Umm Kulthum

Umm Kulthum (Arabic: أم كلثوم; 31 December 1898 – 3 February 1975) was an Egyptian singer, songwriter, and film actress active from the 1920s to the 1970s. She was given the honorific title Kawkab el-Sharq (Arabic: كوكب الشرق, lit. 'Planet of the Orient'). Immensely popular throughout the Middle East and beyond, Kulthum is a national icon in her native Egypt; she has been dubbed "The Voice of Egy… More