Elena Sergeevna Bondarchuk, better known as Alena, is a representative of a glorious acting dynasty. For a long time, little was known about her; although she acted in films, it was with long breaks. But after the release of her father’s last film, “Quiet Don,” people started talking about her. The picture was not very well received by the audience, but who had the least complaints was, perhaps, the performer of the role, Natalya Melekhova. In this article we will talk about the biography and personal life of Elena Bondarchuk.
Childhood and youth of the actress
On July 31, 1962, a girl was born into the family of film director, actor Sergei Bondarchuk and actress Irina Skobtseva, who was named Elena. The parents, busy with creative work, practically did not see their children, so their grandmother Yulia Nikolaevna Skobtseva was involved in raising them. As Alena herself recalled, for some reason she terribly disliked her name since childhood. Over the years, the hostility only intensified. The girl was happy if they called her Alena. When she received her passport, she even wanted to write it down in the documents, but then changed her mind. But she entered the history of Russian cinema precisely as Alena Bondarchuk.
Family life
Pavel Chinarev openly and willingly answers all questions that relate to his work or new films, but his personal life is a closed topic.
The artist's fans carefully follow all the events that happen in his life. Four years ago, Pavel lifted the veil of secrecy on his page on the social network Instagram. As it turned out, Chinarev has a happy family. Wife Alena Bondarchuk is from Perm. Husband and wife work together at the Post Theatre. The celebrity's wedding was not advertised; the ceremony was held in the circle of loved ones.
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Four years ago, Russian actor Pavel Chinarev posted a photo of his pregnant wife on Instagram, and in the fall of the same year, fans saw the artist with a stroller and son Makar.
Konstantin Kryukov about his mother
During my school years, I loved to dance and dreamed of becoming a ballerina. Once she was almost enrolled in a ballet school, but one of Irina Skobtseva’s friends dissuaded her, citing the girl’s tall height. Later, Alena studied piano at a music school. The graduate’s decision to enroll in a theater university did not surprise anyone - it was a given.
The beginning of an acting career
The girl made her debut in the late seventies, in a drama called “Velvet Season.” Here she worked together with her parents, and, by the way, according to the plot, she was the daughter of the characters portrayed by Sergei Fedorovich and Irina Konstantinovna.
Still from the film “Velvet Season”, 1978
Then the directors began to trust the young actress with the leading roles. In Nikolai Mashchenko’s crime film “Parisian Drama”, she played the mistress of a businessman, who, instead of simulating a murder, is killed for real due to a misunderstanding.
Still from the film “Parisian Drama”, 1983
Theater career
Immediately after graduating from theater school, Alena got a job at the Pushkin Theater. Over time, she was introduced to work on repertoire material. She played in productions of the fairy tales “The Scarlet Flower” and “Gelsomino in the Land of Liars”, as well as in the play “The Betrothal” based on the play by the Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck. Then in 1987 she moved to the Mossovet Theater. She was received warmly by the team. The basis of her activities were performances entitled “Dear Elena Sergeevna”, “Room” and “The Cat that Walked by itself”. In 1990, she left the team, and after some time moved to Europe.
In the late nineties, upon returning to Russia, she was accepted into the troupe of the Gorky Academic Theater, and quickly rose to the status of a leading actress. She was trusted to play in productions of Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov and some of Chekhov's works. At the beginning of the new millennium, Bondarchuk moved to the private theater “Empire of Stars”; it became the last in the actress’s life. In it, a talented woman amazingly played the role of Blanche DuBois in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire. The artist performed with this and many other performances on Broadway and on other stages in different countries.
Biography[ | ]
Born on July 31, 1962 in Moscow. Together with her brother Fyodor Bondarchuk, she was raised by her grandmother Yulia Nikolaevna Skobtseva (1904-1999).
She graduated from the Moscow Art Theater School in the class of teacher E. A. Evstigneev.
After starring in several films in the 1980s, she focused on theater work. She worked at the A. S. Pushkin Theater, then at the Mossovet Theater.
Since 1998 - one of the leading actresses [ source not specified 558 days
]Moscow Art Theater named after A. M. Gorky.
