Biography

Fatima Ibrahim as-Sayyid al-Beltagi (Arabic: فاطمة إبراهيم السيد البلتاجي), known as Umm Kalthoum (Arabic: أم كلثوم), also spelled Oum Kalsoum (or Om-e Kalsūm in Egyptian dialect) or sometimes Umm Kulthum, and nicknamed "Souma", is an Egyptian singer, musician and actress, born December 31, 1898 in Ṭamāy al-Zahāyira (in the Simballāwayn district of the Dakhleya governorate in Egypt) and died February 3, 1975 in Cairo. Referred to by various nicknames, including "the Star of the East", "the Lady", "the Fourth Pyramid" and "the People's Singer", she is generally considered the greatest singer in the Arab world. President Nasser, whose favorite singer she was, exempted her from taxes for life. In Cairo, people used to say: "Egypt is Nasser, Umm Kulthum and the pyramids". Charles de Gaulle called her "The Lady" and Maria Callas "The Incomparable Voice".