Jelena Karleusa

About Jelena Karleusa

Jelena Karleuša Tošić, professionally known as Jelena Karleuša, is a Serbian singer and media personality. Born on August 17, 1978, in Belgrade, she began her music career at the age of 16 with the release of her debut album, Ogledalce, in 1995. To date, she has released twelve studio albums and performed two major solo concerts in Belgrade: All About Diva at the Belgrade Arena in 2010 and Viva La Diva at Ušće Park in 2013.

Beyond music, Karleuša has built a prominent television career, serving as a judge on the popular singing competition Zvezde Granda from 2015 to 2021 and later joining Pinkove Zvezde as a judge in 2025. Her distinctive appearance, outspoken personality and often controversial public statements have made her one of Serbia's most recognizable entertainers. International publications including W Magazine and Focus have compared her image and influence to Lady Gaga and Madonna, referring to her as the "Lady Gaga of Serbia" and the "Madonna of the Balkans."


Early life:

Karleuša was born in Belgrade, then part of the Socialist Republic of Serbia within Yugoslavia. She is the only child of Divna Karleuša, a journalist and radio host from Ptuj, Slovenia, and Dragan Karleuša, a police chief from Belgrade. Her family background includes Serbian, Slovenian, Croatian, Bosnian and Kosovo roots.

Her maternal grandfather, Jurij Tomažič, was an ethnic Slovene and a military pilot in the Yugoslav People's Army who died in a plane crash in 1967. Her maternal grandmother, Darina, was from Doboj in Bosnia and Herzegovina. On her father's side, her grandfather Pavle Karleuša was born in Belgrade, while his parents originated from the Lika region of Croatia, where the Karleuša surname has its roots. Her great-grandfather, Nikola Karleuša, was a Croatian Serb who served in the Austro-Hungarian Army. Her paternal grandmother's family came from Vranje, Serbia.

Karleuša has also stated that her maternal great-grandmother was allegedly an Austrian countess who had a street named after her in Graz, although the claim was disputed by the city.

She grew up in the Fontana neighborhood of New Belgrade and was raised primarily by her mother following her parents' divorce. Karleuša has said that her father's repeated infidelity contributed significantly to the breakdown of their marriage and that she witnessed one of his affairs herself. She later gained two younger half-brothers, Ivan and Nikola, through her father's second marriage.

Karleuša attended Zemun Gymnasium before completing her education at the New Belgrade High School of Tourism. During childhood, she also attended music school and played the flute.


Career:

Karleuša launched her professional music career in 1995 with Ogledalce, released by Diskos when she was only 16 years old. She later revealed that Serbian pop-folk singer Dragana Mirković helped finance the album's production. Her second album, Ženite se, momci, followed in 1996 through PGP-RTS, while Veštice, vile and Jelena were released in 1997 and 1998, respectively, by ZaM. During this period, she began working with lyricist Marina Tucaković, who would go on to write some of Karleuša's best-known songs.

In December 1999, Karleuša released Gili, gili, her only album issued through Lepa Brena's Grand Production. Her sixth studio album, Za svoje godine, followed in January 2001 through Best Records. On December 20, 2002, she released Samo za tvoje oči, produced by Phoebus in collaboration with the Greek record label Heaven Music. She subsequently signed a four-year agreement with the label.

In February 2004, Karleuša competed in Serbia's national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, then known as Beovizija, performing "Moli me." She finished 11th and did not advance to the final. Following the competition, she reportedly faced a ban from Radio Television of Serbia after its director, Aleksandar Tijanić, criticized her appearance and music as inappropriate. She would not return to the network until 2017, when she appeared as a guest on a fashion program.

Her first album with City Records, Magija, was released in February 2005, followed by JK Revolution on February 7, 2008. The latter reportedly sold approximately 280,000 copies. In 2009, Karleuša appeared during the third season of Big Brother VIP and released The Diamond Collection, a compilation of her greatest hits. Later that year, she released "Insomnia," a song inspired by the Bollywood film Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, whose music video became one of the earliest Serbian music videos to gain widespread attention on YouTube.

