Azerbaijanis are a Turkic-speaking people numbering, according to various estimates, from 30 to 40 million people, of which only 8.2 million live in Azerbaijan and from 18 to 30 million in Iran. Significant communities of Azerbaijanis exist in Turkey (800 thousand people), Russia (600 thousand), the USA, Georgia and other countries.
Anthropologically, the majority of Azerbaijanis belong to the Caspian type of the Caucasian race.
This rating presents the most beautiful, in my opinion, famous Azerbaijani women.

24th place: Azeri Gunel / Gunel Zeynalova(born October 25, 1985, Azerbaijan) - Turkish singer. Official website - http://www.gunel.tv/

23rd place: Najiba Melikova(October 25, 1921, Baku - July 27, 1992) - Soviet actress, People's Artist of the Azerbaijan SSR.

22nd place: Leyla Bedirbeyli/ Badirbekova (January 8, 1920, Baku - November 23, 1999) - Soviet actress, People's Artist of the Azerbaijan SSR.

Leyla Bedirbeyli in the film "Arshin Mal-Alan" (1945)

21st place: (born December 19, 1969, Baku) - jazz performer and composer. Currently he lives permanently in Germany. Official website - azizamustafazadeh.de

20th place: (born 1982) - artist, niece of the first lady of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva.

18th place: (born October 14, 1938) - Empress of Iran, widow of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, overthrown by the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Farah Pahlavi is an Iranian Azerbaijani by nationality.

17th place: - Azerbaijani athlete. In 2007, she was at the center of a scandal: she was fired from the Neftchi club after participating in a photo shoot that appeared on the Azerisport website.

16th place: Leila Shikhlinskaya- Soviet actress, People's Artist of Azerbaijan. Creator and head of the first private multidisciplinary clinic in Azerbaijan "Clinic of Leyla Shikhlinskaya".

Leila Shikhlinskaya in the film "Arshin Mal-Alan" (1965)

15th place: - fashion model from Novorossiysk.

14th place: (born April 25, 1989) - singer. Together with singer Arash, she represented Azerbaijan at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, where she took third place.

13th place: Leyla Aliyeva(born July 3, 1986, Moscow) is the editor-in-chief of the Baku magazine, the eldest daughter of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva.

12th place: Hamida Omarova(born April 25, 1957, Baku) - actress, TV presenter, president of the Union of Cinematographers of Azerbaijan, People's Artist of Azerbaijan.

11th place: (born December 2, 1979, Baku) - singer, representative of Azerbaijan at the Eurovision 2012 contest.

10th place: Paniz Yousefzade/ Paniz Yousefzadeh - Canadian model, Miss Universe Canada 2010 finalist. Born in Tehran, at the age of 10 she moved with her family to Vancouver.

9th place: Bahare Kian Afshar/ Bahareh Kian Afshar is an Iranian actress. Judging by his surname, he belongs to the Afshars, who are considered a sub-ethnos of Azerbaijanis.

8th place: / Sarah Shahi (born January 10, 1980, Oles, USA) is an American actress and fashion model. Father - Iranian Azerbaijani, mother - Spanish. Official site - sarahshahi.org

7th place: / Andreea Kerimli (Mantea) (born September 20, 1986, Bucharest) is a Romanian fashion model of Azerbaijani origin. Height 167 cm.

6th place: Javidan Gurbanova(born November 1, 1990) - winner of the Miss Bahar 2014 and Miss Azerbaijan 2014 contests. VKontakte page -

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Ten Azerbaijani performers who conquered the USSR - PHOTO

All-Union fame, tours, full houses and applause from fans accompanied popular Azerbaijani performers, who undoubtedly contributed to the development of Soviet musical culture. Magomaev, Beibutov, Bulbul and many others - their voices were among the most powerful and recognizable, and the whole country sang their songs.

According to Oxu Az, the Moscow-Baku portal presents the ten most popular performers from Azerbaijan, whose names conquered the entire Soviet Union.

