Childhood and youth
Tatyana was born on September 12, 1933 in Leningrad into the family of Vasily Ivanovich and Anna Ivanovna, Russians by nationality. According to the zodiac sign, the newborn turned out to be Virgo. Tatyana Vasilyevna’s parents, working people from the Yaroslavl region with Old Believer roots, had nothing to do with art. The couple moved to Leningrad shortly before the birth of their daughter.
The Doronin family huddled in a communal apartment and lived poorly. Father and mother never quarreled; they addressed each other exclusively as “you”. Tatyana Vasilievna admired the fact that her mother, a very beautiful woman, had been waiting for her father since three wars. Tanya herself sent touching poems to her father at the front: already as a child, she fell in love with poetry and easily rhymed lines.
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Tatyana Doronina in her youth
Her father returned as an invalid after World War II, but this did not stop him and his mother from living together for 60 years. Parents gave their two daughters higher education. In Leningrad, Tatyana went to school, and here she enrolled in an amateur club. My mother sewed dresses for performances from gauze. Already in her youth, the future actress showed interest in serious classical literature. Later, the artist recalled that in high school she often sat at the last desk during lessons, where she enthusiastically read Alexander Kuprin or Ivan Turgenev.
The artistic girl went to conquer Moscow without finishing school. On the first attempt I entered the Moscow Art Theater. M. Gorky, having overwhelmed the commission with his talent. But Doronina did not have a school certificate to enroll in a university. Tatyana returned home to finish her studies, and after graduation she came to the capital again.
She entered the Shchukinsky and Shchepkinsky schools, GITIS and the Moscow Art Theater. I went to all of them, but consciously chose the Moscow Art Theater School. Doronina studied with Oleg Basilashvili and Evgeny Evstigneev.
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Together with the theater, Tatyana Vasilyevna had to go through difficult times, but she was always a strong woman and a talented leader, thanks to which the theater was able to maintain its face.
Theater
After graduating from the theater institute, Tatyana Doronina served in the Leningrad Lenkom. In 1959, director Georgy Tovstonogov, looking for an actress for the role of Nadya Monakhova for the play “Barbarians,” lured Doronina and Basilashvili to the Bolshoi Drama Theater named after G. A. Tovstonogov. The actress played the role brilliantly and soon became the prima of this establishment.
Theatergoers still remember Tatyana Vasilievna’s star roles on the stage of the Bolshoi Drama Theater: Sophia in “Woe from Wit”, Lushka in “Virgin Soil Upturned”, Volodin in “My Elder Sister”.
Tatyana Doronina served in the BDT for 7 years, but in 1966 she moved to Moscow. The artistic director of the Leningrad theater repeatedly persuaded her to return, but the actress triumphantly appeared on the stage of the Moscow Art Theater. Then there was the theater named after. V. Mayakovsky.
In 1983, Doronina responded to Oleg Efremov’s invitation and returned to the Moscow Art Theater. 4 years after the split, Tatyana Vasilievna headed the theater, leading the troupe through a difficult period.
* Tatyana Doronina and Oleg Efremov *
Posted by Vladimir Petrovsky on Sunday, February 9, 2020
Tatyana Doronina and Oleg Efremov
In 1981–1987, Tatyana Doronina appeared on the stage of the capital's Sphere Theater, where she appeared in the productions of “Russia, My Russia” and “Live and Remember” based on the story by Valentin Rasputin.
Her heroines are strong, smart, sometimes treacherous women. But the actress played each of them brightly, truthfully, “with nerve.”
Tatyana Doronina authored the autobiographical work “The Diary of an Actress”, the first edition of which was published in 1998. The popularity of the book allowed it to be re-released in 2005. In the work, the performer described the events that happened to her in her youth. Tatyana Vasilievna recalled with nostalgia her creative youth and those people with whom she began her journey on the theater stage and in big cinema.
Tatyana Doronina is known as an unrivaled reader of Russian poetry. Her repertoire includes poems by Sergei Yesenin, Marina Tsvetaeva, Dmitry Kedrin and others.
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Order of Merit... Posted by Women's Assembly on Tuesday, May 7, 2019
Tatyana Doronina and Vladimir Putin
In 1987, she headed the Moscow Art Theater. Maxim Gorky and remained its permanent leader for decades. In September 2021, the 119th season opened with the play “Vassa Zheleznova,” in which Tatyana Doronina played the main role. This year, the People's Artist of the USSR celebrated the 60th anniversary of her creative biography.
