Umm Kulthum (Arabic: أم كلثوم, Egyptian Arabic: [ˈomme kælˈðuːm], also spelled Oum Kalthoum in English; born Fatima Ibrahim es-Sayyid el-Beltagi, Arabic: فاطمة إبراهيم السيد البلتاجي, romanized: Fāṭima ʾIbrāhīm es-Sayyid el-Beltāǧī; 31 December 1898 – 3 February 1975) was an Egyptian singer, songwriter, and film actress active from the 1920s to the 1970s. She was given the honorific title "Kawkab el-charq" ('Star of the Orient'). She is considered a national icon in her native Egypt; she has been dubbed "The Voice of Egypt", the "Lady of Arabic Song" and "Egypt's Fourth Pyramid".