Jamala

Jamala in 2016, photo by katatonia82/Bigstock.com

Birth Name: Susana Alimivna Jamaladinova (Susana Alim qızı Camaladinova)

Place of Birth: Osh, Kirghiz SSR, Soviet Union (now Kyrgyzstan)

Date of Birth: 27 August, 1983

Ethnicity:
*father – Crimean Tatar
*mother – Armenian, as well as Ukrainian and Russian

Jamala is a Ukrainian singer, actress, and songwriter. She won the Eurovision Song Contest 2016.

Jamala is the daughter of Galyna Mykhailivna (Tumasova) and Alim Ayarovych Jamaladinov. Her father is a Crimean Tatar and her mother is of one Armenian, one quarter Ukrainian, and one quarter Russian, descent. Her paternal ancestors were deported to Central Asia during the Joseph Stalin era. Jamala is married to Bekir Suleimanov, with whom she has two children.

She has said:

My grandmother on my mother’s line is half Russian, half Ukrainian. My mom’s father is a purebred Armenian. My father is a Crimean Tatar. Accordingly, I was not brought up exclusively on European music, we had Crimean Tatar, Armenian, Ukrainian, Russian, Azerbaijani, Iranian, and Turkish (my father loves Oriental music) and, of course, classical music.

A MyHeritage DNA test taken by Jamala stated that her genetic ancestry is:

*42.4% Greek and South Italian
*32.6% West Asian
*16.0% Baltic
*5.7% East European
*3.3% Ashkenazi Jewish

Jamala’s paternal grandfather was named Ayar Jamaladinov. Ayar was born in Kuchuk-Uzen’, Crimea.

Jamala’s paternal grandmother was named Ediye Chabanova. Ediye was born in Kuchuk-Uzen’.

Jamala’s maternal grandfather was named Mikhail Osipovich Tumasov (the son of Osip Tumasov). Mikhail was born in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Jamala’s maternal grandmother was named Polina Ivanovna Ladanova (the daughter of Ivan Ladanov). Polina was born in Voronezh, Voronezh Oblast, Russia.

One of Jamala’s great-grandmothers was named Nazylkhan.

Sources: http://www.wumag.kiev.ua
http://day.kyiv.ua