| |
Fa-egheh Atashin, nick-named Googoosh, was born in 1950
in Azarbayjan--a province in Iran. She lost her mother
when she was an infant and moved with her father to
Tehran. Her father, Saber, was an entertainer and a
comedian and he encouraged Googoosh to sing in bars and
cafes in Laleh-Zar street of Tehran when she was only 5
years old. Her singing at such an early age prevented
her from getting any kind of a primary education. In
1960, when she was only 10 years old, she had a
successful role in the movie "Fereshteye Farari", a film
by Gorji Abadia. Her first experience with cinema,
however, was a movie by the title of "Beam va Omid" in
1958. Googoosh was discovered by Iranian composers for
her natural singing talent, where she created a unique
style in modern Iranian music and became a pop culture
icon among the Iranian youth. In 1969, the notorious
"mini-joupe" dress was a fashion among young Iranian
girls who immitated Googoosh. Her famous short hair cut
in 1975 is still popular amoung females in Iran.
Googoosh is said to have been a victim of underworld
organizations who controlled cabarets and bars in
Tehran. One of the underworld bosses, Parviz Ghorbani,
the owner of "Shokoufeh Nou" cabaret was the brain
behind conspiracy against Googoosh where he made created
enormous debt in her name. There are rumors that she was
raped when she was 18 by "Shapour Gholamreza", the
Shah's brother. In 1973 she married Ghorbani against her
will to pay her debts. She has a son " Kambiz" from her
first marriage. Googoosh starred in many popular movies,
among which "Bita", "Honeymoon", "Hamsafar", "Mamal
Amrikaie" and "Dar Emtedad-e Shab" are the most popular.
She also starred in "Seh Divaneh" with Garsha Raoofi and
Motevaselani. Her acting career ended with the 1979
revolution in Iran. She acted with Behrooz Vosooghi, the
most popular actor of his time, in several movies and
later joined Saeed Kangarani in the erotic movie "Dar
Emtedad-e Shab", which was well-received by Iranians, as
well as other Middle Eastern countries. Critics,
however, never considered Googoosh a successful actress.
In 1976 she married Vosoughi, but their marriage only
lasted for one year. Before their marriage, Vosoughi was
already engaged to Pouri Banaii, another popular
actress. This marriage, however, ended the friendship
between Banaii and Googoosh. With the Islamic commotion
of 1979, Googoosh stopped her 25-years of singing and
acting career for good. She also refused to leave Iran
and consistently rejected lucrative offers for recording
new albums outside the country. According to Parviz
Khatibi, the late Iranian director, Googoosh left Iran
right after the revolution and stayed in New York for a
while. This stay, however, was so short that many
Iranians don't remember it. Currently, she is married to
Masood Kimiaee and resides in an apartment in north of
Tehran. On July 2000, Googoosh finally broke 21 years of
silence by announcing an unexpected, but much
anticipated, North American tour, starting in Toronto.
To date, concerts have been performed in Los Angeles,
New York, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. Other tours
are expected in Atlantic City, Las Vegas, and San Jose,
with many more tour dates added on a weekly basis, due
to sold-out performances. |
|