1. Muslim Magomayev

In the 70s of the last century, there was no equal in popularity to the opera and pop singer Muslim Magomayev. Television and radio constantly played his songs "Evening on the Road", "Blue Taiga", "Beauty Queen" and many others. For the first time, Muslim performed at a professional level in the Song and Dance Ensemble of the Baku Military District in 1961, and a year later he was sent to the World Youth Festival in Helsinki. At the same time, in the Kremlin Palace of Congresses, the singer won all-Union fame by performing at the festival of Azerbaijani art. After an internship at the Italian opera La Scala, he was expected to tour in Paris, where the director of the famous Olympia would offer him a contract for several years. However, the Ministry of Culture of the USSR was against it - Magomayev was indispensable at government concerts. At the age of 31, the singer became not only the "People's Artist of the Azerbaijan SSR", but also the "People's Artist of the USSR". The peak of Muslim Magomayev's musical career falls on the 60-70s. The singer collected stadiums throughout the USSR, he was received with admiration by the largest concert and opera stages in the world. On October 25, 2008, Muslim Magometovich died, he was buried in Baku on the Alley of Honor.

2. Rashid Behbudov

People's Artist of the USSR, laureate of State Prizes, Hero of Socialist Labor Rashid Behbudov had many awards, but the greatest title for him was the love of the people. He will forever remain in the memory of millions of people as a sunny singer from sunny Azerbaijan. Rashid Mejidovich devoted his life to music, and his voice became the national treasure of Azerbaijan. He went on tour in almost all countries of the world, and in each of them he always sang in the language of the people where he performed. He sang in seventy languages ​​of the world and equally virtuoso performed pop hits and opera arias, introducing some of his own, Rashid's style into them. His talent was limitless, and his fame went far beyond the borders of the USSR - he sang in front of Indira Gandhi, Mao Dze Dun and Iranian Shah Mahomet Reza Pahlavi. The great tenor was awarded the highest Soviet award - the title of Hero of Socialist Labor, and in his younger years received the title of People's Artist of the Soviet Union. He died in 1989 in Moscow after an unsuccessful surgical operation, and was buried in the Alley of Honor in Baku.

3. Bulbul

For a rare musical gift, already in childhood he was given the nickname "Bulbul", which means "nightingale" in Azerbaijani. It later became his stage name. The real name of the Soviet opera singer (lyric-dramatic tenor), musicologist-folklorist and teacher, People's Artist of the USSR was Murtuza Mamedov. He was born on June 22, 1897 in the village of Khanbagy, Elizavetpol province, which was part of the Russian Empire. Bulbul decided to get an education at the Moscow Conservatory, after which he went to the Italian La Scala. Returning to his homeland, the tenor performed at the Azerbaijan Opera and Ballet Theater and surprised the audience with his magnificent performances. By that time, a characteristic feature of his performance was the combination of Azerbaijani folk motives with Italian classical traditions of operatic singing. He is called the founder of the Azerbaijani national musical theater, his merits were also invaluable in the study and publication of folk musical creativity. He was awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR, was a laureate of the Stalin Prize, the Order of the Red Banner of Labor and the Badge of Honor, as well as the Italian Star of Garibaldi. In 1961, two months before the death of the singer, his concert took place in the Karabakh Shusha, which was attended by thousands of spectators. This was the last performance of the talented Azerbaijani performer.

4. Polad Bulbul ogly

Polad Bul-Bul ogly is the son of the famous Bulbul. It was his father who brought Polad to the stage for the first time as an accompanist. He graduated from the Baku Conservatory in the composition class, and having started writing songs at the age of 17, he became a propagandist of Azerbaijani culture, toured the USSR and many countries of the world. Polad Bul-Bul oglu is considered to be the founder of a new direction on the stage, which combines national traditions in music with modern rhythms. His songs were performed by famous singers of the USSR - Iosif Kobzon, Lev Leshchenko and others. He also tried himself as an actor ("Tales of the Russian Forest", "Do not be afraid, I'm with you", "Park of the Soviet period", etc.), but still music brought him great fame. The composer wrote symphonic works, musicals, music for films and performances. In 1969 he was admitted to the Union of Composers of the USSR and the Union of Cinematographers of the USSR. In 2000, the Bul-Bul ogly star was opened on the "Star Square" in Moscow. For many years, Polad Bul-Bul oglu was the Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan, and since 2006 he has been appointed the Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Russia.

