Syrian actress Thanaa Debsi during the opening ceremony of the Syrian Cultural Days Festivity in Damascus, Syria, 23 November 2020. EPA
Syrian actress Thanaa Debsi during the opening ceremony of the Syrian Cultural Days Festivity in Damascus, Syria, 23 November 2020. EPA
Syrian actress Thanaa Debsi during the opening ceremony of the Syrian Cultural Days Festivity in Damascus, Syria, 23 November 2020. EPA
Syrian actress Thanaa Debsi during the opening ceremony of the Syrian Cultural Days Festivity in Damascus, Syria, 23 November 2020. EPA

Syrian actress Thanaa Debsi dies aged 83


Saeed Saeed
  • English
  • Arabic

Syrian actress Thanaa Debsi has died aged 83.

The news was announced by Syrian Artist Syndicate on Tuesday with no cause of death revealed.

"The Damascus branch of the Artists Syndicate mourns the death of our colleague, the distinguished artist, Thanaa Debsi," it posted on Facebook. "We belong to God and to Him we shall return."

Born in Aleppo in 1941, Debsi's career began in the early 1960s and encompasses Syrian theatre, cinema, television and radio.

After getting her start in the Aleppo's theatre scene, Debsi's career began in earnest after moving to the Syrian capital, Damascus, where she took part in theatre festivals before she found regional fame in television.

Defined by a fierce presence, Debsi's television work often found her taking on roles of strong and vulnerable characters.

These include popular drama series such 2009's Zaman Al Aaar (Time of Shame) and Wara' Al Shams (Behind the Sun) in 2010.

Her last major role was in the 2019 television drama Nas Min Waraq (People Made from Paper) alongside Salma Al-Masri and Jirjes Jbarah.

Some Debsi's former collaborators took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to pay tribute.

"This painful news grips my heart with sadness," said Nadin Khoury.

"At the beginning of my artistic journey, she guided me with love and care and did not skimp on me with advice."

Actor and playwright Mohammed Kheir Jarrar recalled Debsi's presence on screen.

"A painful departure and sadness that bleeds the soul," he posted.

"Throughout my journey in the art world, I have never met an artist who enjoyed all this respect... We will miss you very much."

Syrian writer and director Marcelle Aleid said: "Thank you Madam. May your soul have mercy."

Thanaa leaves behind her husband, Syrian actor Salim Sabri, and three children.

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Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

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Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.

Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation. 

Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.

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BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES

SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities

Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails

Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies

Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments

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Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait

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SUNDERLAND 2005-06

Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.

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FULHAM 2018-19

Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.

LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.

BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66

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The UAE is India’s third-largest trade partner after the US and China

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His visit on August 23-24 will be the third in four years

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Sheikh Mohamed was the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations in January 2017

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UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
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Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists. 

Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.

Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic 

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Boulder shooting victims

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Ain Dubai in numbers

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16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.

9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.

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SPECS
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Updated: February 21, 2024, 6:56 AM`