Nataša Bekvalac (Serbian Cyrillic: Наташа Беквалац, pronounced ) (born 25 September 1980) is a Serbian singer and actress. Debuted in 2001, she has become one of the best-known Serbian pop stars. Due to her appearance Bekvalac was dubbed the 'Serbian Barbie'.

Contents 1 Life and career 1.1 Early life 1.2 Career 1.3 Private life 2 Discography 2.1 Studio albums 2.2 EPs 3 See also 4 References 5 External links Life and career Early life

Born in Novi Sad on 25 September 1980 to father Dragoljub Bekvalac, a football coach and former player, and a housewife mother, named Mira. Nataša grew up as the middle daughter with older sister Dragana and younger Kristina, who is also a famous Serbian fashion designer.[1] In 1989 Bekvalac made her music debut on a children music festival where she performed alongside popular Bosnian rock band Regina and later in 1990 she also appeared on children music show 'Muzički tobogan' (Musical Slide).

Career

In 2001 she released her first studio album titled 'Ne brini' (Don't Worry), which was nominated for the best album of the year in FR Yugoslavia. Two years later she continued her path of success with 'Ništa lično' (Nothing Personal) along side hit-song 'Mali signali' (Small Signals). In 2005 she released her third album 'Stereo ljubav' (Setero Love) followed with the single 'Nikotin' (Nicotine), which is arguably one of her biggest hits. Same year she also issued the best of compilation. In 2007 she released an EP called 'ljubav, vera, nada' (Love, Faith, Hope) and in 2010 her fourth album 'Ne valjam' (I'm Not Good).

Following her duet with Emina Jahović and solo song 'Ja sam dobro' (I'm Fine) in 2011 Nataša also received Serbian Oscar of Popularity award for the female singer of the year. Bekvalac continued releasing singles, most knowably 'Pozitivna' (Positive) in 2012, 'Kraljica novih ljubavi' (The Queen of New Loves) and 'Bolesno te volim' (Love You Sickly) in 2013 and 'Mogu da prođem' and 'Najgora' (The Worst) in 2014. In 2016 she released her seventh visual album, while the title song 'Original' (Origianl) became major hit.

She made several TV appearances as an actress and in 2016 made her theatre debut as Draga Mašin in the musical 'Tajna Crne ruke' (The Secret of Black Hand). Following the domestic violence incident, Bekvalac made a comeback with the single 'Mala plava' featuring Coby in October 2018, which she described as Stepping out of your comfort zone and confronting your fears.[2]

Private life

Nataša Bekvalac is known for always filling tabloid headlines with her romantic and everyday life. She has a daughter named Hana (2007) with her first husband, water polo player Danilo Ikodinović. The couple divorced in 2011 after five years of marriage. She was then briefly married to Ljubomir Ljuba Jovanović, who she divorced in 2017 to marry her third husband Luka Lazukić. In 2018, Nataša declared that she was physically assaulted by Lazukić just a month after she had given birth to their baby named Katja. This case went to court followed with much media attention.[3]

Discography Studio albums Ne brini (2001) Nista lično (2003) Stereo ljubav (2005) Ljubav, vera, nada (2008) Ne Valjam (2010) Original (2016) EPs Ljubav, vera, nada (2008) See also Music of Serbia Serbian pop References ^ "O meni | Kristina Bekvalac". www.kristinabekvalac.com. Retrieved 2015-09-20. ^ "Nataša Bekvalc 'Mala plava je suočavanje sa strahom'" (in Serbian). Večernje Novosti. October 2018. ^ "Pretučena Nataša Bekvalas!" (in Serbian). External links https://www.facebook.com/natasab.official - Natašina oficijalna Facebook stranica Awards Preceded byAleksandra Radović Serbian Oscar Of PopularityThe Female Pop Singer of the Year2010 Succeeded byTBD