 Sharman was born in Ulytau of Karaganda Region of the Republic of Kazakhstan.He is the son of Toregeldy Sharmanov who was Minister of Healthcare of the Republic of Kazakhstan from 1970 to 1981 and a co-author of the Alma-Ata Declaration of Primary Health Care, and Kulziya Askarova, medical doctor and radiologist.He was raised in the Almaty, Kazakhstan.