Elshan Mardan oglu Rustamov was born on 22 January 1971 in the Masalli district into a teacher's family. He attended secondary school in the village of Babasar in the same district. In 1988 he enrolled at a construction school in Moscow. He studied at the drama and film acting faculty of the Institute of Arts (1990–1995), where he was taught by such masters as Rafig Atakishiyev, Oqtay Salamov, Rafig Azimov, Lutfi Mammadbeyli and Bakhtiyar Khanizade. Since 1993 he has worked at the Young Spectators' Theatre. To date he has appeared in around 50 productions staged at this theatre. He has also performed on the stages of other theatres. He is engaged in dubbing work.
