Asma al-Assad was always the friendly face of a brutal regime. The UK-born ophthalmologist married Bashar al-Assad in December 2000 just after he'd taken over power in Syria from his late father.

Asma al-Assad was once seen as a feminist icon in the Middle East. AFP via Getty Images. Assad, who was born in London, is believed to have flown to the Russian capital before her husband was ...

Asma al-Assad harvests Damascena roses in the village of al-Marah, in the Damascus countryside, on May 25, 2023. LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images A Girl Called Emma ...

Asma al-Assad, 49, her husband and three children have sought refuge in Moscow after rebels ousted Bashar al-Assad from power, according to Russian state news agencies, ...

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (R) accompanied by his wife Asma speaks to members of the press after casting their votes at a polling station in Douma, near the capital Damascus on May 26, 2021 ...

More About Asma al-Assad Asma Akhras (as she was known before marriage) was born on August 11, 1975, in London to Syrian parents from Homs. She holds dual British-Syrian citizenship.

Asma al-Assad, Syria's now-ousted first lady, was known as the "Imelda Marcos of Syria" and is "much more cutthroat" than her notorious dictator husband, sources said.

Asma met Bashar al-Assad through family friends as a child, and the pair became reacquainted when Assad moved to London in 1992 to train as an ophthalmologist Western Eye Hospital.

Once celebrated as an advocate of women's rights in the Middle East, Syria's British-born former first lady Asma al-Assad has fled into exile with her husband, with UK officials saying she is not ...

Asma al-Assad, the wife of ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, is said to have a 50% chance of survival after an aggressive form of blood cancer is believed to have returned following ...

Asma al-Assad’s education. Bashar al-Assad’s wife, Asma, is a modern and progressive woman. She studied Computer Science at King’s College London and later earned a degree in French Literature.