Hamida Omarova
Born: 1957-04-25 in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, USSR [now Azerbaijan]
Known For: Acting
Biography
Hamida Omarova (Azerbaijani: Həmidə Ömərova) was born to a family of teachers, Mammad and Nasiba Omarov. Her parents met at university where both of them studied foreign languages, and went on to have four children, three of whom died in their infancy. When Hamida was born, her parents visited the Sufi Hamid shrine in Qazakh and after being sure the newborn would survive, they named her after the sanctuary. Following her parents' divorce in 1960 and her father's permanent departure to his native Gazakh, Hamida Omarova was raised by her mother and grandmother. After graduating from high school she enrolled at Baku State University to study philology. While finishing her first year in 1975, she entered an academic contest along with other 300 people and was among the 15 contestants who were admitted to the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography in Moscow. Omarova's first role was in a short film entitled The Dentist in 1977. Since then, she starred in over 30 films and became the most successful Azerbaijani actress of the decade performing at times in up to 4 movie shootings simultaneously. In Russia, she is known mostly for acting in Yuli Gusman's film "Don't Be Afraid, I'm with You" (1981), staged in Gakh, Azerbaijan. Her performance was rewarded with numerous awards including that of a People's Artist of Azerbaijan. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Azerbaijan's movie industry experienced severe decline. This became both a career decay and a psychological ordeal for Omarova. After going through a period of depression, she got married in 1992 and gave birth to a son. At the same time, she hosted the late night show Retro, a weekly review of classic movies from Azerbaijan and abroad. In 2006 Omarova was elected President of the Azerbaijani Union of Cinematographers.
Filmography
2024
2023
2019
2017
2013
- Don't Be Afraid, I'm with You! 1919 as Telli Mamikbekova
- Black & White Nights
2008
- Welcome, My Angel as Madina's Neighbour
2001
- Salur Qazanın evi talandığı boy as Xan qısı
2000
- Boghach Khan Son of Dirse Khan as Xan qısı
1998
- Hotel Room as Rafiga
1992
1991
- The Poet as Khanum
- Müqəddəs Oda Yanaram as Zahra
- Şirbalanın məhəbbəti as Nazlı
1989
- The Native Shores as Zivar
1986
- Whirlpool as Tamara
- She Likes Me as Mukhabbat
1985
- And Umai Saw a Dream as Umai (voice)
- The Rain During the Holiday as Girl
1983
- The Music Teacher as Shafiga
1982
- Nizami as Pari Afag
- Painful Roads as Nurzad
- The Silver Truck as Madina
1981
- Uzeyir's Life as Maleyka khanum
- The Road Story as Zumrud
- Don't Be Afraid, I'm with You as Telli
- Our Great-Grandfather's Grandfather as Zeynab
1980
- Golden Precipice as Shafiga
- Vah! as Fatma
- I Want to Understand as Chinara