Nora Fatehi (born Naura Fathi; 6 February 1992) is a Canadian singer, dancer and actress based in India. She primarily works in Hindi film and also appeared in Telugu, and Malayalam cinema. Fatehi made her acting debut with the Hindi film Roar: Tigers of the Sundarbans.
Fatehi gained popularity in Telugu films for her special appearance songs in films like Temper, Baahubali: The Beginning and Kick 2 and has also starred in two Malayalam films, Double Barrel and Kayamkulam Kochunni. In 2015, Fatehi participated as a contestant on the reality television show Bigg Boss. In 2016, she was a participant in the reality television dance show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. She appeared in the Bollywood film Satyameva Jayate where she was featured in the recreated version of the song "Dilbar" and the song crossed 20 million views on YouTube in the first 24 hours of its release, making it the first Hindi song to achieve such numbers in India. She also collaborated with the Moroccan hip-hop group Fnaïre to release an Arabic version of the "Dilbar" song.
In 2019, she collaborated with Tanzanian musician and songwriter Rayvanny to release her first international English debut song Pepeta. In October 2022, she was chosen to feature in Light The Sky, a song for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, collaborating with artists, RedOne, Manal, Balqees and Rahma Riad. Fatehi has since played supporting parts in Hindi films Street Dancer 3D (2020) and Bhuj: The Pride of India (2021). She has also judged television shows Dance Deewane Juniors and Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 10.
Early life Fatehi was born and raised in Toronto, Canada, and is of Moroccan descent from both her father's and mother’s side. She graduated from Westview Centennial Secondary School in Toronto. She studied political science and international relations at York University. She has stated in interviews that she considers herself "an Indian at heart."
Career Debut and dancing roles (2014–2019)
Nora Fatehi began her career with her debut appearance in the Hindi film Roar: Tigers of the Sundarbans. She played CJ, in her acting debut. She then ventured into Telugu films with item number, "Ittage Recchipodham", in Puri Jagannadh's film Temper. She also made a special appearance in the film Mr. X directed by Vikram Bhatt and produced by Mahesh Bhatt, alongside Emraan Hashmi and Gurmeet Choudhary. Fatehi further appeared in item numbers for films such as Baahubali: The Beginnings song "Manohari" and in Kick 2s song "Kukkurukuru".
In late June 2015, she signed a Telugu film Sher. In late August 2015, she signed a Telugu film Loafer which is directed by Puri Jagannadh starring opposite Varun Tej. She also appeared as an item number in Karthi's Bilingual film Oopiri/Thozha in late November 2015. In December 2015, Fatehi entered the Bigg Boss house as a wild card entrant in the ninth season. She spent 3 weeks inside the house before getting evicted in the 12th week (Day 83). She also participated in the reality television show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 9 in 2016. She starred in the film My Birthday Song as the lead actress opposite Sanjay Suri.
In February 2019, she signed a contract with the record label T-Series as an exclusive artist, and will feature on their upcoming films, music videos, web series, and web films. In the same year, she appeared in Batla House, in the song "O Saki O Saki" and in Marjaavaan in the song "Ek Toh Kum Zindagani". Fatehi then played Suzan Vilayati Khan opposite Sunil Grover, in Bharat.
Expansion to acting roles (2020–present) Fatehi played Mia, a dancer in the 2020 dance film Street Dancer 3D, opposite Varun Dhawan. On 6 March 2021, Fatehi became the first African-Arab female artiste whose song "Dilbar" crossed one billion views on YouTube. She also made her international single debut with the song "Dirty Little Secret" in collaboration with Zack Knight which was subsequently performed by her in the 22nd IIFA Awards. In that year, she played a spy Heena in Bhuj: The Pride of India, replacing Parineeti Chopra.
In 2022, Fatehi made appearances in the song "Manike" for the film Thank God, sung by Yohani, which is a remix of the original Sri Lankan song "Manike Mange Hite". She also appeared in the song "Jehda Nasha" from the film An Action Hero alongside Ayushman Khuranna. In the same year she gave a performance in the closing ceremony of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. She also took on the role of a judge in dance shows like the first season of Dance Deewane Juniors and Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 10 alongside other judges. In 2023, she made an appearance in the song "Achha Sila Diya" alongside Rajkummar Rao after her collaboration with him in the song "Kamariya" for the film Stree in 2018. The song, composed and sung by B Praak with lyrics by Jaani, is a recreation of the film song "Achha Sila Diya Tune Mere Pyar Ka" which was featured in the 1995 Hindi film Bewafa Sanam.
In February 2024, Fatehi signed a recording contract with Warner Music Group for her music projects, apart from her Bollywood work, for which she remains signed to T-Series.
In 2024, Fatehi took on more acting roles. She appeared as Alia, a social media influencer, in Crakk opposite Vidyut Jammwal. The film received negative reviews and Monika Rawal Kukreja of Hindustan Times stated, "Nora is used as a mere prop and even though her character arc takes the story forward, she doesn't get ample scope to perform." Fatehi next played Tasha, opposite Divyenndu in Kunal Khemu's directorial debut Madgaon Express. Mayur Sanap from Rediff.com noted, "For a change, Nora Fatehi gets a legit role to play and she is suitably affable."
On 12 June 2026, Fatehi and French singer Vegedream performed "Siir Siir", an official FIFA World Cup 2026 song, which was included on the official soundtrack, at the second opening ceremony of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Toronto, Canada.
