Andrey Danilko: how Verka Serduchka lives, how much she earns Andrey Danilko - Ukrainian showman, comedian-parodist, best known in the form Verka Serduchka. After performing at Eurovision, he became a favorite of fans of this competition around the world. Many people are interested in how a famous artist lives and how much he earns. You will find out about this now.
Verka Serduchka - how does Andrei Danilko live, and what happened to him?
Biography of Andrey Danilko
Andrey Danilko was born on October 2, 1973 in Poltava. His father Mikhail Semenovich was a driver, and his mother Svetlana Ivanovna was a painter. Andrey has an older sister, Galina, from her mother’s first marriage.
When the boy was 7 years old, his father died of lung cancer. The family lived poorly, with only enough money for the bare necessities. To feed two children, the mother worked as a painter in three shifts.
Since childhood, Andrei showed creative abilities, and his mother sent him to art school at the age of 11. The future artist was often asked to draw posters and wall newspapers for school, and at home he copied paintings on religious themes.
When asked what he wanted to become when he grew up, the schoolboy replied that he would be a bishop of Ukraine.
Andrei recalled that as a child, he and his friends amused themselves by arranging a magnificent funeral for the rats that their yard dog caught.
At secondary school No. 27, the boy studied poorly, but was the captain of the school KVN team, which took prizes in city competitions. Although in life Andrei grew up modest and shy, on stage he truly opened up.
Since 1983, Danilko became a member of the school theater-studio “Grotesk”. Then Andrei first came up with the idea of creating a character who would later become world-famous Verka Serduchka.
At school, Andrei became interested in the work of the group “Tender May” and wanted to become its lead singer, learned to play musical instruments and even came to Moscow to Andrei Razin’s house.
Personal life of Andrey Danilko
Andrei's real personality is strikingly different from his alter ego Verka Serduchka. The singer is quite lonely and hides his personal life, but it is known that, despite his advanced age, he still has not acquired a wife or children.
According to Danilko himself, until recently he wanted to start a family and get married, but at the moment he is already comfortable alone. He is indifferent to various parties, expensive things, telephones and other attributes of wealth. He believes that it is best to spend the money he earns on charitable purposes without advertising it. He regrets that money cannot buy the joy of life.
He does not rule out the possibility of meeting his future companion on stage; his past relationships began in the same way. The artist’s fans would like to see him on the show “The Bachelor,” but it is unknown whether this will come true.
Where does Andrei Danilko live now?
The singer tries not to disclose details of his personal life, but his place of residence remains known.
According to available information, Andrey now lives in Kyiv at Khreshchatyk, building 25. This elite thirteen-story high-rise building is an architectural monument and is protected by law. The artist purchased two apartments there and then combined them into one large one. Danilko’s home has as many as 12 rooms, 3 kitchens, 3 bathrooms and 6 bathrooms.
In addition to the apartment in the capital, Andrei also has a country house located 30 km from Kyiv, where the artist lives in the summer. Here the actor bought a four-story house from the previous owner, made high-quality repairs and installed a high fence. According to expert estimates, the total value of the artist’s famous real estate can reach $2 million.
The birth of the image of Verka Serduchka
After graduating from school, Andrei dreamed of entering a music school, but the admissions committee felt that the guy did not look natural enough on stage.
Then he tried to enter the pedagogical institute, but did not pass the exam in Ukrainian literature, after which the young man had to go to study at a vocational school to become a cashier-seller.
In April 1992, at a regional amateur art competition for vocational schools, Andrei Danilko appeared as a saleswoman in a white robe with size eight breasts and a white kokoshnik, copying the speech and manners of a saleswoman in a store located in the center of Poltava.
Andrei’s skillful performance was appreciated; he portrayed the heroine so convincingly that the jury members until the very end could not believe that a guy was performing in front of them.
The artist's early repertoire also included the roles of a local policeman, a soldier, a teacher and a ballerina.
Video: Andrey Danilko as a ballerina
Danilko went to various festivals with humorous numbers, and in order to buy train or bus tickets, he had to hand over bottles.
During the next inspection of educational institutions in the region, Danilko presented two miniatures, “Dining Room” and “Conductor”. Already the first performance in the image of a conductor (then nameless) ended with a storm of applause from the audience.
After graduating from vocational school, the guy got a job as a freelance correspondent for the newspaper Komsomolets Poltava, where he interviewed celebrities in the early 90s. There was a very small salary, but there were a lot of business trips and no one wanted to work, but Andrey liked the trips.
