Career
She is counted as one of the very first professional female actors in the Ottoman Empire and thereby the Middle East. In the 1850s, the modern theatre was founded in the Ottoman Empire by an Armenian theatre company. She and her college Arousyak Papazian are mentioned by the historian Mikael Nalbandian as two pioneers in deifying prejudices by performing on stage.
Aghavni Papazian was also historical as the first actress to have performed in Iran, when she appeared on stage in Tabriz.