Umm Kulthum Egyptian Arabic pronunciation, born Fatimah ibrahim as-Sayyid al-Biltagi. and who died February 3, 1975, was an internationally famous Egyptian singer, songwriter, and film actress of the 1930s to the 1970s. She is known as Kawkab al-Sharq ("Star of the East") in Arabic. More than three decades after her death in 1975, she is still widely regarded as the greatest female Arabic singer in history.