10 world celebrities with Armenian roots: Charles Aznavour, Michel Legrand, Cher and others

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

On October 1, 2018, French singer Charles Aznavour, one of the best representatives of the Armenian people, died. The man, whose name was known all over the world, never forgot about his roots and kept in touch with his homeland, he said that every second Armenian is an artist. In this review, we recall the Armenians who managed to achieve worldwide fame and never forgot about their homeland.

Charles Aznavour

The great son of the Armenian people emphasized that he owes everything in him to his parents, ethnic Armenians. Charles Aznavour (Shahnur Vakhinak Aznavuryan) was born and raised in France, but never tired of repeating that he was an Armenian. His parents were Armenian immigrants and accidentally stayed in Paris awaiting permission to travel to America. Later, the couple refused to move overseas, and France became their second homeland.

Misha and Knar Aznavuryan raised their daughter and son in love and respect for their roots, acquainting them with the complex and tragic history of the Armenian people. Charles Aznavour's mother told the children about how her entire family was killed in Turkey during the Armenian Genocide. In memory of their ancestors, the Aznavuryan family always helped those who suffered from repression.

Aram Khachaturyan

The world famous composer was born in the village of Kojori, Tiflis province. His father, Egia (Ilya) Khachaturian, at the end of the 1870s, moved from the Upper Aza of the Nakhichevan district to Tiflis in search of work. The composer's mother, Kumash Sarkisovna lived in Nizhnaya Aza and from the age of 9 she was engaged to Yeghia Khachaturian.

Aram Khachaturian was proud of his origin and always emphasized his connection with the Armenian people. Apart from Russian composers, Aram Ilyich called his teachers Komitas and Alexander Spendiarov, and considered his work to belong, first of all, to the Armenian people.

Michelle Legrand

The grandfather of the great French composer fled to France in 1917, fleeing the persecution of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. The daughter of an emigrant, Haykanush (Marseille) Ter-Mikaelyan, became the wife of the composer Raymond Legrand. Michel Legrand, born in 1932, has always emphasized that he is the son of the Armenian people and in every corner of the world he feels that he belongs to a proud people.

Abraham Russo

The famous singer calls himself a citizen of the world and at the same time admits that only Armenian blood flows in him. The real name of the performer is Abraham Ipjyan, he was born in Syrian Aleppo, where his parents ended up after the Armenian Genocide. Currently, Abraham Russo, like his entire family, has Armenian citizenship and Armenian passports.

Arno Babajanyan

The composer's parents were born in Western Armenia, in Igdir. Having fled to Yerevan during the Armenian Genocide, Harutyun Yakovlevich Babajanyan and Artsvik Iosifovna Harutyunyan adopted a girl, whose family died during the tragic events for Armenians.

The talented boy Arno Babajanyan was noticed at the age of five by Aram Khachaturian, who played a significant role in the formation of the future composer and musician.

Mikael Tariverdiev

The composer jokingly called himself “a fat, cheerful Armenian”. He was born in Tiflis, in a well-known and wealthy family. His mother, Sato Grigorievna, had a tremendous influence on the formation of the personality of the future composer. It was she who once wrote in a notebook of instructions to her son: "To be born an Armenian is happiness, to die an Armenian is heroism." With these words Mikael Leonovich has lived his whole life.

Leonid Yengibarov

Leonid Yengibarov, the legendary sad clown, the most talented mime, who knew how to talk to the audience about good and evil in the language of plastics and gestures, was the son of an Armenian and a Russian. He inherited from his father love for his historical homeland, and critics often, evaluating the artist's work, emphasized: in each number of the mime, a unique Armenian flavor is felt.

Patrick Fiori

The famous French performer who starred in the musical Notre Dame de Paris was born into an Armenian and a Corsican family. His surname (full name Patrick Jean-Francois Shushayan), having secured the consent of his father, he changed to his mother's surname at the beginning of his creative activity due to the complexity of her perception by the French audience.

As a teenager, Patrick learned the story of his family, which miraculously survived the Armenian Genocide. Since 2004, the performer often visits Armenia, which he visited for the first time with his father. The singer admits that he cannot learn the Armenian language because of its complexity, but the national instrument, the duduk, is now constantly played at his concerts.

Singer Cher

Sherilyn Sargsyan learned about her Armenian roots at the age of 11, when she met her father. The singer's mother, actress Georgia Holt, divorced her husband, a native of Armenia Karapet Sargsyan, even before the birth of her daughter.

Cher first visited her historical homeland after the 1988 earthquake in Spitak, when she brought humanitarian aid to Armenia. It was then, according to the singer, that she truly felt the call of blood and realized that she was part of a large Armenian family.

Charles Gerard

He was born in Marseilles to a family of Armenians who fled from Turkey to France from the genocide. Real name is Nubar Achemyan. Just like his great compatriot Charles Aznavour, the actor always remembered the history of his family and his people.

The first "Armenian trace" in Moscow was found in documents dated 1390. They said that there was an Armenian trading row in the city. Since then and up to the present time, there have been many dynasties of merchant-benefactors among the representatives of this people, who spent their millions on the improvement of the Russian capital and helping those in need.