ReganMedia Captures Singer Wafah Dufour (nee Bin Ladin)

ReganMedia Captures Singer Wafah Dufour (nee Bin Ladin)

Judith Regan Signs Exclusive TV Deal with Wafah Dufour, Niece of Osama Bin Laden

'I am an American and I love my country!' .Wafah Dufour

NEW YORK, March 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Judith Regan, President and Publisher, ReganMedia, announced today that she has signed Wafah Dufour, a niece of Osama Bin Laden, to an exclusive agreement for a reality television series based upon Wafah Dufour's life as a pop-rock singer and musician.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060309/NYTH113 )

Wafah Dufour-whose birth name is Wafah Bin Ladin*-is the daughter of Carmen Dufour Bin Ladin (of Switzerland), the New York Times best-selling author of Inside the Kingdom: My Life in Saudi Arabia, and Yeslam Bin Ladin, half-brother to the notorious Osama Bin Laden. Wafah Dufour was born in Santa Monica, California, and is a citizen of both Switzerland and the United States. Wafah Dufour moved to Saudi Arabia at the age of three and at ten moved to Geneva, Switzerland, with her mother and sisters after her parents separated. In 1999, Wafah Dufour returned to the United States to receive her Master's degree from Columbia Law School in New York City.

Wafah Dufour began singing at three, and her musical influences include U2, Depeche Mode, Sade, John Mayer, The Cure, and The Cranberries.

Although she speaks Spanish, French and English, Wafah Dufour prefers to sing in English. Says Wafah Dufour, "Singing in English allows me to express feelings that go perfectly with the music I make, which is both modern and rooted in the classic pop I grew up with. I understand that when people hear my last name, they have preconceived notions, but I was born an American and I love my country. As a musician, my life is simply about the music, which is truly the universal language that we all can understand."

Adds Judith Regan, "Wafah is a beautiful and talented singer who - like so many twentysomethings - has a dream to make it in the music business. She is also a young woman who falls in love, has her heart broken, worries about her looks, doesn't always listen to her mother, and hasn't spoken to her father in years. Her story will bridge the gap that people feel exists between the cultures she has lived in. Her history and her quest for stardom will make for a compelling television series-she is a musician, a young woman, and most important a human being."

The deal was brokered by Richard Valvo, Wafah Dufour's publicist.

* Bin Ladin is the preferred spelling of Wafah's branch of the family.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060309/NYTH113
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: ReganMedia

CONTACT: Justin Loeber, S.V.P., Executive Marketing and Publicity
Director, +1-212-207-7066, Justin.Loeber@harpercollins.com

NOTE TO EDITORS: For publicity inquiries, please contact Justin Loeber, S.V.P., Executive Marketing and Publicity Director at 212-207-7066 or Justin.Loeber@harpercollins.com

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