5. Ensemble "Gaya"

"Gaya" was a cult ensemble of the 60s in the Soviet Union, which performed not only Western songs, but also actively promoted Azerbaijani music. This "four" was somewhat similar to the English group "The Beatles", however, with all this they had their own unique style. The vocal group received its first wide recognition during the First All-Union Competition for the best performance of a Soviet song in Moscow in 1966. Since then, the quartet, consisting of Arif Hajiyev, Rauf Babayev, Teymur Mirzoyev and Lev Elisavetsky, has traveled all over the USSR. And wherever they were, they were accompanied by success and full houses, because it was the only quartet in the Union that performed jazz. The generation of the “sixties” probably also remembers the popular program “Gaya” called “City Lights”. It was a project that took your breath away with its names alone: ​​director Mark Rozovsky and Julius Gusman, costume designer Slava Zaitsev, satirist Lion Izmailov. In fact, the quartet was also lucky to collaborate with the best Soviet orchestras - Leonid Utyosov, Oleg Lundstrem, Vadim Ludvikovsky. With the collapse of the USSR, creative teams also disintegrated, including Gaia. The ensemble stopped touring, and eventually broke up.

6. Zeynab Khanlarova

At the end of last year, the People's Artist of the USSR and Azerbaijan Zeynab Khanlarova celebrated her 80th birthday. This legendary singer occupies a special place in the history of Azerbaijani art, because it was thanks to her work that many national compositions were known all over the world.

Laureate of the State Prize of the Azerbaijan SSR (1985), she was awarded the Honorary Prize "Golden Disc" of the All-Union Recording Company "Melody" for recordings of Azerbaijani songs and songs of the peoples of the East. For many years she performed roles in opera productions, and was also a famous mugham performer. Thus, among Azerbaijani women-khanende she is the first performer of the mugham "Chakhargah". However, she achieved the greatest success in the pop genre and during her more than 50-year musical career Zeynab Khanlarova visited about fifty countries of the world with concerts. A documentary film "Hello, Zeynab!" was shot about her. Zeynab Khanlarova is the owner of numerous awards. The last was the honorary order of "Heydar Aliyev", awarded to her by the President of Azerbaijan for her special merits in the development of the country's culture.

7. Shovket Alekperova

Wherever this beautiful woman appeared, she attracted admiring glances. Shovket Alekperova during her lifetime became a legend who was able to win the love of fans of her talent for the deep emotionality and lyricism inherent in her performing style. In 1937, she won a singing competition, where her talent was evaluated by the composer Uzeyir Gadzhibekov and the singer Bulbul. After her brilliant performance of the composition "Karabakh shikestesi", Hajibeyov accepted Alekperova into the newly created Azerbaijan State Choir, in which she began her professional career as a singer. During the Great Patriotic War, Alekperova went on tour to the front, singing patriotic songs and often performing up to fifty times a day. By the 1950s, she was recognized as the most popular performer of Azerbaijani folk and pop songs. During her creative career, Alekperova has toured more than 20 countries in Europe, Asia and Africa. When the legendary singer passed away in 1993, she was given a state funeral broadcast live on TV.

8. Lutfiyar Imanov

Soviet opera singer, People's Artist of the USSR Lutfiyar Imanov was a prominent representative of the Azerbaijani vocal school. For many years of his creative life, he has performed dozens of parts of the world tenor repertoire in the best theaters of the world. And the first serious works of the vocalist were parts in the performances of the Azerbaijan Musical Comedy Theater. The main roles in the operettas "Arshin Mal Alan", "Mashadi Ibad", "Haji Gara", "Ulduz" became a serious school for the young vocalist. In 1958, at the Decade of Azerbaijani Literature and Art in Moscow, he became the performer of the part of Koroglu in the opera of the same name and conquered everyone with his brilliant performance. Later, he had the happy opportunity to do an internship at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow and Milan's La Scala Opera and, at the cost of enormous labor, became a performer of the most difficult parts of world opera. The Moscow critic Florensky, after meeting with Imanov, noted: “Not all singers can so easily and freely move from one school to another. It is remarkable that Imanov has an amazingly clear intonation and pronounces texts in Azerbaijani, Russian and Italian. In my opinion, he immaculately performed Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, conveying the very spirit of the classical romance. The son of the Azerbaijani people, he deeply feels the nature of Russian musical culture.” The departure of the 79-year-old tenor in 2008 was a great loss for Azerbaijani culture.

