Mayram Ne'matovna Isoeva (; born 1 May 1937) was a

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

i actress of the

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 ...

era. Born in the village of Sari Khosor in the

Kulob District Kulob District or Nohiya-i Kulob (; ) is a former district in Khatlon Region, Tajikistan. Its capital was Kulab, Tajikistan, Kulob. Around 2018, it was merged into the city of Kulob. Administrative divisions The district was divided administrati ...

, Isoeva graduated from middle school in Dushanbe in 1954. Two years later she enrolled in the Lunacharsky Institute of Dramatic Arts, from which she graduated in 1960. She next spent a year at the Pushkin Musical and Comedy Theater in

Khujand Khujand, sometimes spelled Khodjent and formerly known as Leninabad from 1936 to 1991, is the second-largest city of Tajikistan and the capital of Tajikistan's northernmost Sughd province. Khujand is one of the oldest cities in Central Asia, d ...

, then called Leninabad, before joining the roster of the Lahuti Academy of Dramatic Arts. In 1971 she became a member of the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

. Isoeva played main roles in tragedies and dramas during her career. She first won notice for her portrayal of Arina in ''

Poverty is No Vice ''Poverty is No Vice'' (Bednost ne porok, Бедность не порок) is a play by Alexander Ostrovsky, written in 1853 and published as a separate edition in the early 1854. It was premiered in Moscow's Maly Theatre on January 25, 1854 and ...

'' by

Aleksandr Ostrovsky Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky (; ) was a Russian playwright, generally considered the greatest representative of the Russian realistic period. The author of 47 original plays, Ostrovsky "almost single-handedly created a Russian national repe ...

, a role which she took on during her studies. Later roles included Smeroldina in ''

King Stag ''King Stag'' () is a feature film directed by Pavel Arsenov based on the musical play of the same name by Carlo Gozzi, and shot at the Gorky Film Studio in 1969. In the film, songs are played to the music of Mikael Tariverdiev performed by Alla ...

'' by

Carlo Gozzi __NOTOC__ Carlo, Count Gozzi (; 13 December 1720 – 4 April 1806) was an Italian ( Venetian) playwright and champion of ''Commedia dell'arte''. Early life Gozzi was born and died in Venice; he came from a family of minor Venetian aristocracy, t ...

and Emilia in ''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

'' by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. She also appeared in plays by Tajikistani writers, including playing Mavjuda in ''Woman's Resolve'' by Azam Sidqi and roles in two plays by

Ghani Abdullo Al-Ghani or Ghani () means generous or bountiful in Arabic and is one of the names of God in Islam. Ghani may refer to: People Given name or mononym * Ghani Animofoshe (born 1985), Nigerien footballer * Ghani Yalouz (born 1968), French wrestl ...

, Bakhmal in ''The Song of the Highlands'' and Tahmina in ''Rustam and Suhrab''. During her career, Isoeva also appeared in a number of films produced by TajikFilm. For her work she was granted the title of

People's Artist of the Tajik SSR People's Artist of the Tajik SSR (Народный артист Таджикской ССР), is an honorary title awarded to citizens of the Tajik SSR in the Soviet Union. It is awarded for outstanding performance in the performing arts, whose me ...

in 1979, and she was also named a Distinguished Contributor to Tajik Education. She won the Nohid Prize, and received a number of medals from the government, including the Order of the Red Banner of Courage, the

Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" The Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" () was a state commemorative medal of the Soviet Union established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet on November 5, 1969 to commemo ...

, and the Honorary Order of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of Tajikistan. Her eightieth birthday was celebrated with a showing of some of her films in 2017.

References

{{authority control 1937 births Living people Tajikistani stage actresses Tajikistani film actresses Russian Academy of Theatre Arts alumni Soviet film actresses Soviet stage actresses People from Khatlon Region People's Artists of Tajikistan