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Vedanshi Pathak of Filmfare noted, "One song after the other, Fatehi proved that there is no one in the industry who can dance with such conviction and look appealing while doing so." She is an endorser for brands such as Dabur and CakeZone. Fatehi became the only actress to perform the second time at the IIFA Awards in 2023. In March 2023, Fatehi performed in various cities in the United States for "The Entertainers" tour, alongside Akshay Kumar, Disha Patani, Mouni Roy, Sonam Bajwa, Aparshakti Khurana, Stebin Ben and Zahrah S. Khan.
Filmography
Films Year Title Role(s) Language(s) NotesRef.2014 Roar: Tigers of the Sundarbans CJ Hindi2015 Crazy Cukkad FamilyAmy Temper Herself Telugu Special appearance in song "Ittage Rechchipodam"Mr. X Hindi Special appearance in song "Alif Se"Double Barrel Malayalam Special appearanceBaahubali: The Beginning Unnamed Telugu / Tamil Special appearance in song "Manohari / Manogari"Kick 2 Herself Telugu Special appearance in song "Kiruku Kick"Sher Special appearance in song "Napere Pinky"Loafer Special appearance in song "Nokkey Dochey"2016 Rocky Handsome Hindi Special appearance in song "Rock Tha Party"Oopiri Nemali Telugu Special appearance in song "Door Number Okati"Thozha Nemili Tamil Special appearance in song "Door Number One"2018 My Birthday Song Sandy Hindi Satyameva Jayate Unnamed Special appearance in song "Dilbar" Stree Unnamed BetalSpecial appearance in song "Kamariya"Kayamkulam Kochuni HerselfMalayalam Special appearance in song "Nrithageethikalennum"2019Bharat Suzan Vilayati KhanHindiBatla House Huma / Victoria Special appearance in song "O Saki O Saki"Marjaavaan Herself Special appearance in song "Ek Toh Kum Zindagani"2020Street Dancer 3D Mia 2021Bhuj: The Pride of India Heena RehmanSatyameva Jayate 2DilrubaSpecial appearance in song "Kusu Kusu"2022Thank GodHerselfSpecial appearance in song "Manike"An Action HeroSpecial appearance in song "Jehda Nasha"2024CrakkAliaMadgaon ExpressTashaMatkaSofiaTelugu2025Be HappyMaggiHindiUfff Yeh SiyapaaKaminiSound Thamma Unknown Betal Hindi Special appearance in song "Dilbar Ki Aankhon Ka"2026KD: The Devil Senorita Kannada Tamil Filming Tamil Special appearance in song "Bindaas"
Television
Year Title Role NotesRef. 2015–2016 Bigg Boss 9 Contestant 9th place2016 Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 9 10th place2018 MTV Dating in the Dark Host2022Dance Deewane Juniors 1Herself Judge Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 102023Hip Hop India 1
Web series YearTitleRoleNotesRef.2021Star vs Food (Season 2)HerselfEpisode 52022Moving In With MalaikaEpisode 72025The RoyalsAyesha Dhondi4 episodes
Music video appearances
YearTitleSinger(s)Ref.2017"Pop the Bottle"Vishal Dadlani, Shekhar Ravjiani, Akasa Singh, Badshah"Naah"Harrdy Sandhu"Baby Marvake Maanegi"Raftaar2018 "Dilbar Arabic Version"Herself, Fnaïre2019"Pachtaoge"Arijit Singh"Pepeta"Herself, Rayvanny2020"Pachtaoge" (Female version)Asees Kaur"Naach Meri Rani"Guru Randhawa, Nikhita Gandhi"Body" (Dance Cover)Megan Thee Stallion2021"Chhor Denge"Parampara Tandon"Dance Meri Rani"Guru Randhawa, Zahrah S Khan2023"Achha Sila Diya"B Praak2024"Zaalim"Payal Dev, Badshah"Payal"Yo Yo Honey Singh, Paradox"Aaye Haaye"Karan Aujla, Neha Kakkar
Discography Singles
As lead artist + List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album nameTitleYear Peak chart positionsAlbumUK UK AsianPeak chart positions on UK Asian's Top 40 most streamed Asian songs in the United Kingdom:
UK AfroPeak chart positions on UK Afrobeats's Top 20 most streamed African songs in the United Kingdom: UK StreamingPeak chart positions on UK Streaming's Top 100 most streamed songs on audio in the United Kingdom: "Dilbar Arabic Version" 20188 rowspan=2 — rowspan=3 "Pepeta" 2019—— "Dirty Little Secret" 20229—— "Light The Sky" ——— FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Official Soundtrack "Sexy In My Dress"2023——— rowspan=2 "Im Bossy"——— "Who's Your Mommy" 2024——— Madgaon Express "Body On Me" ——— Ek Tha Raja "NORA"——— "It's True" ——— Emotions "Snake" 20251—97 "Sultana" ——— Be Happy "Oh Mama! TETEMA" 1219— "I'm So Rich" ——— 51 Glorious Days "What Do I Know? (Just a Girl)" ——— rowspan=3 "Sajan Re" 2026——— "Body Roll" ——— "Siir Siir" ——— Official FIFA World Cup 2026 Album "Ya Baba" ——— "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory."*" denotes the chart did not exist at that time.
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Result Ref.2023 Pinkvilla Style Icons Awards Fashion Trailblazer Bollywood Hungama Style Icons Most Stylish Glam Star
See also List of dancers
References
External links