Shovkat Alakbarova was born to Azerbaijani parents - Feyzulla and Hokuma Alakbarov, and was the third of the family's four children.
In 1937, she became one of the finalists at a contest held among amateur singers and judged by prominent Azerbaijani composers and musicians, such as Uzeyir Hajibeyov and Bulbul.
She performed Qarabagh shikastasi at the Azerbaijan State Opera and Ballet Theatre in Baku (which was her first stage performance) and was chosen by Hajibeyov to join the newly formed Azerbaijan State Choir, where Alakbarova started her professional career as a singer.
As a teenager, she was vocally trained by mugham instructor Aghalar Aliverdibeyov and opera singer Huseyngulu Sarabski.
Three years before her death, in 1990, she went to Germany to receive medical treatment and at the same time to perform for the Azeri émigrés.