Googoosh

• Genre: Middle East
• Googoosh Website

About

Her story defies belief: Googoosh, born Faegheh Atashin, was one of Iran's most beloved divas, a pop singer who'd been performing since she was three years old. She starred in innumerable films and was internationally known for her classy, heart-baring music. Then the revolution happened, and the singer returned to Iran (she was out of the country at the time), where she was immediately barred from public performance for decades. She lived through the worst of the Iran-Iraq war, and she never challenged the regime that had silenced her. Finally, thanks to a loosening of control under the moderate Khatami administration, Googoosh, now in her fifties, has returned to the world stage. She's set to act in a film and she's given enough performances to realize that the world hasn't forgotten her: 12,000 fans showed up for a 2008 show in Toronto.

- Sarah Bardeen