Maya Diab

Maya Henri Diab (Arabic: مايا هنري دياب [ˈmaːja ˈdjaːb]; born 12 November 1978) is a Lebanese singer, entertainer, actress and television personality. She is a former member of the Lebanese girl group The 4 Cats. Maya Diab, was born in Achrafieh, to a Christian Greek Orthodox family. She is the youngest of her parents' children and has one brother and two sisters. She majored in radio and TV media after receiving her university degree from the Lebanese University. In 1996, she won the Gold Medal for the fashion category at Studio El Fan, when she was only 16 years old. In 1998, she participated in Miss Lebanon. In 2000, she competed in the TV presenting category at Studio El Fan, which led her to join The 4 Cats in 2001. In 2007, she acted in Asad W Arbaa Kotat along with The 4 Cats and Hany Ramzy, then in two other TV series, Kalam Niswan in 2009 and El Donia Heik in 2010. In 2010, she left The 4 Cats. The following year, she released her debut solo single "Habibi", as well as a duet called "Sawa" with Ramy Ayach. In 2011, she took on her first gig as a TV presenter with Heik Menghanni on MTV. She later presented Deal Or No Deal: El Ikhtiyar (ديل أور نو ديل: الإختيار) on Al-Nahar in 2012 and Ask The Arabs (اسأل العرب) on MBC 1 in 2016. In October 2020, Maya Diab was named the Fashion Icon of the Arab World by the Arab Fashion Council, and she announced the opening of the 12th edition of the Arab Fashion Week, which was hosted virtually in Dubai. She married a businessman, Abbas Nasser, in 2006, with whom she had her daughter, Kai. The couple separated in 2017. In 2016, Diab defended her decision to perform at a Beirut nightclub popular among LGBT audiences, criticizing those who judged her choice and stating that music transcends race, religion, and identity. In January 2020, she mentioned that she was kidnapped in Beirut in 2005, where she was held hostage and abused in a car for one day. In 2022, she reiterated her support for LGBT people, stating that homosexuality was not shameful, that individuals should be free to live their lives, and that society should embrace acceptance and respect. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Diab questioned the safety and rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines on social media, describing people as "not a field of experiments" and urging them not to "put death and poison" into their bodies, drawing criticism for promoting vaccine misinformation.