Alexander Rybak

Birth Name: Alyaxandr/Alexander Igaravich/Igoryevich/Iharavich Rybak

Place of Birth: Minsk, Byelorussian SSR, USSR (now Belarus)

Date of Birth: 13 May, 1986

Ethnicity: Belarusian, possibly other

Alexander Rybak is a Belarusian-born Norwegian singer, composer, violinist, pianist, journalist, and actor. He won the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, representing Norway. He competed again in 2018.

Alexander is the son of Natalia Valentinovna Gurina, a music journalist and a piano teacher, and Igor Alexandrovich Rybak, a well-known classical violinist. His family is from Vitebsk, in northern Belarus. His father defected to Norway in 1991. His mother arrived with Alexander on a tourist visa, and the family settled in Nesodden. He speaks and sings in Norwegian, Russian, and English.

A DNA test taken by Alexander stated that his genetic ancestry is:

*57.1% East European

Alexander’s paternal grandfather is named Alexander Jakovlevich Rybak (the son of Jakov Rybak).

Alexander’s paternal grandmother is named Maria Borisovna Savickaya/Savitskaya (the daughter of Boris Savicky/Savitsky).

Alexander’s maternal grandfather is named Valentin Jurevich Gurin (the son of Jure Gurin). Valentin was born in Vitebsk.

Alexander’s maternal grandmother is named Zinaida Yegorovna (maiden surname unknown; the daughter of Yegor).

Some sources state that Alexander is of Jewish background. It is not clear if this is accurate.