Elissa was born in Deir Alahmar and raised in the magnificent nature of Bekaa Valley. She acquired a degree in Political Science from the Lebanese University. Her first venture into art and artistic activities were in political critique theaters, i.e. "Wassim Tabarah Theater" and the "10 O'clock Theater", and that was her first contact with an audience, the overwhelming warmth of which she immediately took to.
Her theatrical beginnings motivated her to take her first steps into the music scene, which she did in 1993 at 'Studio El Fan', a show broadcast on LBC, one of the top TV stations in the Middle East, and consequently, she won a silver medal for her performance.
Following this she performed live in concerts tirelessly until 1999 when the production company Lido released her first album, 'Baddy Doub'. Elissa's debut album was no small event, as it included her first smash hit with the famous French gypsy group, Gerard Ferrer.
The release of this first album took her straight to Cannes to participate in the International Music Festival in 2000.
Following this success, Elissa released her second album, 'Wakhreta Maak' which included the hit duo 'Bitghib Betrouh' with Lebanese superstar Ragheb Allama. The song was a massive hit, and is still played on TV and radio today, three years after its release.
Elissa's current album, 'Ayshalak', has been the number one selling album in the Middle East since its release in June 2002. For this album, she kept the momentum of the success of her previous albums, and even surpassed it. The video clip of the single 'Ayshalak' was filmed in Paris with the acclaimed French director, Fabrice Begotti.
On top of this outstanding album, Elissa shook up the music scene by teaming up with the world-famous Chris de Burgh. Their hit duet 'Lebanese Nights' was written by de Burgh during his last trip to Lebanon in 2000, and also became a huge success in the Arab music world.
Lebanese singer Elissa is getting ready to travel to Algeria for the first time to host two live concerts. The first concert will be in “Al Kobol” and the second at the Sheraton Hotel.
Lebanese singer Elissa was in a car accident last week while driving her Range Rover home. The accident occurred when the singer was attempting to steer away from two cars that were following her leading her to hit the car in front of her.
“Our message as artist is to sing beauty, freedom and love” these were the words that Lebanese singer Elissa expressed her honor at winning an award for the second time at the World Music Awards 2006 as the Best Arab artist for her latest album “Bastanak” (I’m Waiting for You).
A special invitation was presented by Lebanese singer Elissa to every Arab woman, who is looking to rediscover her beauty. This invitation is part of a campaign for Lux elegant festival, which is currently taking place, in its fifth consecutive year.
Lebanese singer Elissa has conquered the number one spot in the summer album competition in Egypt, which is considered the worst summer the music world has witnessed due to the different circumstances that hit the region like the disastrous Israeli raids on Lebanon.