In 2003, she came to work at the private theater Empire of Stars.
She died at the age of 48 on November 7, 2009 from cancer[3]. She was buried on November 10 at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow next to her father Sergei Bondarchuk.
The grave of director Sergei Bondarchuk and actress Alena Bondarchuk
Family[ | ]
- Father - Sergei Bondarchuk (1920-1994), director, screenwriter, actor. Hero of Socialist Labor (1980), People's Artist of the USSR (1952).
- Mother - Irina Skobtseva (1927-2020), actress, People's Artist of the RSFSR (1974).
- Brother - Fyodor Bondarchuk (born 1967), director, screenwriter, actor, producer.
- Half-sister - Natalya Bondarchuk (born 1950), actress, director, Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1977), Honored Artist of the Russian Federation (2009).
- Half-brother - Alexey Bondarchuk (born 1944), mathematician.
- Son - Konstantin Kryukov (born 1985), actor.
- She was married to Vitaly Dmitrievich Kryukov (born January 11, 1949), a gemologist, doctor of philosophy [4].
Bright roles in films
In the eighties, the actress’s creative biography was replenished with participation in full-length films on historical themes: the revolution - “The Life and Immortality of Sergei Lazo” (Toshiko), from the second half of the 16th century - “Boris Godunov” (Princess Ksenia). “Godunov” was filmed by Alena’s father, and an international team consisting of filmmakers from the Soviet Union, Poland, the GDR, and Czechoslovakia worked on it.
Still from the film “Boris Godunov”, 1986
3 films with Alena’s participation that received the greatest resonance are: “Quiet Don”, “Poor Nastya” and “One Night of Love”.
Still from the television series “Poor Nastya”, 2003
Viewers were able to see the film adaptation of Sholokhov’s novel only 14 years after its creation. The reason for such a long delay was due to the struggle for copyright and financial problems of the film group. After the ill-fated filming of Quiet Flows the Flow, Bondarchuk dropped out of cinema for almost a decade. This was due to both leaving the country and subsequent intensive work in the theater. But at the beginning of the 2000s, she rewarded her fans for their patience with several interesting works. In the melodrama “Poor Nastya” she starred in the role of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.
In the sitcom about the difficult fate of the model, “Dear Masha Berezina” appeared in the image of Nina, the sister of the main character. In the historical film “One Night of Love,” the actress portrayed Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, the wife of autocrat Nicholas I.
Personal life
For the first time, the actress married Vitaly Kryukov. He was a young scientist-gemmologist (a specialist in semi-precious stones and semi-precious stones) and had nothing to do with cinema. In addition to his main activity, Vitaly was interested in philosophy and had a business. In 1985, a boy named Kostya appeared in the family, who later grew into an actor, artist and jeweler - Konstantin Kryukov, known to the general public for his role as Gioconda in his uncle Fyodor Bondarchuk’s film “9th Company”.
Konstantin Kryukov
In the nineties, the family moved to Switzerland, and Alena benefited from the change of environment, she felt improvements in her body’s condition, she was happy with everything. But, for the time being. Gradually, nostalgia overwhelmed the woman. She missed her native Moscow, her friends and family, and her favorite theatrical activity. Unable to bear it, Alena and her son returned to the capital. Vitaly tried to persuade her to return, but convincing his wife was not an easy task. In the end, the man was faced with a choice: either leave for Russia to follow his family, or stay in Western Europe alone. Kryukov chose Swiss prosperity - and the family fell apart. Alena was not left alone in Russia. She met another man - producer Evgeny Morozov. The initially idyllic atmosphere in their union was disrupted by the end of Alena’s life. They quarreled, and then began to live separately from each other. Evgeniy still blames himself for not supporting his friend during her struggle with a serious illness.
Evgeny Morozov
The bright life of actress Alena Bondarchuk and her too early death.
Alena Bondarchuk was one of the most beautiful actresses of Soviet and Russian cinema. But, unfortunately, there weren’t many roles in her life. Among these works one can highlight such paintings as “Boris Godunov”, “Quiet Don”.