On April 1, 1993, Danilko first presented the image of Verka Serduchka to the general public at the Humorina festival in his hometown. He took the name Verka from a colorful school cleaning lady who used catchphrases to impress students, which Andrei used in his monologues. And the heroine’s surname appeared thanks to his classmate and excellent student Anna Serdyuk, with whom he was once unrequitedly in love. Then Andrei promised her that he would glorify her throughout the world.
The first image of Serduchka was created rather hastily. A beret, a shirt, a skirt, a jacket and two balloons – that’s all Andrei Danilko needed for the performance. His heroine had sarcasm, directness and a certain rudeness, but always aroused sympathy among the audience.
The first performance created a sensation. Serduchka was noticed, and in this image the aspiring actor went on tour to the Stavropol Territory, took part in competitions that were held in Kyiv, Kharkov and received awards.
After his first performances, Andrei Danilko gathered large halls, and his miniatures were broadcast on television. At that time, the artist himself was not recognized on the streets, but conductor Verka Serduchka was readily quoted.
After vocational school, Danilko again tried to enter a music school, but was refused. The guy also wanted to try to enter the Kharkov Theater Institute, but missed the train.
All that remained was creativity - Danilko continued performing with his mini-theater, which successfully toured Russia and Ukraine. It didn’t bring much money back then: once the fee was paid in three cans of gasoline, although the artist didn’t even have a car at that time.
The beginning of creativity - Verka Serduchka
The biographies of Andrei Danilko and Verka Serduchka are inextricably linked. Although the famous conductor is 20 years younger than her creator, fame came to her much earlier than people learned and remembered the name of Andrei Danilko. Verka's birthday can be considered April Fool's Day - April 1, 1993.
The image of Serduchka is bright and unforgettable
It was then that “Humorina” took place in Poltava, where the previously nameless heroine of the miniature “Conductor” acquired a name.
According to Andrey, as a child he really liked his classmate Anya Serdyuk. The school KVN star never managed to achieve the reciprocity of a smart, beautiful, excellent student, a girl from a good family. But he promised to someday glorify her name, which is why he used the surname of his first love as a stage name.
Serduchka was noticed, in this image the aspiring actor performed on tour in the Stavropol Territory, took part in competitions held in Kyiv and Kharkov, and received awards. In 1994, Danilko first participated in the Kharkov television program “Cheese”, and a year later received an offer to appear in an advertisement for Privat-Bank in his stage image. Many viewers then saw for the first time a conductor with a sharp tongue, an impressive bust and shiny accessories.
Verka Serduchka with her mother
Over the 25 years of her biography, this image has changed thoroughly, the conductor has become more glamorous and sophisticated, and has shown off new talents. In 1997, Serduchka’s first song, “Simply Vera,” was performed. And in November, “SV-show” went on air on “1+1”, after a while it “changed its registration” to Russian TV.
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For 4 and a half years, many celebrity guests visited the “sleeping car”.
At the same time, Andrey actively goes on tour, plays in New Year's musicals, writes songs, and stars in videos. 4 of his compositions were awarded the “Golden Gramophone”; the album “HA-RA-SHO” was recognized as the best album of the year according to Muz-TV in 2004. But his performance at Eurovision 2007 brought him worldwide fame.
Tours and performances in the image of Verka Serduchka
The actor’s television debut in the image of Verka Serduchka took place on the regional TV channel of the city of Kharkov “Privat TV”. Participation in the Cheese program was his first step towards popularity on television, and a year later the artist was invited to film an advertisement for the Ukrainian bank Privat-Bank.
The advertisement about a conductor who was improving her carriage was multi-part and received love from the audience.
In March 1995, Andrei received the Grand Prix at the competition for young performers at the international festival “Sea of Laughter”. In the same year, Danilko entered the Kiev Variety and Circus School in the conversation department, but studied there for only a year and a half.
The young artist was hostile to the advice of teachers, as a result of which he was expelled for lack of prospects, although his Serduchka was already quite popular.
A year after his expulsion, the artist entered the Kiev National University of Culture and Arts to major in stage director of mass entertainment, but was expelled in his fourth year due to failure to pass two sessions.
In 1997, the 1+1 TV channel premiered the humorous talk show SV-show, in which Danilko, in the guise of conductor Verka Serduchka, held conversations with the stars of Ukrainian show business. The program was an incredible success among television viewers, and Andrei finally began to be perceived only in the role of conductor Verka Serduchka.
On December 13, 1997, the concert “Christmas Meetings of Verka Serduchka” took place at the National Palace “Ukraine”, which later moved to TV-6, and later to STS.
In the same year, the showman released a song on behalf of his heroine called “Simply Faith.” From that time on, the artist began to combine stage performances with musical numbers, among which the miniatures “Date,” “Monologue about Alcohol,” and “Sunshine” were popular.
