Umm Kulthum

Umm Kulthum (Arabic: أم كلثوم‎ ʾUmm Kulṯūm; ), born Fātimah ʾIbrāhīm as-Sayyid al-Biltāǧī (فاطمة إبراهيم السيد البلتاجي ; see Kunya) on an uncertain date (December 30, 1898 or May 4, 1904?) and who died February 3, 1975, was an internationally famous Egyptian singer, songwriter, and film actress of the 1930s to the 1970s. She was born in the village of Tamay ez-Zahayra in the Nile Delta. She is known as Kawkab al-Sharq ("Star of the East") in Arabic. More than three decades after her death in 1975, she is still widely regarded as the greatest female singer in Arabic music history. Her stage name, Umm Kulthoum, means 'Mother of Kalthoum' and was the name of one of the Prophet Muhammad's daughters. Her name is transcribed in numerous ways into English, commonly spelled Om Kalsoum, Om Koultom, or Omme Kolsoum on her records (the Arabic letter ث /th/ being commonly pronounced /s/ in Egyptian Arabic).