On May 15, 2010, she staged her first major solo concert, All About Diva, at the Belgrade Arena, reportedly attracting around 10,000 fans. A live album and DVD followed later that year. Karleuša also began writing a column for the Serbian newspaper Kurir, where her outspoken opinions on social and political issues, particularly LGBT rights, as well as her public disputes with other prominent figures, attracted considerable attention.

Her tenth studio album, Diva, was released on June 11, 2012, following several delays. It was supported by singles including "Insomnia," "Muškarac koji mrzi žene" and "Nova religija (Plava Šeherezada)" and reportedly sold around 100,000 copies. To promote the album, she performed her second major solo concert, Viva La Diva, at Ušće Park in Belgrade on June 15, 2013. The concert experienced more than an hour of technical delays, although Karleuša ultimately performed her full set. Attendance figures became a subject of dispute, with her management claiming 40,000 spectators while some media outlets reported considerably fewer. The performance subsequently attracted criticism from the Serbian media.

Following the concert, Karleuša ended her professional relationships with RTV Pink and City Records after a disagreement with company owner and CEO Željko Mitrović.

In September 2015, Karleuša joined the judging panel of the popular singing competition Zvezde Granda. Around the same period, she attracted international media attention after accusing Kim Kardashian and later Beyoncé of drawing inspiration from her fashion style. The controversy led to appearances on international media programs, including The Wendy Williams Show. In 2016, Kardashian acknowledged Karleuša's style on her Woman Crush Wednesday blog and said she had only become aware of her after the controversy.

That same year, Karleuša raised concerns that the Academy Award-winning documentary Amy had used footage from her Viva La Diva concert without permission, presenting it as footage from Amy Winehouse's final performance. Although she initially considered legal action, she ultimately decided against pursuing a lawsuit out of respect for the late singer.

In 2016, Karleuša also performed at Vodafone Park in Istanbul following her husband Duško Tošić's football club, Beşiktaş J.K., winning the Turkish national championship. In June 2017, she released her first new music since Diva, collaborating with Aca Lukas and Azis on the songs "Bankina" and "Ostavljam te," which were performed during the live finale of Zvezde Granda.

Her later work included a performance of "LaJK" with rapper Gazda Paja at the 2019 Music Awards Ceremony and a livestream concert in May 2020 through the music platform YouBox, which reportedly attracted more than 200,000 viewers. She was joined by the girl group Hurricane and singer Milica Pavlović. In September 2021, Karleuša announced that she was leaving Zvezde Granda after five seasons.

For New Year's Eve, she performed alongside Marija Šerifović and Sara Jo in front of an estimated crowd of 50,000 people at the House of the National Assembly. In October 2022, she made her runway debut during a Steve Madden fashion show in Belgrade.


Alpha and Omega:

In August 2023, composer Aleksandar "Futa" Radulović, the widower of lyricist Marina Tucaković, shut down Karleuša's YouTube channel over alleged copyright issues involving Tucaković's work. Shortly afterward, Karleuša released two studio albums, Alpha and Omega, on August 13 and 20 respectively. Both were released through her own JK Entertainment in partnership with Virgin Music Group and Telekom Srbija.

To celebrate the albums, she held a free concert at Belgrade Waterfront on September 18, featuring several artists who collaborated on the projects, including Milica Pavlović, Devito, Sajsi MC and Mimi Mercedez.

On March 1, 2024, Karleuša walked in the Vetements runway show during Paris Fashion Week. Her appearance was later featured in the Georgina in Paris episode of I Am Georgina, which aired on September 18, 2024.

She launched the Alpha and Omega Tour on October 19, 2024, at the Jane Sandanski Arena in Skopje, North Macedonia, although the concert ultimately remained the tour's only stop. In November, she introduced a new fragrance and body-mist collection called JA, inspired by a song from Omega.

