Honored and People's Artist of the RSFSR, awarded two orders “For Services to the Fatherland” and personal gratitude from the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin, laureate of the Crystal Turandot and the Prize named after. Stanislavsky is not a complete list of awards for Lyudmila Vasilievna Maksakova, favored by the authorities.
Despite her advanced years, the actress continues to act in films and appear on the stage of the Theatre. Vakhtangov. The artist’s children became an informational reason to become interested in the biography of Lyudmila Maksakova.
A lot of gossip was caused by the flight to Ukraine of the daughter of the actress Maria and the murder of son-in-law Denis Voronenkov. How did the artist manage to maintain the sympathy of the Kremlin? Read about this and much more below.
Childhood
The heroine of our story is the fruit of the extramarital love of the first baritone and opera soloist of the Bolshoi Theater - Alexander Volkov and Maria Maksakova. In those years, the family was considered a unit of communist society, and “affairs on the side” were considered almost treason. Alexander Volkov became faint-hearted and refused to acknowledge paternity.
Maria Petrovna was rescued by her faithful friend Vasily Novikov. Lyuda, born in Moscow on September 26, 1940, was recorded under her mother’s surname with the patronymic Vasilievna. The same Novikov, who served in the NKVD, helped a friend and her baby get settled in evacuation in Astrakhan.
As a child, Lyuda considered Vasily Novikov to be her dad. The woman learned about her real biological father in adulthood. The daughter tried to find her dad. But Alexander Volkov, who was captured and, thanks to this, emigrated to the United States, died of illness at that time.
Maria Petrovna survived two unsuccessful marriages, and gave birth to her only daughter at the age of 40. The woman was an authoritarian mother: she did not allow Lyuda to use cosmetics or meet boys. At first, the mother saw her daughter as an opera singer, but the girl’s voice did not reach the required qualities.
Then the mother sent the girl to a music school, to a cello class. The girl's successes were modest. Luda often visited her mother at work; the teenager liked theater, makeup, and actors. And she decided to become an actress.
Lyudmila Maksakova in her youth
Childhood and family
Lyudmila Maksakova was born in Moscow on September 26, 1940. She is the daughter of the famous opera singer Maria Maksakova (nee Sidorova) and singer Alexander Volkov, who refused to acknowledge paternity. The mother's friend, Vasily Novikov, who served in the state security agencies, agreed to give the girl a middle name.
It was thanks to Novikov’s help during the war that the singer, with her little daughter in her arms, was able to evacuate to Astrakhan, where she was born and where her parents lived.
Lyudmila Maksakova in her youth
Lyudmila's mother told her who her real father was when she had already become an adult. About the further fate of her biological father, Luda was only able to find out that he emigrated to the USA, where he died of an incurable disease.
Maria Petrovna gave birth to Luda at an adult age - she was almost forty. Having previously experienced two unsuccessful marriages, she never married again, but gave all her love and care to her daughter. Subsequently, Lyudmila will say that she found the guardianship excessive. When Luda graduated from school, her mother was already a famous artist, and her mother’s authority and her reputation, which she had to live up to, seemed to hang over the girl.
Young Lyudmila Maksakova
The mother dreamed of a career as a translator for her daughter and mentally saw her among the students of the prestigious Maurice Thorez Institute, but fate decreed otherwise. Family legend says that Luda saw a play in French on TV and began to dream about the stage, but in the program “Alone with Everyone,” the actress admitted that, growing up in a creative environment and communicating with her mother’s friends, among whom were artists and directors, she I always dreamed of becoming an actress.
Maria Petrovna was an authoritarian person; Lyudmila was forbidden to use cosmetics and return home late. Having entered the Shchukin School, she disobeyed her mother for the first time and never regretted it.
Education
Our heroine easily entered the Shchukin School, ending up in the studio of Vladimir Etush. Having escaped from under her mother’s authoritarian wing, student Lyuda was making up for lost time. The girl bleached her hair platinum blonde, wore bright and provocative makeup, and every evening invited her friends to noisy gatherings and dancing.
