Biography
Who is Shatha Hassoun?
Early life and studies
Shatha Hassoun was born in Casablanca, Iraq. Her father worked as a reporter and came from Hillah, while her mother worked as a history teacher and came from Safi in Morocco. During her childhood and youth, she divided her time between France and Morocco.
She focused heavily on her education before her music career began. She studied English Literature in Casablanca and continued her higher education in Tangier, where she completed a program in Hotel and Tourism Management. Afterward, she moved to France and earned her master's degree.
Star Academy victory
Shatha entered the fourth season of the pan-Arab television talent show Star Academy Arab World. Although she grew up in Morocco and had never visited Iraq prior to the program, she chose to represent her father's home country during the competition.
In 2007, she won the fourth season of the show and became the first female competitor to achieve this victory. Her performance of the song Baghdad by Lebanese singer Fairouz helped her reach the finals. She secured the win by receiving forty percent of the total votes, with a large number of viewers from Iraq participating in the poll.
Music career and singles
Following her win, Shatha released her debut single titled Rooh. The track was written and composed by Nikola Saada Nikhla and became the first song to debut at number one on Rotana's PEPSI Top 20 charts, staying in the top position for two weeks.
She later released a song titled Asmallah Asmallah, also known as Ebin Bladi, as a gift to the Iraqi people and the national football team after they won the Asian Cup in 2007. Over the years, she has recorded music in multiple languages, including Arabic, English, French, Spanish, Italian, and German, and collaborated with prominent artists such as Marwan Khoury and Melhem Barakat.
Acting and tours
In addition to her singing career, Shatha has worked as an actress. She appeared in an Iraqi, Syrian, and Egyptian television series titled Rasael Men Ragol Mayet, which translates to Letters from a Dead Man. The show addressed various social issues in Iraq between 1979 and 2005 and aired exclusively on Al-Baghdadia TV.
She has also toured extensively across various regions, performing in North America, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Sweden, and Egypt. In 2009, she traveled to Baghdad to perform two charity concerts for children and held press conferences to discuss her visits despite security challenges.
Birthday and age
Shatha Hassoun was born on March 3, 1981, which makes Shatha 45 years old today. That birthday falls under the Pisces sign. Shatha shares the date with 69 other famous people.