Karleuša's planned New Year's Eve performance in Kragujevac on December 31, 2024, became controversial because of her perceived pro-government stance. A petition opposing the performance reportedly gathered more than 8,000 signatures, while the concert itself required heavy police security because of threatened protests. Karleuša claimed an audience of approximately 70,000, although the figure was questioned after photographs circulated online. She performed the following day in Bor, where attendance was reportedly much smaller.

On January 7, 2025, Prva Srpska Televizija broadcast Gala veče s Jelenom Karleušom, a special marking her 30-year career. The program featured Karleuša performing with a symphony orchestra in front of the Museum of Yugoslavia, including a cover of "Vidovdan." The special reportedly received a 6.13% viewer share according to Nielsen Media Research.

In May 2025, Karleuša participated in Damir Handanović's Novi zvuk project, recording a cover of "Jedno đubre obično" to mark his 20th anniversary in the music industry. In August, she performed a free public concert in Kopaonik funded by the Municipality of Raška, although the event reportedly attracted only around 200 attendees. Later that month, she announced that she would return to television as a judge on Pinkove Zvezde.

On December 30, 2025, she collaborated with Boki 13 on "Kaligula 2," a remix of his earlier song "Kaligula," which had originally been intended for Karleuša.

On July 3, 2026, Karleuša debuted "Sad je sve okej," the first single from her upcoming studio album Enigma, performing the song live during the season finale of Pinkove Zvezde.


Personal life:

From 1999 to 2000, Karleuša was in a relationship with Serbian mobster Zoran "Ćanda" Davidović, who was assassinated in an ambush in Novi Sad on March 23, 2000. His murder remains unsolved, although the Zemun Clan has been linked to the killing. Karleuša helped identify his body following the shooting and later dedicated the song "Balada za Zorana" to him on her 2001 album Za svoje godine. She has also said that she had to borrow money to pay for his funeral.

On September 23, 2004, Karleuša married Bojan Karić, nephew of Serbian businessman and politician Bogoljub Karić. The marriage lasted approximately four months, with their divorce finalized in March 2005. Karleuša later claimed that Bogoljub Karić had opposed the marriage because of her perceived lack of popularity in Serbia at the time.

On June 28, 2008, Karleuša married professional footballer Duško Tošić. They have two daughters, Atina, born September 7, 2008, and Nika, born September 7, 2009.

The couple's relationship later became the subject of public attention following reports of domestic disputes. In March 2020, Karleuša reported Tošić for alleged physical assault but chose not to pursue charges. In January 2022, he was placed under a 30-day restriction order after another report of suspected domestic abuse. Following several years of separation, both Karleuša and Tošić separately announced in September 2024 that they had decided to file for divorce.

In December 2020, Karleuša revealed that she holds a Slovenian passport because of her mother's birthplace in Slovenia. Although she was baptized in an Orthodox church, she has identified herself as an atheist.


Activism and philanthropy:

Karleuša has been an outspoken supporter of LGBT rights in Serbia and was named a Serbian female gay icon of 2010 by the Gay Lesbian Info Centre. In September 2017, she became the "godmother" of the annual Belgrade Pride, further highlighting her support for the LGBT community. A committed vegetarian and animal-rights advocate, she also worked with PETA in July 2018 as part of its anti-fur campaign.

Throughout her career, Karleuša has also supported a variety of charitable causes. Following the 2014 Southeast Europe floods, she spent three days helping Serbian shelters by providing essential supplies. That same year, she and Duško Tošić were among the few regional celebrities to make financial contributions toward ALS research after taking part in the Ice Bucket Challenge. In 2015, she performed at a charity concert organized by singer Donna Ares in Sarajevo to raise money for cancer victims. In December 2018, she donated 100,000 RSD to VK Partizan to help cover the cost of heating its swimming pool during the winter.

Over the course of more than three decades in the public eye, Karleuša has established herself as one of Serbia's most recognizable and often controversial entertainers, known as much for her outspoken personality and fashion-forward image as for her music.