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Wafah Dufour

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Wafah Dufour
Born
Wafah bin Ladin

(1975-05-23) May 23, 1975 (age 49)[1]
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
EducationGeneva University
Columbia University
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, model, socialite

Wafah Dufour (born Wafah bin Ladin, May 23, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter, socialite, and model.[2][3][4][5]

Early life and education

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Wafah bin Ladin was born on May 23, 1975 (although some reports have given 1978 or 1980) [6] in Los Angeles, California. Her father, Yeslam bin Ladin (paternal half brother of Osama bin Laden), is a Saudi of Yemeni and Iranian origin and her mother, Carmen bin Laden, is of Swiss father and Iranian mother from the princely family (mother's 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.[7][8][9] In 1988, her parents separated and finally divorced 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.[10][11] She speaks French (her mother tongue), English, and Persian.

Career

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Television

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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.[11] In the end, the project was canceled due to lingering resentments about the September 11 attacks.[12]

Music

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In 2009, she was recording her first album while living in London and set to collaborate with Atlanta rock band Black Lips.[13]

In 2016, Wafah composed Nimrod Kamer's song, "Nimmy and the Hose".

As of 2019, Dufour was lead singer of the band Deep Tan, based in East London.[14] Other band members included Celeste Guinness and Melia Beaudoin.[15]

References

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  1. ^ "Wafah Y Binladin, Born 05/23/1975 in California". CaliforniaBirthIndex.org. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  2. ^ Anthony Barnett (March 16, 2003). "Pop career for bin Laden niece". The Guardian. Retrieved July 2, 2011. 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
  3. ^ "Bin Laden's niece bares much in GQ spread: 'My values are like yours,' she says, distancing herself from al-Qaida leader". NBC News. December 23, 2005. Retrieved July 2, 2011. '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.
  4. ^ "Osama bin Laden's niece Wafah Dufour heads this way". Perth Now. February 8, 2008. Archived from the original on June 12, 2012. Retrieved July 2, 2011. 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.
  5. ^ "Meet the other much-misunderstood Bin Laden clan". Sify News. May 6, 2011. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved July 2, 2011. 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.
  6. ^ "My life as a Bin Laden wife | Switzerland | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  7. ^ "'Da Vinci Code' trial winds down". Boston Globe. March 11, 2006. Archived from the original on March 27, 2006. Retrieved July 2, 2011. 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.
  8. ^ "Bin Laden Niece in Glamour Shots". BBC News. December 23, 2005. She lived in Saudi Arabia, where Bin Laden is from, until she was 10, before moving on to Geneva and back to the US.
  9. ^ "Reality TV Gig for Bin Laden's Niece". The Sydney Morning Herald. March 11, 2006. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012. 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'.
  10. ^ Kevin Krolicki (December 24, 2005). "Bin Laden niece poses for sexy photo shoot". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. 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.
  11. ^ a b "Bin Laden's Singing Niece Gets Reality Show". Billboard. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  12. ^ "Bin Laden's 'Sexy' Niece On US TV". Sky News. March 20, 2006. Archived from the original on May 11, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2011. 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.
  13. ^ "Osama Bin Laden's niece Wafah Dufour cancels gig: Terrorist's relative told to drop show by new management". Glastonbury Review. February 9, 2009. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved July 2, 2011. 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.'
  14. ^ "Osama bin Laden's niece, John Legend's ex, on European tour with her band". Stuff. December 2, 2019.
  15. ^ "Osama Bin Laden's Niece And Guinness Heiress Punk Band Tour UK". Toofab.
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