At one of the walks, the student met Vladimir Vysotsky. Lyudmila graduated from the Shchukin School in 1961 and was enrolled in the Theater. Vakhtangov. The actress remained faithful to this temple of Melpomene all her life.
Maksakova's career in the theater
Unlike most debutants, the artist was entrusted with the significant role of Princess Adelma in “Princess Turandot.” After the premiere, Moscow theatergoers started talking about the bright 20-year-old actress with a strong voice and incredible plasticity. Lyudmila Maksakova became the star of the Vakhtangov Theater.
Viewers of the older generation remember the star in the following roles:
- Laura (“Little Tragedies”);
- Masha Chubukova (“The Married Cook”);
- Knipper-Chekhova (“My Mocking Happiness”);
- Nicole (“The Bourgeois in the Nobility”);
- Anna Karenina;
- George Sand ("Summer at Naon");
- Lady Anne ("Richard III").
Lyudmila Maksakova on the theater stage
Over the years, the age of the artist’s heroines has also changed. The woman played:
- Maman in "Uncle Vanya";
- the Countess in The Queen of Spades;
- Anna Andreevna in “The Inspector General”;
- granny in the “Piertain”.
Maksakova's career in cinema
The actress’s debut on the big screen took place in 1964. The actress played the Gusakovs’ daughter Nina in the film “Once Upon a Time There Were an Old Man and an Old Woman.” Critics and the public liked the work, but Lyudmila gained fame as the most beautiful and talented Soviet actress of the 60s for her role as Tanya Ognevaya in the historical drama “Tatiana’s Day.”
Note: Maksakova considers the figure of Ognevaya to be the best of all the images into which she has transformed.
After Tatyana's Day, invitations from directors rained down on the actress like from a cornucopia. The celebrity successfully combined filming with work in the theater, and since 1970 she began teaching at the Shchukin School, being a professor in the acting department.
Maksakova in the film "Tatiana's Day"
Maksakova’s filmography includes 75 works. The most prominent roles were:
- Nadya in "Not Judicial";
- Nadezhda Fedorovna in “A Bad Good Man” (played together with V. Vysotsky);
- Baroness Rosalind in Die Fledermaus;
- Alla Maksimovna in “Along the Main Street with the Orchestra”;
- Emily Brent in "10 Little Indians";
- Vershinskaya in “Cross in a Circle”;
- Vera Ivanovna in the TV series “Kitchen”;
- Grandma Lyuba in "Attraction".
Career
After college, Lyudmila Maksakova entered the theater. Vakhtangov. On this stage she grew as an actor, suffered failures and played roles that later became star roles for her. This theater became her second home, to which Lyudmila devotes all her strength today.
Recognition and love from the public throughout the country came to her after Ruben Simonov’s production of the play “Princess Turandot” in 1963. The actress, who had just graduated from college, received the role of the Tatar princess Adelma, which, it would seem, should be played by an already established star of the theater stage. But thanks to her beauty, plasticity, voice and sense of style, Maksakova easily combined irony and tragic pathos, which did not go unnoticed by connoisseurs of theatrical creativity.
After this production, Maksakova’s repertoire was replenished with many diverse roles. Each relatively major performance in the theater. Vakhtangov could not do without her participation. Over time, her skill only increased, and the characters, accordingly, gained wisdom and sensuality.
Along with her theatrical activities, Lyudmila tried herself in cinema and in 1964 the film “Once Upon a Time There Were an Old Man and an Old Woman” was released. The debut in this path turned out to be successful and ended with many invitations from well-known directors at that time, but this was not the peak of her success.
Almost immediately she was invited to play the role of the main character in the film “Tatiana’s Day,” which Maksakova herself considers the most successful in her track record. Afterwards, she also starred in the film “Bad Good Man” and was noted for her participation in the film “Not Under Judgment.”
