Lebanese diva Sabah dies at 87

Sabah, a Lebanese diva and actress considered an icon in the Arab region, died on Wednesday at the age of 87, Lebanon's official news agency has reported.

No details have thus far been provided about her death. However, her health had been reportedly deteriorating.

Sabah, whose original name is Jeanette Gergis Feghali, was born in Lebanon's Wadi Chahrour city on 10 November 1927. She was also known as ‘al-Sabbouha’, a diminutive of Sabah and ‘shahroura’ or the ‘singing bird’.

Throughout her celebrated decades-long career, Sabah had acted in 83 Egyptian and Lebanese films, many of which are considered Arab cinema classics, as well as 27 Lebanese plays.

Her musical record includes over 3,000 songs, according to the news agency.

She is reportedly 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.

Her only European TV performance was in 1980, when she was a guest on the French TV show Le Grand Echiquier where she performed duet "Aal Naddaa" with French singer Enrico Marcia. This duet lead to her ban in several Arab countries, due to Macias' support of Israel.

Sabah was also known for multiple marriages, having had nine husbands throughout her life. The most famous of which included her marriage to Egyptian cinema star, Rushdy Abaza, which lasted for only a week and her marriage to Egyptian television presenter Ahmed Farrag.

She had her son Sabah during her five-year marriage to Najib Chammas and daughter Howayda during her four-year marriage to Egyptian violinist Anwar Mansy.

Sabah won several awards during her lengthy career and honoured at several international festivals including the Dubai International Film Festival, the Egyptian Cinema in Cairo and the Beiteddine Art Festival. She was honoured with a statue of herself in Beirut.

Sabah’s acting career stretched from 1943 to 2005. Her most famous films include Lubnani fi al-Gamia (1947), Sabah el Khair (1948), Izay ansak (1956), Shari’ el-Hob (1959) among others.

She held Egyptian, Jordanian and US and Lebanese citizenships, and continued to perform and make television appearances into her 80s.