9. Fidan and Khuraman Kasimovs

Two sisters, two sopranos - they glorified Azerbaijan throughout the USSR. The duet of opera divas, People's Artists of the USSR Fidan and Khuraman Kasimovs was awarded the highest awards and titles. Graduates of the Moscow Conservatory to this day are the stars of the Azerbaijani and world scenes, write music, give concerts, and always go on stage together. 1977 was marked by great success - Fidan received a gold medal at an international competition in Italy, her sister Khuraman became a laureate of the Transcaucasian and All-Union competitions of young vocalists. And in 1981, Khuraman also won the "Grand Prix" of the Maria Callas International Competition in Athens. The Kasimovs created a gallery of unforgettable images of world, Russian and Azerbaijani opera classics - Desdemona in Othello, Micaela in Carmen and Tatiana in Eugene Onegin, toured all over the world, and performed more than once with the Moscow Virtuosi Symphony Orchestra. Today they have their own school, where they share the secrets of opera and conduct master classes.

10. Emin Babaev

Honored Artist of Russia, Azerbaijani singer Emin Babayev became famous in the 80s of the last century. He was born in Baku, where he graduated from the Gadzhibekov Conservatory in the violin class, and in parallel with his studies he worked as a soloist-vocalist at the Song Theater under the direction of Rashid Behbudov. Later, Babaev moved to Moscow, where he collaborated with the largest concert organization Moskontsert. Many probably remember his duet with singer Irina Malgina - one of the main hits of the couple was the song "City Flowers". In 1993 he was awarded the title of Honored Artist of Russia. Today, the performer's extensive repertoire includes songs of the peoples of the world, composers, many of whom were written specifically for Babaev.

ROYA AYKHAN- in addition to music, the singer is well versed in jurisprudence, as she is a graduate of the Faculty of International Law of Baku State University. By the way, Roya participated in the torch relay of the First European Games. And recently, Roya performed the composition in Russian "Mom" with her son Hussein.

SABINA BABAYEVA- the singer took fourth place in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "When The Music Dies". Sabina's father is a military man, and his mother is a pianist. Sabina Babayeva together with Farid Mammadov opened the closing ceremony of the First European Games by singing the Anthem of Azerbaijan. Sabina Babayeva and her husband, director Javidan Sharifov, are expecting their first child.

AYGUN KYAZIMOV- People's Artist, one of the most popular singers of Azerbaijan, who even performed in the Grand Kremlin Hall in Moscow. Aygun is often compared to the world famous singer Beyoncé. By the way, the star does not spare money for lavish birthday celebrations. Aygun is a regular participant in television shows and a guest of fashion shows.

NURA SURI- Singer and TV presenter, she composes songs herself and is well educated. Nura Suri was born in a military family, the father and mother of the singer are veterans of the Karabakh war. Two books have even been published about the life and exploits of the singer's parents. Recently, the children of the Azerbaijani singer became national champions in jiu-jitsu among children and youths. Recently, Noora has taken up boxing seriously. According to the mother of three children, boxing is a familiar sport for her.

BRILLIANT DADASHEV- pop singer and TV presenter was born in the family of an architect. After the collapse of the USSR and the independence of Azerbaijan, Brilliant became the first singer to represent Azerbaijan in Russia, giving solo concerts in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Recently, the singer released another album of her songs, calling it "My World".

