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Faouzia Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated September 4, 2026 • 6 min read

Quick Info

Date of birth5 July 2000

Age23 Years

BirthplaceCasablanca, Morocco

ProfessionSinger, Songwriter, Musician

NationalityMoroccan & Canadian

Marital statusUnmarried

FamilyParents: Mustapha Ouihya and Bouchra Alaoui; Sisters: Samia and Kenza

Faouzia Biography

Moroccan-Canadian singer, songwriter and musician Faouzia Ouihya rose from posting YouTube covers as a teenager to international recognition with hit songs

Early life and background

Faouzia Ouihya was born on July 5, 2000 in Casablanca, Morocco, and moved to Manitoba, Canada with her family when she was an infant. She grew up in small Manitoba communities including Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes and later Carman. Raised in a bilingual and multicultural household, she learned Arabic at home and added English and French while growing up.

Music entered her life very early. Inspired by her older sister playing piano, Faouzia began piano lessons at six, later picking up violin and guitar. She started writing poems and songs by the age of five. Theatre and performance were a part of her school years, where she preferred acting over sports, and she began posting videos of covers and original material on YouTube in her early teens.

Career

Faouzia released her first song, "Knock on My Door," at age fifteen. She began attracting attention through competitions and songwriting contests: in 2015 she won multiple prizes at a local contest, and in the following years she placed highly in national mentorship programs and international songwriting competitions.

Her profile rose substantially after a string of achievements in 2017. That year she won the Nashville-based Unsigned Only competition, which brought cash, a Berklee College of Music summer scholarship and mentoring opportunities. She also shared songwriting honors with a collaborator in the International Songwriting Competition and received regional recognition such as Manitoba Rising Star. She signed with Paradigm Talent Agency in 2017.

A notable collaboration arrived in 2018 when she featured on a track by David Guetta. In 2020 she signed with Atlantic Records and started recording more regularly between Toronto and California. That year she released her first EP, Stripped, and the single "Minefields," a duet with John Legend, became an international breakthrough: it reached the top 10 on U.S. iTunes, topped the French pop chart, and amassed over 100 million streams globally.

Her follow-up work included the singles "Secrets" (2020) and "Hero" (2021), and she appeared on a 2023 track with DJ Martin Solveig. In 2022 she released a second EP, Citizens, which included the viral track "RIP, Love." She toured internationally in 2022 with performances in cities such as Toronto, London, Dubai, Paris, California and New York, and indicated plans to release a debut album in 2024.

Artistry and influences

Faouzia styles her music around emotional, intense pop that incorporates R&B, synth-pop and acoustic elements. She writes mainly in English, sometimes in French and Arabic, and listeners and critics have noted Arabic tonalities in her English-language songs. Vocally, she has been described as possessing a coloratura mezzo-soprano range and uses whistle tones in her upper register.

Her songwriting draws from both personal experience and observations of people around her. She cites a wide range of influences across pop and classical music, from contemporary pop stars to classical composers, and has named both Arabic and Western artists among those who shaped her sound.

Public profile

Faouzia has collected multiple industry honors: regional awards early in her career, wins in international songwriting competitions, and nominations on the national level, including a 2022 Juno Award nomination for Breakthrough Artist of the Year. She was named among Forbes Middle East 30 Under 30 and listed as one of the Top 25 Canadian Immigrants in 2023. In 2020 she was selected as Canada’s first YouTube Artist on the Rise.

Her reach on streaming platforms and social media has been significant. By 2023 her catalog had accumulated hundreds of millions of streams on major platforms, and she had millions of followers and subscribers across Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok. She has appeared on the covers of regional editions of fashion and music magazines and sells branded merchandise through a major music store.

Personal life

Faouzia holds dual Moroccan and Canadian nationality. She was raised Muslim and credits her family—her parents and her two sisters—as primary inspirations and as active collaborators in her career; her elder sister Samia acts as her manager while her younger sister Kenza works as her photographer. She has described pride in her Moroccan heritage, regularly visits Morocco, and incorporates elements of that culture into her public life and appearances. She is unmarried and lives a public life that frequently blends music, fashion and online content such as makeup videos.

Latest updates

As of 2023 Faouzia continued releasing music, performing internationally and preparing for a full-length debut album slated for 2024. Her recent collaborations and festival appearances kept her in the international pop conversation, and she remained active on social platforms and streaming services.
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Recent Work

Citizens (EP)

Second EP featuring the viral song "RIP, Love."

2022
Stripped (EP)

First EP containing six songs, released in 2020.

2020
Minefields (with John Legend)

2020 single that reached top spots on French charts and exceeded 100 million streams.

2020
Now or Never (with Martin Solveig)

Collaboration released in 2023.

2023
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Career Highlights

  1. Winner, Unsigned Only competition (2017)
  2. International Songwriting Competition honors (2017)
  3. Performed with Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra on Canada’s 150th anniversary (2017)
  4. Named Canada’s first YouTube Artist on the Rise (2020)
  5. Juno Awards nomination for Breakthrough Artist of the Year (2022)
  6. Forbes Middle East 30 Under 30 (2023)
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Frequently Asked Questions

When was Faouzia born?

5 July 2000

What is Faouzia known for?

Singer, Songwriter, Musician

What is Faouzia’s marital status?

Unmarried