Russian Personalities

People well-known in art, sport, film, fashion

Category Archive: Movies and theatre

Lyanka Gryu

Lyanka Gryu

Lyanka Gryu

Lyanka Gryu is a famous Russian theater and film actress. Pretty girl was born in Moscow on November 22, 1987. The unusual surname is from her father, George Gryu, who was a famous Romanian actor. Her mother is an actress Stella Ilnitskaya. The actress’s father lives in a homeless shelter in the outskirts of Chisinau. Lyanka and other relatives do not communicate with him.
Beautiful girl starred in numerous commercials, her photo can be seen in promotional catalogs, magazines. She even posed for the famous needlework magazine Natalia.
From 1992 to 1995 Lyanka was a presenter of the children’s TV show Tick-Tock. By the way, she was a face of children’s clothes Vertex from 1995 to 1997.
The future star liked to be in the spotlight. She gladly recited poems, sang songs, danced, and at one time even seriously thought about the career of a ballerina. At that time her idol was the legendary ballerina Maya Plisetskaya, with her incredible strength and plasticity.
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Anna Samokhina, actress

Anna Samokhina, actress

Anna Samokhina, actress


Anna Samokhina was one of the most beautiful actresses of Russian cinema, television presenter and singer.
Pretty Anna Podgornaya was born on January 14, 1963 in Gurevsk, Kemerovo region. Shortly after her birth, the family moved to Cherepovets. When Anna was 7 years old her father died and her mother had to raise Anna and her elder sister Margarita alone. At the age of fourteen, Anna joined Cherepovets folk theater. And in 1978 15-year-old girl entered the Yaroslavl Theatre School.
In 1983, Samokhina debuted in a cameo role in the movie Found Guilty directed by Igor Voznesensky.
Four years later, in 1987, Anna played the lead female role in the film The Prisoner of Castle If. The film, based on the novel The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, was directed by Georgy Jungvald-Khilkevich. To tell the truth, Anna’s partners in the film were such wonderful actors as Mikhail Boyarsky, Alexei Petrenko and Alexei Zharkov.
This role was very successful and in 1988 the actress was invited to star in the film Thieves in Law directed by Yuri Kara.
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Anastasiya Vedenskaya

Anastasiya Vedenskaya

Anastasiya Vedenskaya


Anastasiya Vedenskaya is a Russian theater and film actress.
Pretty girl was born on October 14, 1984. She graduated from the Boris Shchukin Theatre Institute in 2006.
The actress debuted in the film Life Long Night directed by Nikolai Khomeriki, where she played the main role of strong girl Zinka. The film was awarded the Grand Prix at the Seventh International Charity Film Festival Radiant Angel and the Audience Choice Award at the annual film festival Amur Autumn in 2010. For the role of Zina Anastasiya received her first award – a prize For acting named after Vladislav Galkin at the 8th Festival of Military Movie in Bryansk.
Vedenskaya married actor and film director Vladimir Epifantsev. They have two sons: Gordei and Orfei.
Vladimir Epifantsev is a Russian film and theater actor, director, television presenter, music video director.
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Jasmin, Russian pop-singer

jasmin singer

Jasmin, Russian pop-singer

Jasmin is a popular Russian singer, actress, model and TV presenter. Her real name is Sara Manahimova.
Future singer was born on October 12, 1977 in the ancient city of Derbent in Dagestan. Her father worked as a choreographer and even was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the Republic of Dagestan. Her mother was a famous conductor. Thus, the girl was surrounded by creative people since childhood.
Jasmin wanted to be a translator, her dream was to travel around the world. But in her native Dagestan there wasn’t any suitable college and the girl had to go to Moscow to continue her education. Parents were against and future celebrity entered medical school, where she began singing. Soon the young student became a real star in Dagestan.
One day she met prominent businessman Vyacheslav Semenduev, her future husband.
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Nicole Scherzinger, American singer with Russian roots

Nicole Scherzinger, American singer with Russian roots

Nicole Scherzinger, American singer with Russian roots


Nicole Scherzinger is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, choreographer, record producer, model, television personality and actress. By the way, she is well known as the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls.
Pretty Nicole Prescovia Elikolani Valiente (her full name) was born on June 29, 1978 in Honolulu, Hawaii, into a Roman Catholic family. Her father, Alfonso Valiente, is of Filipino descent. And her mother, Rosemary, is mixed Hawaiian and Russian descent, as Nicole’s grandmother was Russian while her grandfather was Hawaiian. The parents of the pop star lived together for several years and divorced in 1981. After that, the mother and her daughter moved to Louisville (Kentucky). Soon Rosemary married German Harry Scherzinger.
Participation in performances and acting skills helped Nicole to get into the band Days Of The News as a backing vocalist. In 1999, the band recorded their second album, but then the girl left it. During that time, Nicole did not have time to get recognition, however, valuable experience in the group was useful to the singer in the future.
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Alla Larionova

Alla Larionova, Soviet film and theater actress

Alla Larionova, Soviet film and theater actress


Alla Larionova was a Soviet film and theater actress, People’s Artist of the RSFSR (1990). By the way, she was the wife of the People’s Artist of the RSFSR Nikolai Rybnikov.
Pretty girl was born on February 19, 1931 in Moscow. She was named in honor of the idol of the time – the actress Alla Tarasova.
After the father entered the army, Alla with her mother were evacuated to Menzelinsk. There her mother worked in the hospital. 9-year-old Alla read poetry to the wounded people in the hospital. So, the future actress heard the first applause for her performances. In this hospital Alla saw Zinoviy Gerdt. After a couple of decades, they met as colleagues.
For the first time the young and charming Alla was invited to play in the films when she was 15 years old. However, she played only in crowd scenes.
After graduating from school Larionova entered the Russian University of Theatre Arts (GITIS). Then, in 1948, she entered the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography (VGIK). You know, she met her future husband Nikolai Rybnikov in VGIK.
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Vera Komissarzhevskaya

Vera Komissarzhevskaya

Vera Komissarzhevskaya was one of the most celebrated actresses of the end of the Russian Empire.


Vera Komissarzhevskaya was born on November 8, 1864 in St. Petersburg. Her father was an actor of the Mariinsky Opera Theater and music teacher. And her mother was the daughter of the commander of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. Her parents secretly married in Tsarskoye Selo. Vera had two sisters Nadia and Olga.
Komissarzhevskaya wanted to become a doctor or an actress, as she liked to watch her father rehearsing roles.
Many famous actors, singers and composers visited the Komissarzhevskys. Little Vera often took part at home performances, she sang and acted. The girl had an excellent memory memorizing verses from the first reading.
Her parents divorced and the only way out of the difficult financial situation was her successful marriage.
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