Deeyah was born Deepika Thathaal, at UllevÃ¥l sykehus hospital in Lambertseter, Oslo, Norway to Sunni Muslim parents. The family later moved to Grønland in Sentrum, then to TÃ¥sen. Her father hailed from the Punjab province in Pakistan while her mother was a Pashtun of part Afghan, part Iranian ancestry belonging to the Durrani tribe. Where her father had an extended family living in Norway Read more...

Deeyah's father was a music enthusiast and with his musical organisation well under way, he invited classical musical maestros from South Asia to teach music to young kids. He ensured that music becomes an essential part of both his children's upbringing and in 1984 entrusted his seven years old daughter under the supervision of the legendary Ustad Bade Fateh Ali Khan. Deeyah studied Pakistani and Read more...

Although she had been singing for national television for quite some time charting a couple of hit singles, her talent was finally recognised in 1992 when she sang at the opening ceremony for Norway's TV2 in front of an audience that included Ã…se Kleveland, the then Minister of Culture and the Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland. Following this, she was taken on as a student by the esteemed Read more...