Badia Masabni (Arabic: بديعة مصابني, born Wadiha Masabni (Arabic: وديعة مصابني; 1 February 1892 – 23 July 1974) was a belly dancer, singer, actress, night club owner and businesswoman considered as the developer of modern belly dancing,[1][2] by bringing the Western and Hollywood-esque vibe into it, after living for several years in the Americas since the age of seven.

As a result of her influential casinos she is credited with training and launching the careers of many Egyptian artists, especially the belly dance's stars Samia Gamal and Taheyya Kariokka.

In order to achieve this Masabni aimed to fill the space, add visual dynamism and give a sensual air to the show.

In order to compete with the equivalent dance shows in Europe, she introduced Western orchestras and instruments, some of which, such as the violin, cello or accordion, had never been used before for this genre of music.

When Gamal Abedel Nasser took power in Egypt, he pursued the activities of Badia Masabni and imprisoned Taheyya Kariokka.

She lived for a few years with actor and comedian Naguib el-Rihani, with whom she made some films, but never dared to marry him for fear of being asked to stop dancing or close the Opera Casino.