Ferial Karim was born Vera Semaan to a Christian family on April 16, 1938, to Bechara, a postal office clerk and Marie, a housewife.

[1] Alexandra encouraged Karim's father Bechara to pursue a singing career for his eldest daughter Isabelle in Egypt.

Bechara took both his daughters with him where the ten-year-old Karim took on the stage while a band was practicing and began singing Thuraya Helmi songs.

[1] Karim and Mohammad moved to Damascus where she performed on stage for seven years before returning to Beirut where her sister Isabelle who was working in the national radio introduced her screenwriter Mohammad Chamel with whom she would have a long lasting artistic cooperation beginning with Ya mudir on the radio and ending with el-dunia heik on Lebanese national television.

[1] Karim died of heart failure while performing on stage on July 4, 1988, and was buried in Saint Elias Btina church in Beirut two days later.