In 2018, Tatyana Doronina celebrated her 85th birthday. The People's Artist was congratulated by her colleagues and fans, and President Vladimir Putin sent a congratulatory telegram. In honor of the celebration, the actress, who in her native Moscow Art Theater named after. M. Gorky is called the “hostess”, she gave an interview to journalists from Channel One and Rossiya-24.
For the anniversary, Tatyana Vasilievna and her colleagues in the theater group prepared for release a play based on Alexander Ostrovsky’s play “Simplicity is Enough for Every Wise Man,” and resumed the production based on Alexander Tvardovsky’s work “Vasily Terkin.”
"Stepmother" (1973)
However, the love of the audience and success with critics returned with the next role. In the film “Stepmother” by Oleg Bondarev, Doronina again played the gentle, forgiving and all-understanding woman-mother whom they wanted to see in her. The film became a box office leader, Doronina regained the title of actress of the year according to Soviet Screen and received a special prize at the Tehran International Film Festival in 1973.
Many scenes of “Stepmother” were filmed in the village of Zarudnya, Kolomensky district. For local residents it was a great event - to see with their own eyes not just how cinema is made, but also Tatyana Doronina herself.
Movies
The cinematic biography of Tatyana Doronina is much more modest than the theatrical one. The actress’s filmography does not even reach two dozen films, but her feature films brought her all-Union fame.
Tatyana Doronina performed her debut film role in the mid-1950s - she appeared in an episode of Mikhail Kalatozov’s melodrama “First Echelon”. The key characters were played by Vsevolod Sanaev, Oleg Efremov, Izolda Izvitskaya and Nina Doroshina.
In 1966, after a long break, Tatyana Vasilievna appeared on television in Georgy Nathanson’s melodrama “Elder Sister.” The film was an unprecedented success, which is not surprising, because the director assembled a star cast on the set - Natalya Tenyakova, Mikhail Zharov, Vitaly Solomin, Leonid Kuravlev. Supporting roles went to Evgeny Evstigneev, Oleg Basilashvili, Inna Churikova and Pavel Massalsky.
For her work in the film, Tatyana Doronina was recognized as the actress of 1967 according to a poll by the Soviet Screen. In the melodrama, her heroine sings the song “And I Was a Young Girl...” based on poems by Robert Burns.
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Tatyana Doronina and Alexander Lazarev in the film “Once Again About Love”
The following year, viewers again saw the actress in the film “Three Poplars on Plyushchikha”. Initially, Doronina was not impressed by the script; the plot seemed banal and rustic to her. But Tatyana Lioznova, the director of the film, managed to convince the performer to come to the audition, after which the artist changed her mind about the future film.
For 2 years in a row, the magazine “Soviet Screen” recognized Tatyana Vasilyevna as the best actress, her photos repeatedly graced the cover of the publication. The melodrama, starring Tatyana Doronina and Oleg Efremov, entered the golden fund of Soviet cinema.
The audience idolized the artist, impatiently awaiting her new appearance on the screens. In the 60s, the premiere of the melodrama “Once More About Love” with the participation of Tatyana Doronina took place. The actress appeared on the screen in the image of the main character - a flight attendant. The melodrama by Georgy Natanson was filmed based on the script by Edward Radzinsky. And again a star duet, this time with Alexander Lazarev.
After the film was released in the spring of 1968, Tatyana Doronina finally gained a foothold in star status, and Lazarev’s career took off. Melodrama became the leader in Soviet film distribution. Over the course of a year, the film was seen by 40 million viewers.
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Tatyana Doronina and Oleg Efremov in the film “Three Poplars on Plyushchikha”
Soon the musical melodrama “Wonderful Character” was released, in which Tatyana Doronina played a young singer from a Siberian city. The artist also realized her vocal abilities in the next film, “On a Clear Fire,” created based on the literary work “Retribution” by Mikhail Zoshchenko. The acting ensemble included Lev Durov, Evgeny Evstigneev, Rolan Bykov, Elena Sanaeva.
Film critics agree that the actress’s best leading role is Shura Olevantseva in the melodrama “Stepmother.” The film broke the box office record of “Once More About Love”: the film was watched by 59 million people, it entered the top twenty box office leaders in the Soviet Union. The melodrama won international recognition, receiving an award in Tehran.
