Afag Bashir gizi Safarova was born in 1955 in Baku, into the family of the Azerbaijani actor Bashir Safaroghlu. In 1962 she entered the first grade of secondary school No. 31, and in 1972 she graduated from secondary school No. 20. She submitted her documents to the Faculty of Oriental Studies at Baku State University but did not pass the entrance competition. For a time she attended the drama club (led by Maharram Badirzade) of the Medical Workers' House of Culture. From 1974 to 1979 she studied at the Azerbaijan State Institute of Arts (now the Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts). She began her acting career in 1973 at the Lankaran State Drama Theatre. In 1975 the actress was invited to the Sumgait State Drama Theatre, where she worked until 1989. At the Sumgait theatre she performed leading roles in the works of classical and contemporary playwrights. Sent by the Ministry of Culture to the Azerbaijan State Musical Comedy Theatre (now the Azerbaijan State Musical Theatre), Afag Bashirgizi still works there today. Alongside her theatre work, Afag Bashirgizi has also appeared in a number of film and television productions. In television plays produced by Azerbaijan Television, she created a range of different characters: Darchinbeyim in Anar's The House With the Crooked Beloved, Zahra in Vagif Samadoglu's The Man With Green Glasses, Sugra in Ali Amirli's Trouble Comes With the Child, Ayna in Majnun Vahidov's Half a Bet, and Gulya in Agshin Babayev's Obituary, as well as various characters in the show Afag Laughs and Makes You Laugh. She also appeared in the Azerbaijanfilm production The Ring of Fortune in the role of Soyulu, and in the Mozalan satirical newsreel in the storylines "At the Kindergarten," "At the Meat Combine," "Not So Abroad" and "It Happens That Way Too." For many years she has worked as a teacher at the University of Culture and Arts and has been awarded the academic title of professor at that university. For her services to the development of Azerbaijani theatre art and cinematography, Afag Bashirgizi was awarded the honorary title of Honoured Artist of the Azerbaijan SSR on 17 May 1989, the title of People's Artist of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 1993, and the "Golden Dervish" award in 1993 and 2003. For many years she received the Presidential Award. In 2013 she was awarded the "Shohrat" Order, and in 2015 she was awarded a personal pension by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. On 13 August 2015 she was awarded the "Honorary Diploma of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan" for her services to the development of Azerbaijani theatre and film art.
