Zille Huma was born on February 21, 1944 in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. She was the youngest of the three children of famed singer Noor Jehan and filmmaker, Syed Shaukat Hussain Rizvi.
The 70 year old, who passed away on Thursday, was experiencing considerable pain due to kidney problems and diabetes during her last few days. She had spent her last days on a ventilator.
Zille Huma had grown up in an environment where music was all around her. However, her mother wasn’t too keen on providing her with formal training and urged her to focus on developing a practical life as a housewife. At an early age, she married jeweler, Aqeel Butt, and settled down for a married life with her husband. Unfortunately, she had a stormy married life and her marriage was ruined. It was the solitude that rekindled her desire and music became her companion. She divorced her husband and decided to pursue a musical career. In 1993 she started her career professionally after several years of formal training from her mother’s Ustad Ghulam Muhammad. This increased the similarities in their style of singing. She had inherited her mother’s voice and talent in singing. Her voice closely resembled her mother’s.
She is survived by four sons.