In the 80s, she had the opportunity to star in two films that brought her the greatest success: “Father Sergius” and “Die Fledermaus.” The role of Rosalind in the last film became the last step on the path to national fame and the love of the public.
Maksakova, despite her age, continues to act in films. For example, from 2012 to 2021 she took part in the filming of the TV series “Kitchen”, where she played the role of the mother of sous-chef Leva, and in 2017 she received a role in the film “Attraction”.
Personal life
The first time Lyudmila got married very young, in the early 60s. The husband, Soviet artist Felix-Lev Zbarsky, left his model wife for our heroine. In this marriage, a son, Maxim, was born in 1970.
Zbarsky immediately after the birth of his son became another “defector to the USSR.” Frightened by possible reprisals, Maksakova filed for divorce and gave Maxim her own last name. The boy's father was replaced by the actress's second husband, Peter Andreas Igenbergs, a German citizen born in Munich. By profession he is a mathematician and physicist.
Lyudmila Maskakova and Lev Zbarsky
The marriage, concluded in 1974, caused a lot of noise, because a relationship with a person from the “capitalist camp” was also equated with treason. They stopped inviting Maksakova to act in films; many acquaintances turned their backs on the artist. Igenbergs's harmlessness reassured the KGB, and life returned to its previous track.
In his second marriage, a daughter, Maria, was born. It is rightly said that talent is passed on not to children, but to grandchildren. Maria Maksakova-Igenbergs inherited her grandmother's mezzo-soprano voice and became an opera singer.
Note: The children gave Lyudmila Maksakova three grandchildren: Maxim - Petra, Anna and Vasilisa, and Maria - Lyudmila, Ilya and Ivan.
Maksakova’s first husband is Lev-Felix Zbarsky
In her youth, Lyudmila Maksakova could captivate any gentleman with her beauty and charisma, but her attention was attracted by successful, bright personalities comparable to herself. An affair with the artist Zbarsky in the early 60s aroused the envy of the first beauties.
Lyudmila in her youth
In creative circles they valued the talent, charm, and brilliant mind of an extraordinary master who knew no downtime in his work. Lev-Felix was so carried away by the young prima of the Vakhtangov Theater that he left his wife, fashion model Regina Zbarskaya.
Lyudmila Maksakova and Lev Zbarsky in their youth
The brilliant couple impressed everyone, but there was no happiness in the existing relationship. Despite the birth of his son, the artist did not strive to arrange his life. There were constant gatherings in the workshop and painstaking work at night.
The actress's first husband is the artist Lev-Felix Zbarsky
Maksakova had to be torn between a child in the house, performances in the theater and the whims of her husband. Family life ended with another betrayal of Lev Zbarsky, after which he immigrated to America.
Interesting Facts
- When Lyudmila's mother was pregnant, on tour in Latvia the woman met the fortuneteller Wolf Messing, who told her: “Beware of water.” During the flight of the actress with her newborn daughter to Astrakhan along the Volga, the ship was fired upon by fascist bombers. The mother covered Luda with her body. After the air raid, the woman's hair turned gray.
- In the toilet of Maksakova’s apartment, so as not to dry out, a 7-string guitar was kept. V. Vysotsky saw her and begged her. The bard played this instrument all his life.
- The script for the film “Station for Two” is taken from the life of Lyudmila Maksakova. In the 60s, a woman was driving a car belonging to composer Mikael Tariverdiev when a man jumped out onto the roadway. The passerby died on the spot. When the police arrived, the composer said that he himself was driving and received a prison sentence (later he was granted an amnesty).
Lyudmila Maskakova and Peter Igenbergs
Romance of Lyudmila and Mikael Tariverdiev
The actress’s first meeting with the famous composer took place in Crimea, a sanatorium where guests from the creative community were vacationing. The musician’s inherent elegance, wealth, and ability to show attention did not leave the actress indifferent.
