Nazia Hassan

Nazia Hassan (3 April 1965 – 13 August 2000) was a Pakistani pop singer-songwriter, lawyer and social activist. She started her music career at the age of 10, and became one of the most prominent singers of Pakistan. She enjoyed widespread popularity across South and Southeast Asia and has been called the "Queen of Pop" in South Asia. She, along with her brother Zoheb Hassan, went on to sell over 65 million records worldwide. Her English language single Dreamer Deewane made her the first Pakistani singer to make it to the British charts. In the middle of her successful singing career, Hassan earned degrees in economics and law at two prestigious London schools, Richmond, The American International University and the University of London. Nazia made her singing debut with the 1980 song "Aap Jaisa Koi", which appeared in the Bollywood Indian film Qurbani. Her debut album, Disco Deewane (1981), charted in fourteen countries worldwide and became the best-selling Asian pop record up at the time. This was followed by Boom Boom (1982), Young Tarang (1984), and Hotline (1987) which was her last album with Zoheb. Her last album, Camera Camera (1992), was part of a campaign against drugs. Along with her brother, she also appeared in several television programs. In 1988 she appeared in Sung Sung with music maestro Sohail Rana. They also hosted the first-ever pop-music stage show, Music '89, produced by Shoaib Mansoor. Her success played a key role in shaping Pakistani pop music scene. Through her successful singing career spanning over 15 years, Hassan became one of the Pakistan's most popular celebrities. She received several national and international awards, and at the age of 15 became the first Pakistani to win the Filmfare Award and remains the youngest recipient of the award to date. Hassan was also a recipient of Pakistan's civilian award, Pride of Performance. In addition to singing in films, Hassan also engaged in philanthropic activities, and was appointed by UNICEF as its cultural ambassador in 1991. Hassan died of lung cancer in London on 13 August 2000 at the age of 35.