Googoosh

Acting · Tehran, Iran · Born May 5, 1950

Faegheh Atashin, nicknamed Googoosh, was born in 1950 in Tehran. 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 cafés 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 Fereshteh farari (1961), a film by George Obadiah. Her first experience with cinema, however, was a movie by the title of Bim va omid (1960) 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 imitated Googoosh. Her famous short haircut in 1975 is still popular among 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. 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 were Bita (1972), Mah-e asal (1976) (Honeymoon), Hamsafar (1975), Mamal Amricayi (1975) and Dar emtedad shab (1978) are the most popular. She also starred in Ce divane (1968) with Garshasb Raoufi and Mohammad Motevaselani. Her acting career ended with the 1979 revolution in Iran. She acted with Behrouz Vossoughi, the most popular actor of his time, in several movies and later joined Saeed Kangarani in the erotic movie Dar emtedad shab (1978), 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 Behrouz Vossoughi, but their marriage only lasted for one year. Before their marriage, Vosoughi was already engaged to Pouri Baneai, 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. She married Masud Kimiai and choose to resides in an apartment in the 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.