Composer Mikael Tariverdiev
The subsequent beautiful romance developed slowly, the feelings were sincere, and lasted three years. A tragic accident separated the couple. The story of the death of a person under the wheels of the car in which Tariverdiev and Maksakova were traveling remains a mystery.
Lyudmila Maksakova and Mikael Tariverdiev
Close relationships broke down immediately. The composer was put on trial. The famous film “Station for Two” was filmed, as many believe, based on the events experienced by famous people, although the actress denies her involvement in the tragedy.
Frequently asked questions about Lyudmila Maksakova
- Was the actress’s son Maxim really in prison? Yes, in 2014 he was accused of fraud and theft of 250 million rubles. budget funds. He was in a pre-trial detention center and released on his own recognizance.
- What about Maksakova’s daughter? Maria married the politician Denis Voronenkov. In 2021, the couple fled to Ukraine. In 2021, Maksakova’s son-in-law was shot dead in the center of Kyiv by a killer. Maria talks in an interview about life in Putin’s Russia. Because of this, she has a strained relationship with her mother.
Lyudmila Maksakova is a talented actress. A woman often says that “life is a bicycle: if you stop pedaling, you’ll fall off.” The artist religiously adheres to this principle. Despite her advanced years (Lyudmila Vasilievna is 81), the celebrity is full of energy and thirst for activity.
Why Lyudmila Maksakova hated her son-in-law
The reaction of actress Lyudmila Maksakova to the murder of her son-in-law surprised Russians. As they wrote, immediately after the death of Denis Voronenkov in the center of Kyiv, she said: “Well, thank you God. What else can you do with it? Thank God that in the end the person who was so mean... He’s a military man, he would have been shot for treason long ago!”
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Lyudmila Vasilievna Maksakova actress
Later, her close friend Stas Sadalsky spoke sharply about the deceased: “Our common opinion with Lyudmila Maksakova is that Voronenkov was lucky. We said it with one voice. Everything could have been much worse - I would have been sitting in the mines. Let him thank God that this happened. Being a traitor is, to put it mildly, very bad. And also to involve your wife and son in your criminal fate... This is a monstrous situation for a family.”
The actor told Komsomolskaya Pravda that his daughter does not communicate with Lyudmila: “She doesn’t need a mother. She never asks Lyudmila for advice. I’m not sure that he’ll ask for help now. She doesn’t care about her mother or her father, Peter Andreas Igenbergs. Masha makes her own career and builds her life. For three years she (Lyudmila Maksakova - Ed.) did not communicate with her daughter. The daughter didn’t listen to anyone – neither her father nor her mother.”
During a recent teleconference between Lyudmila Maksakova and her daughter, the host of the “Live Broadcast” program, Boris Korchevnikov, tried to find out from the fugitive what her parents told her when she left. “Maria Maksakova is evading. Borya is persistent. Masha is still silent in communist film traditions. And I know what Lyudmila Vasilyevna said to Maria Petrovna: “What a fool you are! You don’t care about me, at least have pity on your father!” – Sadalsky commented on that issue in his microblog.
The indignation of the prima of the Yevgeny Vakhtangov Theater is understandable. Her daughter shone on the best stages, performed as a soloist at the Mariinsky Theater, worked as a teacher at the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music, and hosted television programs. The news that deputy Denis Voronenkov became her husband has been discussed in the media for a long time. In a word, in our country Maria Maksakova was treated kindly and loved until she fled from Moscow to Kyiv along with her husband, who was under investigation. Moreover, in Ukraine they began to throw mud at Russia.
Probably, the actress believed that it was Voronenkov who dragged her daughter into this ugly story. According to Sadalsky, she generally dreamed that Maria would marry pianist Denis Matsuev, with whom she had an affair. “But it turned out the way it turned out. Lyudmila loves her grandchildren, in this situation she only feels sorry for her grandchildren,” concluded Stas.