In 1998, Verka Serduchka’s music video for the song “Little by Little” was released, and the following year for the song “Controller”.
In 1999, Andrei Danilko presented the show “Titanic, or the Floating Country” in theaters in Kyiv. From that moment on, Andrei Danilko began active tours in Russia and the CIS countries, his performances were accompanied by increased interest from the public and the media.
In the fall of 2000, the artist received the Arkady Raikin Cup at the Cup of Humor festival. In the same year, a new show program “I am a revolution” was released. In addition, Andrey became the host of the “Come on, get up!” program. on Gala Radio.
In the early 2000s, Danilko began performing musical numbers in the image of Verka Serduchka on Channel One’s “New Year’s Lights.” The first musical where Andrei was noticed was “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka” on New Year’s Eve 2002. The role of the village moonshiner, vividly played by him, was very much loved by the audience.
Video: the role of a moonshiner in the musical “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”
Then other musicals with the participation of Andrei Danilko were released, such as “Cinderella”, “Crazy Day, or The Marriage of Figaro”, “The Snow Queen” and others.
In 2003, Verka Serduchka’s debut studio album “Ha-ra-sho!” was released, followed by the second album “Chita Drita”. They included several compositions that became popular hits.
Verka Serduchka's video: Everything will be fine
The songs “I didn’t understand”, “I wanted a groom” in a duet with Glucose and “Knock-knock-knock” received three Golden Gramophones, and the album “Ha-ra-sho!” received the Muz-TV award for best album.
In the same year, Danilko went on the “I Was Born for Love” concert tour. At the end of the year, Verka Serduchka received a “Diamond Disc” for selling 500,000 copies of the album “Ha-ra-sho!”
In the same year, Danilko received the title of Honored Artist of Ukraine.
In 2005, Andrey released the instrumental album “After You...”, acting as a composer. The artist called the album a collection of serious compositions for the soul.
In 2006, the showman released the album “Trali-vali”, and also starred in the films “The Adventures of Verka Serduchka” and “The First Ambulance”.
Biography and childhood of the artist
Andrei's birthday is October 2 (Libra according to the horoscope) 1973. The artist’s hometown is Poltava. The boy was born into a low-income family. His father, Mikhail Semenovich, was a driver. My father’s nationality, which many people ask about, is Ukrainian. So Danilka’s Jewish roots are nothing more than rumors. His father died of lung cancer when Andrei was 7 years old. So the family was supported by his mother, who worked 2-3 shifts to somehow provide for the family. Andrey also has a sister, Galya, who is 10 years older than him. Perhaps due to the strong age difference, they do not have a very close relationship.
Little Andrey studied at an ordinary Poltava school No. 27. Here he met a girl whose name was Anya Serdyuk. The girl was modest, pretty, an excellent student from an intelligent family. It was difficult not to pay attention to her, especially considering that they were seated at the same desk.
Andrey Danilko in childhood
At the same time, Andrei himself did not study very well, he was a simple poor boy who could hardly interest Anya in anything. Because of such social inequality, Andrei suffered for a long time, although the girl treated her friend warmly. And yet this did not change the fact that the whole class chipped in for Andrey’s graduation suit.
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At school, Andrei participated in various parties and matinees, and then performed in the KVN team. The boy went to art school, studied in a theater group and music. When he became the head of the team, he decided to win Anya’s heart. He made a promise that he would glorify the girl’s name. Of course, no one took him seriously, but as we see, he still did it. And after school, the girl’s fate turned out to be very prosaic: she simply got married, became a school teacher and gave birth to a daughter.
Why did Danilko, as Verka Serduchka, stop performing in Russia?
In 2007, Andrey Danilko went to Eurovision from Ukraine with the song “Dancing Lasha Tumbai”, which is a simple “cocktail” of English, German, Ukrainian and Russian words. In the song, many heard the words “Russia, goodbye,” for which the artist was persecuted in Russia.
Video: Verka Serduchka's performance at Eurovision 2007, “Dancing Lasha Tumbai”
In later interviews, he pointed to a conflict of interest between him and Channel One, as well as his own “naivety,” as the reason. The artist named Konstantin Ernst and Maxim Fadeev as the customers of the harassment. Because of this, he had to stop performing in Russia. Danilko himself claims that in fact the song is sung “Lasha tumbai”, and this is just meaningless gobbledygook, consonant with Tsoi’s “Boshetunmai”.