Alena Bondarchuk in the film "Boris Godunov". Photo taken from open sources
"Quiet Don" (1992, 2006). Photo taken from open sources
It is not surprising that after graduating from school, Alena decided to enter the acting department. After all, she was born into a family of people who devoted their lives to cinema. The choice fell on the Moscow Art Theater School. Alexey Guskov studied with the girl on the course.
Many of her classmates liked the beauty. But she could not reciprocate any of them. After all, she liked an older guy. Andrei Podoshyan captured her heart. He liked Alena too. So they soon started dating. True, their romance did not last long. But the young people were able to maintain a good relationship after breaking up.
Andrei Podoshyan in the film "The Princess and the Pea", 1976. Photo taken from open sources
Alena's heart did not remain free for long. At the Pushkin Theater I met Vladimir Ilyin. The couple was happy, even friends and all the people who witnessed this relationship noticed this.
But this love soon ended. Alena's head was turned by Vitaly Kryukov. The man was a charming, erudite and intelligent person. And the actress was not afraid of the age difference. After all, Vitaly was 14 years older than her.
Alena Bondarchuk. Photo taken from open sources
A whirlwind romance began. But the girl was afraid of her parents’ reaction and could not admit to them that she was dating Kryukov. For a long time she managed to hide her affair from her parents. She even called him by a fictitious name in telephone conversations with her lover.
The feelings were so strong that the lovers decided to legalize their relationship. The marriage produced a son, Konstantin. And a few years later, the couple lost interest in each other. At that time the couple lived in Switzerland. Moving to this country was necessary because Kryukov was engaged in business. Of course, the decision to divorce was difficult for the woman. But she could not put up with the complex character of her chosen one.
Vitaly Kryukov and Konstantin Kryukov. Photo taken from open sources
Vitaly remained abroad. And Alena and her son returned to their homeland. This was in the 90s. After a while, the man tried, if not to bring his family back, then at least to establish communication. But everything was to no avail.
And then came the actress’s second attempt to build family happiness. Her chosen one was Evgeniy Morozov, a producer who decided to conquer Moscow. In this marriage, Alena was already older. Her husband was 10 years younger than her, and this difference was noticeable in their relationship. The woman tried to teach her young husband everything, gave instructions, but it didn’t look very nice.
Evgeny Morozov. Photo taken from open sources
Of course, Alena did all this out of good intentions. She wanted Evgeniy to grow morally and develop. But she did not take into account his personal interests. Did he need all this?
Alena Bondarchuk and son Konstantin Kryukov. Photo taken from open sources
After living together for several years, the couple separated. The reason for the separation was the unwillingness to compromise and the inability to hear each other. Years later, the man admits that he regrets his actions.
Alena Bondarchuk. Photo taken from open sources
When the actress starred in the film “Classmates” in 2009, she already knew that she had cancer. The woman was determined to fight the disease and did not give up until the last moment. During these days, her son, brother and mother were with her.
Alena Bondarchuk with her mother Irina Skobtseva. Photo taken from open sources
An insidious disease claimed the life of the actress when she was only 47 years old. It is very scary when such young and blooming women die, who could still do so much in this world.
Based on materials
Cause of death
Alena suffered from cancer for a long time. She had to carefully hide her health problems from others in order to continue working in the theater. The disease progressed, and the unfortunate woman decided to undergo treatment in an Israeli clinic. The efforts of the doctors did not help, the disease did not recede. Bondarchuk, realizing that death was near, returned to Moscow to her family. On November 7, 2009, Alena passed away... The funeral was attended by relatives, friends and colleagues of the actress - Lyubov Tolkalina, Olga Drozdova, Igor Ugolnikov, Leonid Yarmolnik and many others.
early years
Pavel was born in St. Petersburg in the spring of 1986. After graduating from a secondary educational institution, the young man entered the theater institute. The future artist studied at the course of Lev Dodin, who discovered and presented the country with more than one celebrity of cinema and stage.
After graduating from university, the young man did not immediately find himself in a creative environment. At first, Pavel worked in a company that organized corporate parties and festive events, and later worked as a taxi driver. After a year of working in a taxi, Pavel realized that he needed to return to the profession.
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