Zulayho Boyhonova

Zulayho Boyhonova was born on 28 April 1963 in the Namangan region; her patronymic is Mamajonovna. She finished school in 1980, entered the musical drama faculty of the Mannon Uyghur State Institute of Arts in Tashkent in 1981, and graduated in 1986.

After the institute she joined the Muqimiy Uzbek State Musical Drama Theatre. Her first stage role was Nurkhon in Komil Yashin's play of that name, and she went on to take the lead in nearly all the theatre's productions, among them «Yusuf and Zulaykha», «Nodirabegim», «The Cry from the Bottom of the Well», «Fate» and «Farhad and Shirin». Her voice is described as a lyric soprano.

Beyond the theatre she sang pop and traditional repertoire, including «Samarkand Ushshogi», «Fergana Before Dawn», «Gar sogʻinsam» and «Unutma». She also performed with the Ofarin ensemble led by her teacher, People's Artist of Uzbekistan Abduhoshim Ismoilov. According to published sources, she has toured the USA, France, Germany, India, China, Turkey, South Korea and other countries.

She appeared in the television series «Shaytanat», the telenovela «Izhor» and in video films such as «Yusuf and Zulaykha».

For her services to theatre she was named Honoured Artist of Uzbekistan in 1996 and People's Artist of Uzbekistan in 2003. In 2005 the Ministry of Culture and Sports gave her its prize in the «Angel of Our Stage» nomination.