Personal life
Andrei Danilko carefully hides his personal life from the press. By his own admission, he is shy by nature. Verka Serduchka with her stream of witticisms is just a stage image. Behind the mask of a sharp-tongued Ukrainian woman, a man is free to do what he himself would never dare to do. If Serduchka sings openly about her affections, then Danilko is not ready to share the details of his behind-the-scenes life even with long-time fans. Then the journalists simply made up another story about the artist’s secret family.
In 2013, the press was full of headlines about the addition to the singer’s family. Allegedly, he turned to the services of a surrogate mother and two boys were born: Ivan and Mikhail. Later, the musician would refute this information, saying that he could live without heirs.
In one of her interviews, the star admitted that loneliness is his harmonious state. According to the musician’s recollections, the moments when he was left at home alone as a child only calmed him down. As for Danilko’s personal life, he has not yet met the right person.
The growing popularity of Serduchka’s image
Going to Helsinki for the competition, he repeatedly emphasized that he was going to show how Ukraine knows how to have fun and fool around. Europe appreciated the bright Serduchka, and Ukraine took second place in the competition, while Danilko gained fame outside the CIS.
When the world-famous David Copperfield was asked what he associated the state of Ukraine with, he answered without hesitation: “Kuchma, Gorilka, Verka Serduchka.”
Also in 2007, Danilko announced his intention to take part in the parliamentary elections in Ukraine at the head of the “Against All” bloc, but representatives of the bloc never submitted documents for registration.
The following year, Andrey Danilko received the title of People's Artist of Ukraine and released the studio album Doremi Doredo.
At this time, Verka Serduchka's fee for an hour-long concert ranged from 25 to 50 thousand dollars , and a corporate event cost 100 thousand dollars .
In the 2010s, Danilko continued to appear in New Year's musical films, including Morozko, The New Adventures of Aladdin, Little Red Riding Hood and others.
In 2011, the artist again received the Golden Gramophone award for the dance hit “Dolce Gabbana”. Next, in the image of Verka Serduchka, Danilko hosted the “Saturday Evening” program on the “Russia-1” TV channel.
Video: Verka Serduchka performs Dolce Gabbana
In the same year, the public was alarmed by rumors that the artist had two sons, whom he carefully concealed. Danilko denied these rumors.
In 2014, Andrei starred in the Hollywood film “Spy” as Verka Serduchka. The artist did not disclose the exact amount of the fee for his participation in the film, only noted that the amount was more than 100 thousand dollars.
Childhood and early years
The boy Andrei was born in Poltava (former Ukrainian SSR) in 1973, on October 2. During the Soviet era, there were no people in great need, but there were still families who often had hard times - this is exactly about the Danilko family. The artist’s father, Danilko Mikhail Semenovich, died young: he worked as a driver and passed away due to cancer. The son was only seven at the time, and his mother, Svetlana Volkova, raised him alone.
In the photo Andrey Danilko as a child with his mother and sister
Andrey has a sister, Galya, who is much older than him - ten years. Andrey and Galya’s mother worked two, sometimes three shifts to “stretch” the children, Galina also went to work, and the boy rarely saw both of them. Probably the big age difference with my sister and the fact that they had already moved away from each other later influenced their not very warm relationship. But Andrei, being an “abandoned” child in childhood, did not become a hooligan: he did not study very well at school No. 27, but actively participated in amateur performances and went to a music school.
About the music school: he was lucky that in Soviet times all kinds of clubs cost symbolically pennies. Otherwise, he won’t see either an art school or a theater group. In high school, Danilko performed at every concert and was on the local KVN team.
Andrei himself said with a smile that the impetus for his “breakthrough” into famous people was his school love. A beautiful, well-mannered girl from an intelligent family, Anya Serdyuk was his first “queen” of his heart. He was tormented by the fact that he was poorly dressed, that he didn’t have an extra ruble in his pocket to take the girl to the cinema and treat her to ice cream. He promised the girl that he would become famous and announce her name to the whole world.
Anna did not take his words seriously. What a success, what glory, if the guy’s family didn’t even have money for a graduation suit - his classmates chipped in! Andrei was never able to win the heart of the school beauty. Danilko later mentioned that Anya’s life was very prosaic: she got married, has children, and became a teacher.
The woman herself never spoke about the school fan. Journalists even think that this beautiful story was invented by Andrei. But he had such a classmate, and he probably really was in love with her, since he shares about it.
Dad was a driver, mom was a painter, what profession did Andrei choose? There is a direct path from a working-class family to a vocational school. In 1991, he entered the Poltava SPTU and immediately “joined” the amateur life of the school. His first two serious successes on stage were the humoresques “The Conductor” and “The Canteen”, in which he participated at a review of educational institutions. The stern inspecting uncles and aunties from RONO liked the performances so much that Danilko was “sent” on tour to the Stavropol region.
