Bat-Sheva Ofra Haza-Ashkenazi, known professionally as Ofra Haza (Hebrew: עפרה חזה‎; 19 November 1957 – 23 February 2000) was an Israeli singer, actress and Grammy Award-nominee recording artist, commonly known as “The Israeli Madonna“, or “Madonna of the East”. Her voice has been described as a “tender” mezzo-soprano.

Haza’s music is known as a mixture of traditional and commercial singing styles, fusing elements of Eastern and Western instrumentation, orchestration and dance-beat. She became successful in Europe and the Americas; during her singing career, she earned many platinum and gold discs. Bat-Sheva Ofra Haza was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, to Yemeni-Jewish parents who immigrated to Israel. She was the youngest of nine children (six sisters and two brothers) to Yefet and Shoshana Haza. They were raised in a Masorti household in the Hatikva Quarter, then an impoverished neighborhood of Tel Aviv.

At age 12, Haza joined a local theater troupe, and manager Bezalel Aloni noticed her singing talent. He staged many of his productions around her, and later became her manager and mentor. At 19, she was Israel’s foremost pop star, and music journalists retrospectively described her as “the Madonna of the East”.

Haza completed her Israeli military service in 1979.