Wafah Dufour
Wafah Dufour | |
---|---|
Birth name | Wafah bin Laden |
Born |
Los Angeles, California, United States | 23 May 1975
Origin | Swiss and American nationality |
Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, model, socialite |
Wafah Dufour (born as Wafah bin Laden, born in Los Angeles, California) is an American singer-songwriter, socialite, and model.[1][2][3][4] Her father, Yeslam bin Ladin (half brother of Osama bin Laden), is Saudi Arabian (father of Yemeni origin and mother of Iranian origin) and her mother, Carmen bin Ladin, is of Swiss father and Iranian mother from the princely family (mothers name: Mirdoth/Sheybani). She has Swiss nationality by her mother and United States nationality by birth.
Wafah Dufour spent the early part of her life in Los Angeles, then Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, but later moved to Geneva, Switzerland, with her parents.[5][6][7] In 1988 her parents separated and finally divorced only in January 2006. Her father and his family have reportedly not spoken to either her or her two younger sisters since she was 15 years old. She changed her last name to her mother's maiden name, Dufour. She earned a law degree from Geneva University and a master's degree from Columbia Law School in New York City.[8] She speaks French (her mother tongue), English, and Persian. In early 2006, publisher Judith Regan signed Dufour to appear in a reality television show which planned to follow her battle for success in the music industry in a fly-on-the-wall documentary. In the end, the project was canceled due to lingering resentments about the September 11 attacks.[9] At present, she is recording her first album and she now lives in London. She is also set to collaborate with Atlanta rock band Black Lips.[10] As of 2011, her publicist began referring to her by her birth name, Wafah bin Laden.[11]
References
- ↑ Anthony Barnett (2003-03-16). "Pop career for bin Laden niece". The Guardian. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
Her uncle might be the most feared terrorist in the world, but Osama bin Laden's niece is about to try and take the world of pop music by storm. Waffa bin Laden, whose father Yeslam is the brother of the world's most wanted man, aims to release a single by the end of the year.
mirror - ↑ "Bin Laden's niece bares much in GQ spread: 'My values are like yours,' she says, distancing herself from al-Qaida leader". MSNBC. 2005-12-23. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
'Everyone relates me to that man, and I have nothing to do with him,' Wafah Dufour, the daughter of bin Laden’s half brother, Yeslam Binladin, says in the January edition of the magazine, referring to the al-Qaida leader.
mirror - ↑ "Osama bin Laden's niece Wafah Dufour heads this way". Perth Now. 2008-02-08. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
It is understood McGuire invited the American model and singer - who is estranged from her terrorist uncle - to come to Australia and perform her new single on the show after meeting her in London last week.
mirror - ↑ "Meet the other much-misunderstood Bin Laden clan". Sify News. 2011-05-06. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
But he is not quite as freethinking as one of his daughters, Wafah Dufour, who was born in California, of a Swiss-Iranian mother. Wafah was studying at Columbia Law School in New York when her uncle's operatives hit the Twin Towers.
mirror - ↑ "'Da Vinci Code' trial winds down". Boston Globe. 2006-03-11. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
Wafah Dufour bin Laden, whose mother was married to the Al Qaeda leader's half-brother, was born in California and lived in Saudi Arabia from age 3 to 10.
mirror - ↑ "Bin Laden Niece in Glamour Shots". BBC News. 2005-12-23.
She lived in Saudi Arabia, where Bin Laden is from, until she was 10, before moving on to Geneva and back to the US.
- ↑ "Reality TV Gig for Bin Laden's Niece". Sydney Morning Herald. 2006-03-11.
Osama bin Laden's niece, an aspiring singer who posed for a sexy photo shoot in a men's magazine last year, has signed up for a reality television show about her life and her as-yet-unfulfilled 'quest for stardom'.
mirror - ↑ Kevin Krolicki (2005-12-24). "Bin Laden niece poses for sexy photo shoot". Toronto Star.
Dufour, who earned a master's degree in law from Columbia University, was in Geneva with her mother at the time of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
mirror - ↑ "Bin Laden's 'Sexy' Niece On US TV". Sky News. 2006-03-20. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
The niece of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is to get her own television show in America. Wafah Dufour—daughter of the terrorist's half-brother—has signed a lucrative deal to star in a reality TV show. But the news has enraged relatives 9/11 victims which were masterminded by her Uncle Osama.
mirror - ↑ "Osama Bin Laden's niece Wafah Dufour cancels gig: Terrorist's relative told to drop show by new management". Glastonbury Review. 2009-02-09. Retrieved 2011-07-02.
Meanwhile, Dufour is set to work with Atlanta rockers Black Lips on a collaboration soon. 'I'm not joking – she's even talked to our manager,' guitarist Cole Alexander told NME.COM. 'We're really honoured. She came to a show in New York and the came to see us in London. She's a fan and has aspirations to be a musician.'
mirror - ↑ "Wafah Dufour, meet Osama bin Laden's niece". Times of India. 2011-05-09. Retrieved 2012-04-26.
External links
- MSNBC article about appearance in GQ magazine mirror
- Pop career for bin Laden niece, The Observer, 15 March 2003