The television story “Olga Sergeevna,” which appeared on screens in 1975, was also a success. The heroine Doronina devoted her life to the study of oceanology, but was never able to find personal happiness.
The last time Tatyana Doronina acted in a movie was in the mid-1980s. And again triumph. The poignant melodrama “Valentin and Valentina” by Georgy Natanson hits the mark. The actress played a compassionate but selfish mother who finds it difficult to allow her youngest daughter to build a life on her own. Daughter Valentina was played by Marina Zudina, this is the second role of the young artist.
Edward Radzinsky and Tatyana Doronina When the actress’s husband could not meet her from the tour, he went to the station instead...
Posted by Taisiya Rubanets on Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Tatyana Doronina and Edward Radzinsky
Fans of the Soviet cinema star love her for her skill, soulful acting and songs. The artist’s signature vocals cannot be confused with anything. Directors have repeatedly used Tatyana Vasilievna's musical gift in films. Without the song “Tenderness” it is impossible to imagine the cult melodrama “Three Poplars on Plyushchikha”. In the film “Once More About Love” Doronina sang the song “Sunny Bunny”, and in the drama “Stepmother” - the song “Oh, the fog covered the blue sky...”.
Tatyana Doronina appeared on television and in documentaries. The artist knew many Soviet actors who are today called cinema legends. Documentary directors invited Doronina as a narrator. In this capacity, viewers saw the star in biographies about Boris Livanov, Georgy Tovstonogov, Leonid Kharitonov. In 2008, the documentary film “Innokenty Smoktunovsky against Prince Myshkin” was released, and in 2015 Tatyana Doronina starred in the film “Stepmother” in the cycle “Secrets of Soviet Cinema”.
Doronina does not like journalists and does not appear on social networks, including Instagram. But in 2021 she made an exception and appeared in the documentary “Tatyana Doronina. Legend in spite of."
In an interview, the star told how she left Tovstonogov from the BDT, lost the love of her first husband Oleg Basilashvili, and shared her pain about her unborn children.
“Once again about love” (1968)
Having decided to film Edward Radzinsky’s play “104 Pages about Love,” Georgy Natanson never doubted for a minute who to invite to play the main role. Of course Doronin! The director remembered very well how brilliantly she had done the last time, so without hesitation he invited her to play the gentle flight attendant Natasha, who fell in love with the strict physicist Evdokimov and managed to break through to his soul through the thick armor of irony and arrogance.
The incredible success of the film (40 million viewers watched it in 1968) was a foregone conclusion: the main roles were played by famous actors - Tatyana Doronina, Alexander Lazarev, Oleg Efremov; Radzinsky's play was well known thanks to theatrical productions. Like “Elder Sister,” the second joint film between Nathanson and Doronina began with a performance at the Bolshoi Drama Theater, in which the actress played the same role. The film received the Grand Prix “For mastery of directing and high moral qualities” at the International Film Festival in Cartagena (Colombia).
And Tatyana Doronina, after the role of Natasha, established her star status. “You are the best girl in the USSR!” - the whole country repeated after the physicist Evdokimov, and, unlike the hero Alexander Lazarev, without a hint of irony.
Personal life
Tatyana Doronina was married 5 times. She met her first husband Oleg Basilashvili during her student years. In 1955, the couple played a Komsomol wedding, ignoring conventions in the form of a white dress and wedding rings. Despite the fact that Tatyana was invited to the troupe of the capital's Moscow Art Theater, the girl followed her husband to distant Volgograd, where he was assigned after college. Later there was Leningrad. The young people lived in a rented room located above the garages. Later they moved into their own apartment, allocated by the BDT. The marriage lasted 8 years, but broke up.
Soon after the divorce from Basilashvili, a new person appeared in the actress’s personal life. Doronina’s second husband is theater critic Anatoly Yufit. He was 8 years older than the actress. Seeing Tatiana on stage, I fell in love at first sight. The relationship between the stately (the actress is 1.73 m tall and weighs 65 kg) beauty and a respectable man with glasses began to crack as soon as Doronina became interested in the playwright Edward Radzinsky.
The marriage with Radzinsky ended 5 years later, but Tatyana and Edward parted as friends, maintaining a warm relationship after the divorce. Until now, the actress calls the playwright “the closest and dearest” person. Ex-spouses periodically call each other, discussing issues of various nature - from creative projects to health.
