Muazzez Ersoy

Muazzez Ersoy — Biography

Born Hatice Yıldız Levent on 9 August 1958 in Uzunköprü, Edirne, Muazzez Ersoy grew interested in music through her mother and, after finishing secondary school, paid for lessons with İrfan Özbakır and Baki Duyarlar out of her own earnings. She married young in 1974, divorced two years later, and had a son, Ender, from that marriage. She made her stage debut as a headline performer at Istanbul's Pembe Köşk Gazinosu in 1982, worked with TRT Ankara Radio conductor Cahit Ünyaylar from 1989, and spent a period as a soloist with the Ministry of Culture's State Chorus. After the albums Seven Olmaz ki and Herşeyim Sensin, she found major success with Sizi Seviyorum on the Raks Müzik label; following the record-breaking Sensizlik Bu, her twelve-album Nostalji series with Ali İhsan Kısaç sold more than fifteen million copies and earned her the nickname "Nostalgia Queen." She was Turkey's top taxpayer between 1995 and 2000, won numerous gold and platinum records, and received Kral TV's "Best Female TSM Artist" award. She was awarded the State Artist title in 1998 and named a goodwill ambassador for the UN refugee agency in 2006. She later released "90'dan POP," reinterpreting 1990s pop hits, and hosted "Yıldız Akşamı" on TRT Müzik.