Leila Farrukh gizi Shikhlinskaya (Azerbaijan Leyla Fәrrux qızı Şıxlinskaya, born June 12, 1947) is an Azerbaijani and

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

actress, choreographer-teacher and professor. She earned a doctorate in art history, was awarded People's Artist of Azerbaijan. She was a member of the Union of Cinematographers of the USSR and the founder of the Leila Shikhlinskaya private clinic in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

. She starred in such films as ''Arshin Mal Alan'' (1965, Gulchohra), ''The Day Passed'' (1971, Esmer) and ''Dede Gorgud'' (1975, Banu-Cicek).

Early life

Shikhlinskaya was born in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. Her nationality was

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

Career

She authored more than 100 scientific articles. Shikhlinskaya debuted in the role of Gyulchohra in ''Arshin Mal Alan'', based on the eponymous

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

of Uzeir Hajibeyov. During this period she studied at the school and was engaged in ballet. Shikhlinskaya's partner at the trials,

Rashid Behbudov Rashid Macid oglu Behbudov (14 December 1915 – 9 June 1989) was a Soviet and Azerbaijani singer and actor. He has been referred to as the "golden voice of Azerbaijan". He performed his songs in multiple languages. Biography Rashid Behbudov ...

(who played the protagonist in the film) was dissatisfied with the actress because of her height. For the role of Asmer, the main character of the film ''The Day Passed'', actress Shafiga Mamedova was originally appointed, but she did not pass the screen test and Shikhlinskaya was selected. Shikhlinskaya taught three disciplines at the

Bolshoi Theater The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈat(ə)r, t=Grand Theater) is a historic opera house in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové. Before the October Revoluti ...

school. From 1990 to 1992 she was the choreographer of the Diaghilev ballet company. In 1992 Shikhlinskaya became the artistic director of the experimental ballet creative center Sheila, organized by her in Moscow. In 1987, she received her Candidate of Arts.

Personal life

Shikhlinskaya was married four times. The longest marriage, 19 years, was to Andrei Loginov. She has a daughter Jeyla (played daughter of the Shikhlinskaya character in the movie ''Summer Season'' (1985) based on the work of Elchin Efendiyev) and a son Philip. Jeyla works as a child psychologist in Dubai, where she opened the "Montessori School", Philip works in Dubai as a design architect and has two children. Leyla Farrukh gizi Shikhlinskaya was the creator of the first multi-disciplinary private women's medical clinic in Baku.

Filmography

* '' Arshin Mal Alan'' (film, 1965) * ''Summer Season'' (film, 1985) * ''The Extension Force'' (1964) * ''Dante's Birthday'' (film, 1978) * ''

Dada Gorgud Dada Gorgud () — Azerbaijani Soviet 2-episode epic film of 1975 with elements of drama and melodrama produced by the film studio Azerbaijanfilm, based on the Oguz epic "Book of Dede Korkut The ''Book of Dede Korkut'' or ''Book of Korkut Ata ...

'' (film, 1975) * '' The Day Passed'' (film, 1971) * ''The Shore of Memories'' (film, 1972) * ''Window of Sorrows'' (film, 1986) * ''Golden Goose'' (film, 1972) * ''Muslim Magomaev Sings'' (film, 1971) * ''The First Hour of Life'' (film, 1973) * ''The Girl-Witness'' (film, 1990)

Recognition

In 1993, Shikhlinskaya was awarded the title of Honored Artist of Azerbaijan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shikhlinskaya, Leyla 1947 births Living people Azerbaijani film actresses Soviet film actresses Shikhlinskis