Personal life of Andrey Danilko - Inna Belokon
In 2015, photographs appeared in the press showing Andrei kissing Inna Belokon, who plays the role of Serduchka’s mother. They met back in the late 80s and, according to rumors, dated for some time, but then Inna got married and gave birth to a child.
Andrey Danilko and Inna Belokon in their images
After the publication of the pictures, rumors began that the girl was divorcing her husband because of the showman, but the divorce never took place. For a long time, neither Andrei nor Inna commented on the situation, but at the beginning of 2021, the artist confirmed that there really was an affair. Now Andrey and Inna maintain warm, friendly relations.
Since 2021, Danilko has been on the judging panel of the Ukrainian selection for Eurovision. From 2016 to 2019, he was a member of the jury of the Ukrainian X-Factor.
Andrey left the project because he was dissatisfied with himself as a mentor.
earned $650 thousand in 2021 . For the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, held in Ukraine, a series of short video clips entitled "Verkavision" were released, which tell a fictional story about the character of Verka Serduchka and her journey as a Eurovision star.
Verka also appeared on stage during the final of the competition and opened the televoting.
On June 28, 2021, in Kyiv, as part of the Atlas Weekend festival, a concert was held dedicated to Serduchka’s return to the big stage of the CIS, but due to accumulated fatigue and health problems, since 2018 Danilko began performing only at private events.
At the same time, he starred in the comedy Sex and Nothing Personal as a police officer named Andrzej Halabala.
On July 12, 2021, Andrei announced that he would stop performing as Verka Serduchka. The last performance before the farewell tour took place on July 13 in Odessa. Next, the artist planned to arrange a series of performances in Ukrainian cities. On May 18, 2021, at the Eurovision final, Danilko took part as a guest star, singing the song of last year’s winner of the competition, Netta, “Toy.”
The appearance of Serduchka caused a stir among fans of the competition, who called the performance with her participation the most striking. The best publications in the world wrote about Serduchka, as one of the main symbols of the competition. The number also featured the song “Dancing Lasha Tumbai” performed by Greek pop singer Eleni Foureira.
Andrey Danilko on television
Even after 12 years, the audience sang along and remembered all the dance moves.
At the end of 2021, there were reports in the media that while filming one of the New Year's TV shows, Andrei Danilko became ill with his heart, but the artist denied this news on Instagram.
In February 2021, Andrei admitted that he had been suffering from physical and mental illness for a long time. The artist did not name the diagnosis, but only hinted that he is currently forced to seriously monitor his health.
On September 4, 2021, Andrey Danilko as Serduchka released the mini-album Sexy. This is the showman's first disc in 12 years. The artist said that he returned with compositions that were “created to give listeners light in difficult and dark times.”
Recently, information spread that an assassination attempt was being prepared on Danilko in 2014, but the artist himself stated that this story is fiction. He was threatened only once in 2008 in Kakhovka, so he was then forced to strengthen his security.
In January 2021, a new show “Mask” was released on the Ukraine TV channel, in which Danilko became one of the star detectives.
At the moment, Andrei is not married and carefully hides his personal life. In a recent interview, he said that he is in love, but does not plan to start a family in the near future, since he is more comfortable alone.
Andrey Danilko now
In the spring of 2021, Andrei took part in the filming of the next episode of the travel show “Heads and Tails”. His stage mother Inna Belokon was also involved in the project. In addition, Danilko tried on the role of a judge in the Ukrainian version of “The Mask”.
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Andrey Danilko on the set of the program “Heads and Tails”
The musician rarely goes on the big stage and does not record new tracks. Fans understand that the idol’s depressive state requires detailed study, and they hope to hear Verka Serduchka’s new hits soon.
How much did Andrei Danilko earn as Verka Serduchka?
Danilko says that he basically lives on the money he earned at the peak of his popularity. The largest fee of his career was $260 thousand for an exclusive performance on New Year's Eve in Moscow.
In recent years, Danilko's performance on New Year's Eve costs 75 thousand dollars .
Andrei was often invited to appear in advertisements for various brands in the image of Verka Serduchka. One of the most striking commercials was an advertisement for Dirol, in which Verka Serduchka acted as chewing gum, a stuntwoman and a secret agent.
In addition, Serduchka appeared in advertisements for Tide and Semki, and in 2020, Serduchka, together with “mom,” became the face of an advertising campaign for the telecom operator Kyivstar. According to the plot of one of the videos, the star lady is trying to tame a dragon.
