Gina Dirawi

Gina Dirawi
Dirawi after winning a Kristallen award in 2013
Born
Gina Dirawi

(1990-12-11) 11 December 1990 (age 33)
Sundsvall, Sweden
Occupation(s)Television host, singer, comedian, actress
Years active2009–present
Known forHosting Melodifestivalen in 2012, 2013 and 2016

Gina Dirawi (Arabic: غنا ديراوي; born 11 December 1990) is a Swedish television presenter, singer-songwriter, radio personality, blogger, comedian and actress. While she is best known as the first woman ever to host Melodifestivalen on three occasions, she has also hosted several other television and radio shows. She has also released music and played the lead role in the play Donna Juanita at the Stockholm City Theatre.[citation needed]

Early and personal life

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Dirawi was born on 11 December 1990 in Sundsvall, the second of four children in a Lebanese family of Palestinian descent. Her father had first moved to Sundsvall to study, convinced by his parents, and had eventually returned to Lebanon to marry Dirawi's mother. Her parents ultimately settled in Sundsvall, followed by her paternal grandparents a couple of years later.[1] Her grandfather was an imam in Sundsvall until his death in March 2011.[2]

Career

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Dirawi began her career in March 2009, with her blog Ana Gina,[3] and by August of the same year began vlogging.[4]

Her vlog included satirical depictions of recurring characters from Swedish and Palestinian culture. She continued to gain popularity by sharing videos on YouTube, where her videos have over 18 million views as of May 2016.[5]

Dirawi is best known as the first woman ever to host Melodifestivalen on three occasions: in 2012 alongside Helena Bergström and Sarah Dawn Finer,[6] in 2013 alongside Danny Saucedo and in 2016 with guest co-hosts in each show.[7][8]

She won the award for best female TV host at the Kristallen in 2012 and 2013.

Dirawi also hosted the Swedish Grammy Awards in 2014 and 2015, as well as Musikhjälpen in 2011, 2012 and 2015, the same year she hosted SVT's traditional Christmas Eve programme.[9]

It was announced on 20 April 2016 that Dirawi will be the Swedish spokesperson at the annual Eurovision Song Contest, announcing the results of the Swedish jury vote from Eurovision: The Party in the Tele2 Arena in Stockholm. She also hosted Studio Eurovision, a series of three one-hour shows broadcast before the two semi-finals and the final, covering news and events from the contest.[10]

She co-hosted Idol 2017 along with Pär Lernström, she also hosted it in 2018.

In 2019, SVT released the documentary "What Happened to Gina Dirawi" by Jane Magnusson. A story about how Gina Dirawi had to live with security and protection during her time as the biggest TV-host in Sweden, due to severe death-threats from nazi-groups. 2020 and 2021 she hosted the alternative Nobel prize, "Right livelihood award". 2022 she hosted Swedish equivalent to the Oscars, Guldbaggegalan.

In 2020, she realised her first novel "Paradiset ligger under mammas fötter", published with Norstedts. In 2022, she released her first studio album "Meet Me In Jannah", produced by Björn Yttling and Freja Drakenberg.

Discography

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Albums

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Title Released Record label Reference
"Meet Me In Jannah" 18 February 2022 Swimgood [11]

Singles

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Title Released Record label Reference
"LOVE" 27 August 2014 Gina Dirawi [12]
"Mad Woman" 10 March 2015 Universal Music [13]


References

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  1. ^ Hagen, Cecilia (30 January 2011). ""Jag har blivit mordhotad"" ["I have been threatened with murder"] (in Swedish). Expressen. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  2. ^ "The Fabulous Life of Ana Gina – 4 mars 2011". Retrieved 24 December 2011. Archived 25 May 2012 at archive.today
  3. ^ Brännström, Linus (4 January 2012). "Gina Dirawi: "Jag gör humor med ett syfte"" [Gina Dirawi: "I do humor with a purpose"]. Expressen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 26 January 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  4. ^ Hagen, Cecilia (30 January 2011). ""Jag har blivit mordhotad"" ["I have been threatened with murder"]. Expressen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  5. ^ "Ana Gina". YouTube. Archived from the original on 7 December 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  6. ^ "Gina Dirawi programledare för Melodifestivalen 2012" [Gina Dirawi host for Melodifestivalen 2012]. SVT (in Swedish). 12 August 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2016.[dead link]
  7. ^ Fahl, Hanne (17 November 2015). "Gina Dirawi leder Melodifestivalen 2016" [Gina Dirawi hosts Melodifestivalen 2016]. Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 5 February 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  8. ^ Källman, Pär (17 November 2015). "Gina Dirawi och stjärngänget: Här är programledarna för Melodifestivalen 2016" [Gina Dirawi and the stars: here are the hosts of Melodifestivalen 2016]. SVT (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  9. ^ Parkström, Sara (20 November 2015). "Gina Dirawi är årets julvärd i SVT" [Gina Dirawi is this year's julvärd on SVT]. SVT (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 26 June 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  10. ^ Granger, Anthony (20 April 2016). "Sweden: Gina Dirawi To Announce The Swedish Vote". Eurovoix. Archived from the original on 20 April 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  11. ^ "Meet Me In Jannah – Album av Gina Dirawi på Spotify". Spotify (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  12. ^ "LOVE – Single av Gina Dirawi på iTunes". iTunes (in Swedish). 27 August 2014. Archived from the original on 12 August 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  13. ^ "Mad Woman – Single av Gina Dirawi på iTunes". iTunes (in Swedish). 10 March 2015. Archived from the original on 25 December 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
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