‘Marba El Dalal’: Dalal Karam, Ziad Rahbani’s Ex-Wife, Passes Away
Main photo via Ricardo Karam
Amid news of war and destruction, Lebanon woke up to yet another farewell this morning. Dalal Karam, the former wife of the late Ziad Rahbani, has passed away after a five-year fight with lung cancer. The news was shared by TV host and writer Ricardo Karam, who confirmed she passed at around 6 AM on Thursday March 19, 2026.
The loss carries extra weight given that Ziad himself left us less than a year ago, in July 2025. For those who lived through that era of Lebanese theater and music, today feels like another door quietly closing.
Dalal was part of the ‘Lebanese Popular Group’ (الفرقة الشعبية اللبنانية) and first crossed paths with Ziad during the iconic production of Mays El Reem. She was 22, he was 23. What came out of that meeting was a marriage in 1979 and a son, Assi, as well as a creative period that left its mark on Lebanese culture. Ziad would later write songs that carried echoes of that chapter, including the beloved “Marba El Dalal”.
Their marriage did not last, and the years that followed brought their share of public noise about paternity and blame. But today is not really about any of that.
Dalal Karam was a woman who stood at the center of one of the most defining eras in Lebanese art, at a time when theater was how Beirut made sense of itself. That counts for something.
She is survived by her son Assi. May she rest in peace.
