyptian Cinema in Cairo.
• Honoured in Beirut with a statue.