Acting

Kuralay Anarbekova

Born 11 June 1989 · Shalkar, Kazakh SSR, USSR · 37

Kuralay Anarbekova is a Kazakh actress, film producer, and entrepreneur known for her roles in historical dramas and commercial comedies. Born in Shalkar, Aktobe Region, Kazakhstan, she initially studied automation and management in the oil and gas industry at Aktobe Polytechnic College. After winning the Miss Aktobe beauty pageant in 2006, she began working in modeling. In 2009, she continued her education at the Kazakh National Technical University (KazNTU) in Almaty. Anarbekova made her feature-film debut in Talgat Temenov's drama Мой грешный ангел (2011), which also featured a guest appearance by Gérard Depardieu. She gained wider recognition in 2012 for her role as the warrior Korlan in Akan Satayev's historical epic Войско мын бала (2012). Selected from more than a hundred candidates, she received the Serper Youth Award in 2013 for her performance. Anarbekova later studied film and television producing at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) in Moscow. Upon returning to Kazakhstan, she founded the production company Corich Group. In 2017, she served as general producer and lead actress of the romantic comedy Брат или брак (2017), which became a major box-office success in Kazakhstan, grossing more than 455 million tenge. She continued the franchise with its sequels Брат или брак 2 (2019) and Брат или брак 3 (2024), and produced other comedies including Ва-Банк (2019) and ТойХана (2021). In 2018, Forbes Kazakhstan included Anarbekova in its 30 Under 30 list. In 2025, she was awarded the honorary title of Honored Worker of the Republic of Kazakhstan.