Ajda Pekkan

Ajda Pekkan
Ajda Pekkan in 2012
Background information
Birth name	Ayşe Ajda Pekkan
Also known as	Superstar, Pop diva
Born	(1946-02-12) 12 February 1946 (age 71)
Origin	Istanbul, Turkey
Genres	Pop, Schlager
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, actress
Years active	1964–present
Labels	Balet, DMC, Emre Plak, Elenor Plak, İstanbul Plak, NVN Müzik, Ossi Müzik, Philips Records, Raks Müzik, Regal, Tempa & Foneks, HITT Production
Associated acts	Enrico Macias, Garo Mafyan, Sezen Aksu, Şehrazat, David Vendetta
Website	Official website
Notable instruments
Vocals

Ayşe Ajda Pekkan (Turkish pronunciation: [aʒˌda pe̞kˈkan]; 12 February 1946,Istanbul, Turkey), also known as Superstar, is a Turkish pop singer and actress. Through a career spanning five decades thus far, Pekkan has released more than 20 albums and, with Sezen Aksu, is the most commercially successful female Turkish music artist with the sales of over 42 million copies worldwide. She is nicknamed the Superstar of Turkish pop music. Although famed for her music, Pekkan started her career as an actress with appearances in almost 50 films. During her music career, Pekkan has recorded songs in nine languages. Apart from Turkish, she is also fluent in English and French. In 1998 the Government of Turkey was awarded the title of State Artist to be given by the Ministry of Culture on the recommendation of the Ministry of Culture. She was awarded the honorary distinction of Officier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2013.

Pekkan was born to Rıdvan Pekkan, an officer in the Turkish Navy, and Nevin Dobruca, a housewife. She spent her childhood at the Naval Base Gölcük in Kocaeli Province. Ajda graduated from the Çamlıca Kız Lisesi, an elite and high-profile girls' secondary school in Istanbul that had been founded during the Ottoman era. Its alumni include foreign nobility and female members of the Imperial House of Osman and the languages of education are Turkish, French and German.