Anoushka

Biography

Vartanoush Garbis Selim (Arabic: ڤرتانوش جاربيس سليم; better known by her stage name Anoushka (Arabic: أنوشكا), is an Egyptian singer and actress.

Early life

She was born in Cairo, Egypt, to an Egyptian-Armenian father and an Armenian mother. She had her secondary school education in the Armenian Gulbenkian School in Boulaq neighborhood in Cairo and continued to study Business Administration at American University in Cairo. After graduation she worked in a foreign investment company and later on in the advertising firm Tarek Nour as a singer on advertisements.

Career

She took in an international song competition organized by International Federation of Festival Organizations (FIDOF) singing an original French song, lyrics by Gamal Abdel Halim Hasan and music by Kamel Cherif. Her first Egyptian public song was in a children's television program teaching Arabic language directed by Fehmi Abdel Hamid. She went on to take part in 1987 and 1988 in international festivals in Finland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Turkey, France and Latin America.
Becoming one of the most popular singers in Egypt in the 1990s, Anoushka went on to release several albums: Habbaytak (1988),Nadani (1989),Tigi Tghanni (1990),Abayyan Zayn (1992),Keddab (1994). Her last album was in 2001 and was titled Nefsy Akoon.
In Turkey, she won first prize with "Habbytak" and in the Francophonie competitions in France with her own composition "Ya Habibi (Oh my Love)" in French and "Ya Leyl (Oh Night)" also in French composed by Midhat el Khawla. She sang in the World Cup ceremonies in 1997, and the World Cup handball closing ceremony in 2000. She went on to release many albums in Arabic becoming a pan-Arab sensation and was awarded by the Egyptian Minister of Tourism for her efforts in promoting Egyptian music in the Arab world and worldwide. She also took part in many national, pan-Arab and international music events.
She had the lead role in an operetta entitled "El Ward we Fosoulu" (in Arabic "الورد وفصوله") in the Children Day festivities. She is a prolific actress, rose to fame most notably in "El-Tawous" (in Arabic "الطاووس") with the prominent movie star Salah Zulfikar in 1991. Afterwards, the prominent film director Salah Abu Seif chose her to participate in the movie "Al-Sayed Kaf" (in Arabic "السيد كاف"), then her acting works continued including "Qanoon Al-Maraghi" (in Arabic "قانون المراغي") among others.
In 2012, she was cast in the tv series Firqat Nagy Atallah which had Adel Imam playing lead role.
In 2016 Anoushka plays the criminal, evil, I-will-stop-at-nothing mother, Kesmet Hanem, in fan-favorite TV series Grand Hotel. She was considered the best villainess to hit Egypt’s TV in years due to her performance in the series. Anoushka then won the Best Actress award from the Catholic Center.
Anoushka has also been cast in other successful Ramadan dramas such as Naguib Zahy Zarkash (2021) and Rageen Ya Hawa (2022).

Albums

Habbaytak حبيتك
Nadani ناداني
Tigi Tghanni تيجي تغنّي
Abayyan Zayn أبيّن زين
Keddab كدّاب

TV shows

She has played roles in many TV Shows including:

El Tawous الطاووس
El Marsa wa El Bahar المرسى و البحار
Qanoun Al Maraghi قانون المراغي
Ferquet Nagui Atallah فرقة ناجي عطالله
El Sayeda El Oula السيدة الاولى
Saraya Abdeen سرايا عابدين
Mamlakat Youssef Al Maghraby مملكة يوسف المغربي
Grand Hotel جراند اوتيل
Sokut Horr سقوط حر
Halawat El Donia حلاوة الدنيا
Naguib Zahy Zarkash
Rageen Ya Hawa
Life is beautiful
Esteefa