Nigar Jamal- Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2011. Nigar holds a Diploma in Economics and Management. At the opening ceremony of the First European Games in Baku, Nigar sang in the choir at the main sports arena when the Anthem of the Republic of Azerbaijan was performed. And recently, the singer presented a new clip "Broken Dreams", dedicated to the tragedy in Khojaly.

SEVDA YAHIAEVA- the singer admits that her childhood was not easy, she had to earn money and help her family. From the age of 15, the singer worked in one of the restaurants in the show program and did not even imagine that she would become famous. However, all these events in early childhood made her think like an adult and hardened her.

IRADA IBRAGIMOVA- the singer will become a mother for the second time. “Being a mother for a woman is the brightest feeling. I am grateful to God that I experienced this feeling, ”Irada shares her opinion. Today, the singer and her husband live in Istanbul and are raising their daughter.

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 2 Azerbaijan is celebrating National Cinema Day, Trend Life reports. National Cinema Day is a professional holiday for all film workers. In recent years, domestic filmmakers have made many interesting films in various genres, in which young talented actors played the main roles. Meanwhile, along with professional actors, young performers are also attracted to filming, who, having conquered the musical Olympus, try their hand at cinema. Trend Life invites readers to get acquainted with the works of young domestic performers in cinema.

Natavan Habibi

In mid-April, the comedy film "Hozu" directed by Ilham Yasaroglu was released in domestic distribution. The main female role in the film project was played by the popular Azerbaijani singer Natavan Habibi.

According to the singer herself, initially, having received an offer to shoot in the film, she did not dare to agree, but after reading the script and getting to know the creative team, she decided to take part in the filming.

Emil Badalov

In 2014, director Samir Kerimoglu made the film "Mən evə qayıdıram" ("I'm coming home"). The role of the hero Tarlan Seyidzade was played by the popular singer Emil Badalov.

"It was my childhood dream to play in the film, but even in a dream I could not dream that I would play along with such luminaries as Yashar Nuri and Fuad Poladov. I was chosen for the main role in the film based on the results of the casting of 25 actors. It became my debut in cinema and, of course, it was very difficult, but I think I coped with the role," Emil Badalov said earlier.

Oksana Rasulova and Elshad Jose

In September, the melodrama "Mələyin öpüşü" ("Angel's Kiss") is released on domestic cinema screens. Starring - ex-wife, dancer Oksana Rasulova and rapper Elshad Jose.

"Angel's Kiss", not the first experience of Oksana Rasulova - in 2016, the film "Şər qarışanda" ("When Evil Intervenes") was presented, in which the dancer also played the main role. By the way, the film was shot by OKSI media production company, headed by Rasulova.

Ilham Gasimov

A close friend of Oksana Rasulova, a popular performer Ilham Gasimova, was also busy in the film "When Evil Intervenes." When working, the singer required composure, because the picture tells about teenagers who were brutally killed by a maniac…

Gunay Ibrahimli

The singer played the main role in the film "Sadəcə sev" ("Just Love"), which premiered in April 2016. The popular actor Dzhovdat Shukurov became the partner of the performer.

Sevda Yakhyaeva

Popular singer Sevda Yakhyaeva starred in the series "Sən olmasaydın". The singer plays the role of a girl who has achieved success in her career, but is unhappy in her personal life. Yakhyaeva's partner in the series is the famous actor Anar Geybatov, who probably revealed several professional secrets to the singer.

Miri Yusif

In 2015, the film "Yarımdünya" by Turkish director Osman Albayrak was released, one of the roles in which was played by the popular singer Miri Yusif. By the way, the name of the film is taken from Miri Yusif's song "Yarımdünya". It was this song that inspired Osman Albayrak to shoot the film.

"I wrote the song "Yarımdünya" after the death of my friend Vugar Abdulrahmanov, who passed away in September 2014, dedicating this song to him, so it occupies an important place in my work. It is very difficult for me to talk about it now. I can hardly hold back my tears. It was all incredible. When I was offered to star in the film, I just could not refuse, "Miri Yusif said earlier, sharing his impressions of the work. Note that Miri Yusif played himself in the film, that is, a romantic musician, singer.