Emir Hadžihafizbegović was born on 20 August 1961 in the city Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina, while it was a part of Yugoslavia. His parents were Mustafa Hadžihafizbegović (born 1929) and Nizama. He has an older brother named Irfan.
Originally an aspiring Sports reporter, Hadžihafizbegović moved to Sarajevo and entered the Academy of Fine Arts Sarajevo in 1982, receiving his diploma in 1986.
He made his film debut as Fahro Zulfikarpašić in the film When Father Was Away on Business (1985), written by Abdulah Sidran and directed by Emir Kusturica. Hadžihafizbegović appeared in two television films and a guest role on a Yugoslav television series before landing the role of a bartender from Bosansko Grahovo in the 1987 film Hajde da se volimo 2 with Bosnian pop star Lepa Brena, as well popular Yugoslav actors Bata Živojinović and Dragomir Bojanić. He revisited his role in Hajde da se volimo 3 (1990).
His wife is Aida. Together they have two children: a son Edin (born 1990) and a daughter Amra (born 1994).
His career went on hiatus in 1992 due to the breakup of Yugoslavia and the breakout of war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Hadžihafizbegović reappeared in Bosnian cinema in the 2003 war film Remake, by Screenwriter Zlatko Topčić.
Screenwriter and Director Miroslav Momčilović sent Hadžihafizbegović the script for Death of a Man in the Balkans (2012) in 2010, hoping to hire him in the lead role of Aca. Hadžihafizbegović has said that his role of a parent whose child dies in These Are the Rules (2014) was the most difficult in his entire career.
In 2013, Hadžihafizbegović received Croatian citizenship.
He received the Golden Arena for best actor at the Pula Film Festival and Best Actor Award at the Durban International Film Festival. On the final day of the 71st Venice International Film Festival on 6 September 2014 Hadžihafizbegović was awarded the "Special Orizzonti Award for Best Actor or Actress" in the film These Are the Rules.
On 11 March 2016, Hadžihafizbegović admitted guilt and was put on probation for four years and sentenced to one year imprisonment by the Municipal Criminal Court in Sisak, which will be suspended if he does not commit another Criminal offense by 2020. Expert witness testimony at the trial also established that the actor had exceeded the speed limit the night of the accident and had attempted to drive around a parked car. Following the crash, Hadžihafizbegović befriended the victims daughter Lana.
