Aizhan LighG was just an eight year old girl when she was reading about her lineage. Aizhan discovered her ancestors linked back to the legendary tribe of female warriors led by none other than the ruler of Massagetae, Queen Tomiris.
Queen Tomiris (spelled multiple ways) defended her people from the invading Persian king, Cyrus the Great, and in one historical account, reportedly slaughtered him. In another record, Cyrus died in battle against her army, and she had him beheaded.
Queen Tomiris went on to influence the world, from Shakespeare, to fine art, and more. Most particularly, she influenced medieval and Renaissance artistic tradition referred to as the “Power of Women” movement, which exemplified wise or heroic men being dominated by even more wise and powerful women.
It is this part of history that a young Aizhan felt close to, feeling the matriarchy and brave warriorship carried out by her ancestors through all those vivid stories her mother encouraged her to read as a child. Aizhan kept this story close to her heart as she grew older, giving her the courage to be herself in an extremely patriarchal society where she grew up.
As Aizhan got older, she hoped to be able to see one day a film about this incredible historical time, and a celebration of women’s true power. Little did she know, she would not only see that film, but would be co-starring in it. It was almost as if every moment of her life led her to that one path, to play the very role she did in this extraordinary film.
Pushing herself to the limit, Aizhan got a law degree in her homeland. She then came to America and got yet another law degree, attending UCLA and Harvard. At just 25 years old, she was then representing the entire country of her homeland on a massive, transnational case. As if that weren’t amazing enough, she was just getting started.
A superstar lawyer on the international scene, Aizhan had conquered the business world. Now, the woman with warrior genes encoded in her DNA was ready to do more.
Aizhan channeled her dance training into martial arts training, becoming outstanding in fighting techniques on screen, and swords among more. Her mastery of four languages including English, and her scholarly background gave her a needed edge in actoral training. After she got an agent and manager and started quickly getting roles, her secret life as a power attorney helped her immediately know who she could trust, and who she couldn’t. And naturally, she reviewed all of her contracts!
“She came to Hollywood with the blood of a warrior; She went back to her homeland to play one.”
In case you couldn’t tell by now, Aizhan is simply a fascinating young woman. She hails from none other than Kazakhstan. And it was there that she returned to play a warrior; defending the matriarchy, and starring in her homeland’s domestic box office hit, Legend of Tomiris still streaming on Amazon. The film, which in itself is fascinating, is the partly true-life story that Aizhan has carried with her all those years. It concerns that legendary Queen who dominates in her matriarchal society, and slays men who had it coming.
“It was a dream role,” confesses the stunning actress. Aizhan went through rigorous training for the film; Riding at high speeds on horseback without a saddle, jumping off horses, learning new weapons. The film won the Grand Prix at the L’Etrange Film Festival in Paris, and Aizhan was nominated for the local Critic Choice award.
After graduating from UCLA, Aizhan continued honing her skills at the SAG Conservatory. As a classically trained dancer, she was able to quickly excel in martial arts and sword fighting. In preparation for her ancient Princess warrior role, she went through intense horse back riding and archery training with the very stunt team that trained the cast for the hit Disney film Mulan. As a result, Aizhan was able to even perform her own stunts in the historical epic drama.
In other work, Aizhan LighG’s comedy feature Sin Palabros had a successful theatrical release in Central Asia and received critical acclaim. Also a gifted singer and dancer, Aizhan played an iconic role of Cassie in the musical A Chorus Line, Ella in Cinderella and Ivy in Bare.
Now living in Hollywood Aizhan is also now producing some of her own projects in addition to her acting work. When she’s not traveling around the planet as a hobby she enjoys, she can found dominating on the tennis court, as an advanced player, or driving her Porsche Boxster with the top down; turning heads wherever she goes. She visits her family twice a year, but says this is home. “I love Los Angeles,” she says, her long, dark hair blowing in the cool Ocean breeze. “I’m happy here.”
Check out the exclusive interview with Aizhan in the links below, where she even gives some free advice to aspiring actors and models looking to start a career in Hollywood:
Part I:
Part II:
Aizhan LighG: Clips below from Legend of Tomiris, a Kazakhstani feature film directed by Akan Sataev, which tells the story of the queen of the Massagetae, Tomiris, and the Persian king, Cyrus the Great. The film co-stars Almira Tursyn, Aizhan LighG, and Ghassan Massoud. Still image above and below of the film Legend of Tomiris by Zhenya Bergman, provided with kind courtesy of Ms. LighG.
Aizhan Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aizhanlighg/?hl=en
