Rana Shodiyeva is 47 years old: about the trying life of an actress who overcame cancer, faced death 4 times, and returned to creativity

Honored Artist of Uzbekistan Rano Shodiyeva turned 47 on August 12. Her life, like in the movies, is full of happy and challenging moments. The actress overcame cancer, faced death four times, and returned to creativity.

**Childhood and Dreams**

Rano Shodiyeva was born on August 12, 1979 in Samarkand. The family had two children, her older brother works in a field far from art. The actress dreamed of becoming a dancer since childhood.

“We have two children in our family. My parents created all the opportunities for my brother and I to study. Every summer we would go to the best resorts in Russia to relax. My mother was very particular about herself and always wore the most expensive designer dresses. And I would sew them for myself. But my mother never beat me for that. The reason for my obsession with clothes is related to dancing. I had the idea that ‘a dancer should dance in beautiful clothes.’ So, from childhood I grew up with the intention of becoming a dancer,” says Rano Shodiyeva.

**Threats and moving to Samarkand**

The actress spent her childhood in Tashkent, because her mother worked as a translator in the courts. One day, relatives of a deaf-mute man threatened her mother, saying, “If you don’t change the court decision in our favor, we will kill your children.” After that, her parents took Rano and her brother to her grandfather's yard in Samarkand.

"My grandfather had a big yard there. There was a big fountain in the middle of the yard, and about 40 peacocks walked around it," she says.

**A wealthy grandfather and sick parents**

Rano Shodiyeva's grandfather was a very wealthy person, he headed a dried fruit factory. Her paternal grandmother was born with a birth defect due to an illness during pregnancy. Her mother lost her hearing due to an illness. She studied in a regular school until the third grade, then was transferred to a school for the deaf and dumb, where she met her father.

**Entering the cinema and design career**

The actress entered the cinema at the age of 13 with the role of Qamara Kamolova in the film "Atrof oppok qorga burkandi". Initially, she did not dream of becoming an actress. After graduating from school, she studied design at the suggestion of her father and worked as a designer in the atelier for 16 years.

“I was Tanzila Norbayeva’s personal designer. I met my sister when I was working in the atelier. After I left this industry, unfortunately, I couldn’t do anything for Tanzila. I still can’t forgive myself. When we met recently, she said, “Can you sew dresses and suits for me?” Then I went to Turkey and couldn’t fulfill her requests,” says the actress.

**The films “Chimildiq” and “Shaytanat”**

At the age of 18, Melis Abzalov invited Rano Shodiyeva to the film “Chimildiq”. Then she was called to the casting for the film “Shaytanat”. The actress had no information about this film, because she had only read books in Russian. Many actresses auditioned for the role of Zaynab, but Navroza Biynazova was originally cast, but for some reason she refused to act.

**Higher education and mentoring**

After her successful film roles, Rano Shodiyeva decided to study in this field as well. She was a classmate of artists such as Ozodbek Nazarbekov and Halimakhan. She also studied for a master's degree and intended to stage plays for deaf and dumb children in the puppet theater acting department. After being offered a job at the institute, she taught for five years, but felt disconnected from creativity and left teaching.

**Charity**

Her mother worked at a cultural center for children with disabilities. One day, her mother said, "You are a famous actress, why don't you help me?" At first, she participated in charity work so as not to upset her mother, but later she developed a love for children. Currently, not only her mother and herself, but also her daughter are working in this field.

**Family life**

Rano Shodiyeva is from Samarkand, and her husband is from Kashkadarya. Their worldviews and habits are not compatible with each other. While the actress likes subtlety, her husband is a sincere person. But her husband is a family man and a person who values his wife. He creates everything for his family.

**Serious illness and struggle**

The actress was diagnosed with liver cancer. 70% of her liver was removed. The first surgery was performed in 2022, and the second in April 2024.

“I said goodbye to life 4 times in a hospital in Turkey. Even the doctors themselves said, ‘Call your loved ones, your spouse and children, so that they can say goodbye to you.’ After such words, I was ready for anything. My body and immunity were exhausted. I had already accepted that I was leaving life. One day, early in the morning, I opened my eyes and asked myself, ‘What are you doing? Where are you going? It’s true, your children will continue to live without you. But what about you? Don’t you want to live?’ I said. In this way, I talked to myself and brought myself down to earth. First of all, God, but when a person is sick, he should not feel sorry for himself. You need to fight as much as possible. The doctors said that it was a miracle that I survived,” says the actress.

**Role in the TV series "Mendirman Jaloliddin"**

After the first operation, metastasis was observed and preparations for the second operation began. At that time, the filming of the second season of the TV series "Mendirman Jaloliddin" had begun. The actress said that she was excited about her role from another actress and that she would work under certain conditions. Mehmet Bozdag's words, "We would be happy if you played your role yourself," were a great motivation for her.

"The doctors gave me 8 hours of chemotherapy, and then another 42 hours of chemotherapy. I had chemotherapy for almost three days. They put the 'chemistry' in a bag that hung around my neck. I hid the bag under my clothes and filmed for the TV series in that state," says Rano Shodiyeva.

**Treatment costs and support**

Cancer treatment was very expensive. In two years, one operation cost $37,000, another $42,000, $25,000, and the cheapest $15,000. Then came the rehabilitation and chemotherapy treatments, which were also expensive. The medicines were imported from India.

“In the last days of my treatment in Turkey, when I said I was leaving the hospital, the clinic gave me another bill for $83,000. At that time, we wondered where we would find all this money. My husband made a plan: ‘We’ll sell the car, we’ll sell this, we’ll sell that,’ and he found the money. My treatment cost more than $500,000,” says Rano Shodiyeva.

When she had difficulty finding money, Jahongir Ortiqhojayev called her husband and said he would help. While Rana Shodiyeva was being treated at a clinic in Istanbul, she learned that Jahongir Ortiqhojayev had also helped many other people with their treatment. They sponsored operations worth several hundred thousand dollars.

“They also provided me with very good conditions, they even arranged a taxi for my son and son-in-law when they came to visit me in Istanbul. I am very grateful to them,” says Rana Shodiyeva.

**Grandchildren and autobiographical book**

The actress married her son Diyor in 2021, and his daughter-in-law is of Russian nationality. Soon after, she also married her daughter Rakhshona. Currently, the actress has four grandchildren.

In February 2026, the actress completed writing an autobiographical book about her life path, in which the main emphasis was placed on how she overcame a serious illness.