TATYANA DORONINA and HER 1st HUSBAND - OLEG BASILASHVILI.
Posted by Anatolya Eremeev on Thursday, November 19, 2020
Tatyana Doronina and Oleg Basilashvili
At the Vladimir Mayakovsky Theater, Tatyana Doronina met her fourth husband, actor Boris Khimichev. In 1973, the artists legalized their relationship. The wedding was modest, but with rings. The couple spent their honeymoon on the Riga seaside. As Khimichev recalled, for Doronina the theater was her whole life. She didn’t want children, she disappeared at rehearsals and tours. Gradually the relationship faded away.
The fifth husband of the actress was Robert Tokhnenko, an employee of the oil industry directorate. Doronina met him by chance, in a gardening society. The actress was looking after the dacha, and Robert headed the partnership. They lived together for 3 years. The husband adored his wife, but the actress did not notice this. The theater remained my only passion. For this reason, Tatyana Doronina did not dare to give birth to the child her husband asked for.
The actress broke up with Robert Tokhnenko in 1985. She never got married again.
"Wonderful Character" (1970)
Surprisingly, the formula “starring Doronina, scriptwriter Edward Radzinsky” did not always give successful results. Konstantin Voinov’s film “Wonderful Character” based on Radzinsky’s play of the same name in 1970 not only failed at the box office, but also received angry responses from critics. “Soviet Screen,” which had just praised the actress, was now scolding her heroine Nadezhda Kazakova, a singer with one hit to her name, the manners of an international superstar and a non-Soviet heavy character.
But Doronina, like Kazakova, never paid attention to what others said about her. For her, this role is one of the most important and favorite in her career. “My character is wonderful,” says Nadezhda Kazakova in the film. “You just need to understand him.”
Tatyana Doronina now
On the eve of 2021, Tatyana Doronina completed her career as artistic director of the Moscow Art Theater. Maxim Gorky. This decision was made due to health problems associated with the actress’s age. At one time, the performer did not appear on stage at all: the performances of the play “Vassa” with her participation were cancelled. There were even rumors about the death of the great artist, but the situation soon became clear.
Tatyana Vasilievna went into the shadows due to disagreements with the new management of the theater. She communicated only with her personal assistant Natalya Tsvetkova. The issue of Andrei Malakhov’s TV show “Live” was dedicated to the current situation in the creative team.
The position of Tatyana Vasilievna was taken by Eduard Boyakov. In turn, Doronina received the post of president of the Moscow Art Theater, offered by the Ministry of Culture. At one time, the stage star had at her disposal her office, dressing room and car with a driver, but in August 2021 her things were taken out.
Tatyana Yaroshevskaya, executive director of the theater, explained this act by saying that Tatyana Doronina avoids contact with the new management. Later, a friend and colleague of the great actress, Roman Viktyuk, called her removal from her post “an act of banditry.”
In 2021, with the participation of Tatyana Doronina, the next episode of the program “My Hero” was released on the TVC channel. This is not the actress's first appearance in a television project. Previously, she had already given an interview to Tatyana Ustinova. Now the artist lives outside the city and often visits sanatoriums.
On the eve of 2021, the Moscow Art Theater presented the premiere of the play “The Cherry Orchard” - a reconstruction of the 1988 production, in which the main character was once performed by Tatyana Doronina. In the new reading of Anton Chekhov's work, Lidia Matasova played.
Interesting Facts
- In life, she is a perfectionist and maximalist.
- The actress has a phenomenal memory, she memorizes any texts and poems very quickly.
- Tatyana doesn't believe in fate. He believes in God and believes that you need to do everything in life to please him.
- Likes to read a lot. I always preferred to spend my holidays in the library. Once I spent all the money I was saving for my dacha on a lifetime collection of Merezhkovsky’s works.
- Tatyana is modest and never tried to attract the attention of fans of her talent.
- The actress sings beautifully and has a musical gift. In famous films, Tatyana sang the songs “Tenderness”, “Sunny Bunny”, “Oh, the fog covered the blue sky” and many others.
- She does not use the Internet or social networks.
- He does not like journalists, but at the same time he often gives interviews on television in various programs.
- Today Tatyana regrets that she did not give birth to children.
