Biographies: Asmahan - Actor

Biographies

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Amal al-Atrash  better known by her stage name Asmahan  was a Syrian singer and actress. She was born to Fahd al-Atrash, a Syrian Druze from Suwayda, and 'Alia al-Mundhir, a Lebanese Druze from Hasbaya.Her father came from the Druze al-Atrash clan, well known in Syria for its role in fighting against the French occupation. Asmahan's vocal talent was discovered at an early age, by the Egyptian composer Dawood Hosni, and rose to fame quickly, being introduced to the public at the age of fourteen (or seventeen, as her birth-date is disputed) at a concert in the Cairo Opera House. She then sang and recorded songs composed by Farid Ghosn, Dawood Hosni, Mohamed El Qasabgi, and Zakariyya Ahmad. Asmahan made her acting debut in the film “Intisar el Shabab” (The Victory of Youth) in 1941, alongside her brother Farid. Asmahan married her cousin Hassan, after they agreed that she would end her musical career in 1933, and shortly afterwards she gave birth to her daughter, Kamellia. Eventually, Asmahan missed her career and her life in Cairo; and in 1939, she and Hassan were divorced. Thus she returned to Cairo and resumed her singing career, marrying the Egyptian director Ahmed Badrkhan, though they were to divorce soon after, before she could manage to receive and Egyptian citizenship instead of the one she lost after marrying her cousin. On 14 July 1944, a car carrying Asmahan and a female friend crashed and went into a canal at the side of the road, after the driver lost control near the city of Mansoura, Egypt. The car was a two-door model and the women were sitting in the backseat. They were presumed to be rendered unconscious and subsequently drowned. The driver, however, managed to escape.

• 6 February 2014
• Tarek Sharkawy