The story of Zahia Dehar is a French classic, Zahia is a French– Algerian fashion and lingerie designer, actor, and model who rose to prominence through her involvement in a prostitution scandal. Zahia became a sex worker at 16 and eventually carved her niche in high end prostitution.
She was associated with a sex scandal when it was alleged that two players of the French national football team, Karim Benzema, and Franck Ribéry, had paid her for sex when she was below 18 years of age.
A highly publicised case followed, which garnered Zahia considerable media and public attention. The French press nicknamed her “la scandaleuse” (“the scandalous one”) for her association with the scandal and for other activities such as uploading indiscreet pictures on ‘Twitter.’ The scandal, however, gained her celebrity status, which she utilised fully. She earned modeling work with several artists such as Karl Lagerfeld and Pierre et Gilles. She also became a fashion and lingerie designer whose lingerie collections include ‘Love’ (‘Amour’), ‘Cake and Candy’ (‘Gateau et Bonbon’), and ‘Iced’ (‘Givre’). Zahia also appeared in the films ‘Joséphine, Pregnant & Fabulous’ and ‘An Easy Girl.’
Dehar was born in a small town in Algeria and moved at age 10 to France with her younger brother and mother. Obsessed with glamour, Dehar was out on the town as soon as she was able to fill out a micromanage, snaring suitors with belly-dance moves sheʼd picked up from campy Egyptian films of the ʼ70s. By 16, she was a fixture at posh clubs around the 8th arrondissement and was charging wealthy men thousands of euros for her considerable charms. And then, in 2010, just after her 18th birthday, she was busted in an underage prostitution sting that nabbed several high-level players from the French national soccer team.
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