Neda Ukraden Celebrates 76th Birthday in Boka Kotorska

Neda Ukraden turned 76 on August 16 and celebrated the birthday at her family home in Boka Kotorska. She posted photos from the celebration on her Instagram account, along with a message to her audience. Alongside shots from the terrace, she also shared a photo taken by the sea, wearing a blue bikini under a sheer black tunic.

The celebration was a family affair. With her were daughter Jelena, three grandchildren and friends. The terrace was decorated with balloons, and the cake carried the number 76. She blew out the candles in a dress, surrounded by those closest to her.

What Did the Singer Write on Instagram?

The birthday arrived the night before, and today she posted a message thanking fans for their wishes. The note is short and personal, with no mention of work or upcoming shows.

Another year, and my heart holds even more love, memories and gratitude. I don’t count the years, I count the moments that have made me happy.

Later in the same post she also named her audience, mentioning it alongside her family and friends.

I’m grateful for every new day, for my family, my friends, my audience and all of you who have stood by me for years.

The post went up a day after the celebration began, so her profile now alternates between shots from the terrace and shots from the coast.

Where Does the Singer Spend Her Summers?

Boka Kotorska is where Neda Ukraden spends her summer months, at the family home. That’s also where she marked her birthday, surrounded by her daughter and grandchildren.

The date carries extra meaning for her. She was born on August 16, 1950, in Imotski, and grew up in Sarajevo, where she finished law school, philosophy studies and a music school for singing.

A Career That Began in 1967

She recorded her first song in 1967 for Radio Sarajevo. It was “Igra bez kraja,” with which she performed at the first Vas Slager Sezone festival and won the award for best newcomer. Through the 1970s and 1980s she was one of the biggest names in Yugoslav popular music.

At the 1975 Opatija Festival she performed “Srce u srcu,” a song originally meant to represent Yugoslavia at Eurovision. After a re-vote in the final, the trip to the contest went instead to the group Pepel in Kri. Six years later, in 1981, she was part of the backing lineup for Seid Memic Vajta at Eurovision in Ireland, alongside Jadranka Stojakovic and Ismet Krvavac.

Around that time she was performing with the group Kamen na Kamen and recorded her first record with them. Albums followed: “Ko me to odnekud doziva” in 1976, “Nedine najljepse pjesme” in 1977, and “Jos te volim” in 1979. Her songs were written by Kemal Monteno, Arsen Dedic, Djordje Novkovic, Seid Memic Vajta, Rajko Dujmic, Djelo Jusic, Zrinko Tutic and Nikola Borota Radovan.

Numbers from that period still stand next to her name:

• more than four million records sold over the course of her career
• a Golden Bird award from Jugoton for more than two million records sold
• performances at Sava Centar and Dom Sindikata in Belgrade, Vatroslav Lisinski in Zagreb, Tivoli in Ljubljana and the Universal Hall in Skopje

She moved to Belgrade in 1992 and has lived and worked there ever since. She marked half a century in the business with concerts at Sava Centar in 2017 and at Vatroslav Lisinski hall in Zagreb in 2018. Since 2009 she has also kept up her popularity with dance hits, so the audience following her today is younger than the one that once bought her records.

With daughter Jelena she has two granddaughters and a grandson, and they were the ones by her side at the celebration in Boka. The photos from the terrace show a celebration that stayed close to home, without invitations or press material.