Diala Makki (born September 17, 1981) is a media personality, TV host, and journalist.

Early life and education

Makki was born on September 17, 1981, in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

to a Lebanese father and an Iranian mother. Makki was raised in Tyre, and began modeling at 16. She studied media at the

Lebanese American University The Lebanese American University (LAU) ( ar, الجامعة اللبنانية الأميركية) is a secular and private American university located in Lebanon. It is chartered by the board of regents of the University of the State of New Y ...

, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Arts with an emphasis on Radio, TV, and Film. While studying for her master's degree in International Affairs, she worked as a presenter in

Future Television Future Television ( ar, تلفزيون المستقبل, ''Televiziyon al-Mustaqbal'') was a Lebanese free-to-air television station founded in 1993 by the Future Movement leader Rafik Hariri, a former Prime Minister of Lebanon. Future TV was als ...

Career

As a presenter at

, Makki was part of the launch of the youth channel Zen TV, where she hosted a weekly fashion show. In 2004, Makki joined

Dubai TV Dubai TV is a TV channel offered by the Dubai Media Incorporated (DMI). It replaced Emirates Dubai Television on June 14, 2004. Dubai TV broadcasts programmes predominantly in Arabic. The programming caters to family Arab audience specifically ...

. Makki and her team launched ''Studio 24'', a weekly entertainment show. During her involvement, she covered major film festivals, including

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

film festivals. From 2009 until 2011, Makki hosted two seasons of ''Najm Al Khaleej'', the Gulf version of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'', and also hosted ''

Taratata ''Taratata'' is a French television music show showcasing live and pre-recorded footage of current acts. Presented by Nagui since its début in 1993, the show was initially shown on France 2. The show often involved surprise and unlikely duets, as ...

'', the biggest Arabic music talk show. She subsequently acted in two films, ''La Tahkom Ala Mowdao Min Khelal Al Sora'' in 2013 and ''Rise'' in 2014, both directed by

Ali F. Mostafa Ali F. Mostafa (born Ali Faisal Mostafa Bin Abdullatif on 25 September 1981) is a British- Emirati filmmaker, director and producer who is credited as the director of the first Emirati feature-film '' City of Life'' (2009). He is a graduate of L ...

. In 2015 and 2016, Makki was named in

Arabian Business ''Arabian Business'' (''AB'') is a weekly business magazine published in Dubai and focusing on global and regional news analysis. The brand is aimed at the English- and Arabic-speaking communities and is published in both languages. Its circula ...

magazine's feature ''100 Most Powerful Arabs Under 40''. Makki hosts a fashion documentary lifestyle prime time show on Dubai TV, ''Mashaheer''.

Philanthropy

Makki launched a campaign about domestic violence through her social media platforms and she follows up with cases to support and link them to regional

NGOs A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

in their respective countries. Makki also collaborated with Marie Claire Arabia to gather funds from luxury shoe sales to go directly to local NGOs in Dubai. She attended the CSW62 organized by the UN Women at the United Nations Headquarters in New York after being a part of their campaign raising awareness about violence against women.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Makki, Diala 1981 births Lebanese journalists Iranian journalists Living people Mass media people from Tehran Iranian people of Lebanese descent Lebanese people of Iranian descent Iranian television people Lebanese television presenters Iranian women journalists Lebanese women journalists Lebanese women television presenters Iranian women television presenters 21st-century Lebanese women writers 21st-century Lebanese writers