Leila Forouhar,Iranian pop and classical singer.
Leila Forouhar started her stage career at the age of three when she went on stage with her parents at Sepahan Theater in Iran. Her family moved to Tehran when she was six years old. She soon found her way into the movie industry and became a child star when she performed in the blockbuster movie at the time, Solatan Ghalbha.
She loved singing from an early age and would practice her singing by performing difficult songs. She was 12 years old when her parents divorced. It was not easy for her mother to support the kids so Leila decided to start singing at the teenage club in Tehran in order to help her family. Audiences started to love her and soon a well known music producer signed her up.
She produced her first album and her first performance was at age 14 with a 40 piece band at Miami Club in Tehran. Now, Leila was a famous singer and actress loved by the people. As she became more popular, the school principal called her in and informed her that they would no longer be able to have her attend school with other kids as she was now working in clubs. She got her diploma by going to night school and now she was really different from the kids her age. Soon after, she was able to provide a good life for her family. This happiness did not last too long as there was a revolution developing in Iran which ultimately caused a regime change. Now Iran had a supreme leader instead of a Monarch, A religious government that was anti art and music.
All artists were called to the revolutionary court and questioned. Leila was forced to sign a confession and commit to not performing in any form and was fined heavily ( $500,000 in 1979).
Desperate to support her family, she had to come up with a new career. She started taking hairdressing and sewing classes and was able to open a small hair salon with one of her friends and it was a success. Soon after, the revolutionary guards found out about Leila’s new business and demanded it to be shut down because it belonged to an artist. Once again, Leila was forced to choose another path. She decided to take music lessons and learn about Persian Classical music and different instruments.
The war between Iran and Iraq started creating new struggles and challenges. At night, Iran was bombed by Iraqi planes. People had to seek safe shelters in their homes as loud sirens would warn of planes approaching. Everyone lived in fear daily. Leila’s family would go to suburbs at night to seek a safer shelter and would come back home during the day.
Leila’s younger sister Fariba convinced the family to flee the country but Leila was on the black list and could not leave legally. Towards the end of the war, Leila was taken back for questioning almost daily for over a month at the infamous EVIN prison. She would be accused of performing in private functions which was not true. The daily interrogations were torturous for her. She would hear shooting in the prison courtyard. She was told many times” You must be killed”!
When the war was at its peak and the interrogations had stopped, Fariba decided to send her mother and brother out of the country legally to France. Leila started to sell her possession, assets without public knowledge and escaped to Turkey. The process was long and tenuous. First, she posed as a nurse in an ambulance at night, then on horse back for few days. She was given board in a village at night only to continue her escape the next day. An hour into her stay, she was told they have found out she has escaped and needs to move quickly. A wedding caravan was leaving Kurdistan for VAN, Turkey. She was given a Kurdish dress and posed as a part of the wedding caravan and fled the border with them.
After spending some time in Istanbul, she was able to go to Frankfurt, Germany with a fake passport. She was arrested upon arrival in Frankfort. Held in tension for three days at the airport, she requested asylum. The airport police who were Iranian and Pakistani recognized her and helped her to not go to the refugee camp. She was taken to a Hotel and after a week, through Fariba’s friends she joined her family in Paris.
After a short rest, she started working with Fariba to record songs and perform concerts in European cities. Soon, record companies and artists from Los Angeles started contacting her and invited to come to the US for concerts. A new life and career awaited her in Los Angeles. Since ( giver year) she has produced 20 albums and performed in over (give number) concerts in over (number) countries around the world. Farsi speakers around the world, including Afghans, Tajiks, and Iranians go to Iran’s neighbouring countries to watch her perform. In ( give her) she was invited by the Nowruz Commission in Washington DC to perform for dignitaries and ambassadors of 14 countries who celebrate Nowruz.
.She was given a proclamation for her lifetime achievement by the city council of Los Angeles in her 2002 concert at the Dolby Theater.
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