Valeria (birth name Alla Yuryevna Perfilova , in 1993 officially changed her name to Valeria Yuryevna Perfilova) is a popular Russian singer, People's Artist of Russia, People's Artist of the Transnistrian Moldavian Republic, member of the Council for Culture and Art under the President of the Russian Federation. Winner of a huge number of different music awards.
Singer Valeria
Family and childhood
Alla Perfilova was born on April 17, 1968 in the city of Atkarsk, Saratov region, into a family of music teachers. Father, Yuri Ivanovich Perfilov (1945 - 2009), was the director of the Atkar music school, and mother, Galina Nikolaevna Perfilova (before marriage - Nikitina, born 1938) worked as a teacher at the same music school. Both father and mother were awarded the title of Honored Cultural Worker.
Little Valeria in childhood
From early childhood, the girl was distinguished by curiosity, scrupulousness and thoroughness in any matter. She enjoyed going to school and did well in all subjects, her favorite being mathematics. In addition to secondary school, Alla also studied piano at a music school, and also attended a dance club, practiced volleyball and skiing. According to her mother, the girl managed to do everything thanks to her innate abilities and high level of organization. As a result, both schools graduated with a gold medal.
Valeria in childhood
But despite her success in mastering the piano, Alla did not want to become a professional pianist - she was more attracted to pop singing. While still a schoolgirl, she performed as part of the pop-jazz ensemble “Improvt” at the Atkarsky Palace of Culture. The singer later recalled: “It seemed to me then that most pop performers came from amateur performances. Where is the best amateur performance? I thought it was at Moscow State University.” And after school she decided to enter the history department of Moscow State University, department of art history. The girl’s mother was also sure that she would make a good historian.
Alla Perfilova is the real name of singer Valeria (in the left photo: with her father)
Education
Plans for entering Moscow State University unexpectedly changed when in 1985, immediately after school, Alla was invited to work in the Reflection ensemble at the Saratov Philharmonic. In the same year, following a targeted direction from the Saratov Philharmonic, she entered the pop vocal class of the Gnessin State Musical and Pedagogical Institute, in the correspondence department. She was pushed to this decision by her lover, musician and composer Leonid Yaroshevsky, who also helped her in the initial stages of her career.
Valeria in her youth
In parallel with her studies, Alla earned money by singing in restaurants. But work never prevented the aspiring singer from studying well: her mentors, People's Artist of the USSR Joseph Kobzon and People's Artist of Russia Gelena Velikanova, were pleased with her. The girl successfully graduated from the institute in 1990.
Height, weight, age. How old is Valeria (singer)
Admirers of the talent of the popular pop singer are interested in the question: what is Valeria’s height, weight, age, and how old? It is officially known that the artist will celebrate her 50th birthday in 2021. But the woman looks 10 years younger.
Valeria, whose photo in her youth and now attracts the attention of many connoisseurs of the musical culture of the Russian Federation, weighs about 57 kg, while the artist’s height varies according to various sources. The singer herself says that her height is 168 centimeters.
Since her youth, Valeria has been involved in aerobics. She eats right. Our today's heroine does not consume sweets and flour at all.
The rise of a solo career
In 1988, Alla Perfilova first appeared on television - she performed the song “Be with me” in the program “Wider Circle”. At the same time, in order to avoid direct competition with another Alla (Pugacheva), who already reigned on the stage, the aspiring singer took the pseudonym Valeria. Subsequently, her whole life passed under this name, and gradually this is exactly what her friends, acquaintances and even her mother began to call her - Valeria, Leroy. Valeria in the program “Wider Circle” (1988) Soon after graduation, the singer’s musical career quickly took off. In 1991, Valeria took part in the television competition for young performers “Morning Star” and won it, after which in 1992 she won the international competition “Bratislava Lyre”, and then participated in the song festival “Jurmala-92” and received the audience award .
Valeria at the beginning of her career
In the same year, Valeria met producer Alexander Shulgin and recorded her debut album “The Taiga Symphony” with music by Vitaly Bondarchuk and lyrics by Richard Niles. “Everything started happening right away: rehearsals, recordings in the studio. She had nothing, and suddenly there was an immediate offer to record an album in Germany,” the singer’s first husband, Leonid Yaroshevsky, recalled about this time.
Even Valeria's early songs were of a high level
It was a truly large-scale work: recordings were made in studios in Munich, London and Moscow, and musicians from the groups Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, Pet Shop Boys, as well as the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra conducted by Pavel Kogan took part in the work . The songs were sung in English, and the album was released not only in Russia, but also in several European countries.
Do you remember Valeria like this?
In parallel with this, the singer was commissioned to work on recording an album of Russian romances “Stay With Me.” Valeria's video for the romance "Flowers" won five international awards, including "Post-Montpe-92" (France), as well as "Anigraph-92" (Russia), "Generation-92" (Russia, 2nd place) . Valeria - Stay With Me From that time on, Alexander Shulgin closely supervised the singer, and in 1993 she married him. He carefully compiled her repertoire, thought out her image to the smallest detail, organized performances and recordings. And the work of the family-creative tandem was rewarded: in 1993, by decision of the Union of Journalists of Russia, Valeria was named “Person of the Year.”
Producer Alexander Shulgin became Valeria's second husband
From the beginning of 1993, Valeria worked on recording the album “Anna,” which was released in June 1995 and immediately became one of the best-selling albums. For a long time, songs from this disc occupied the top lines in the Russian charts. The premiere of the concert program “Anna” was a success on December 3, 1994 in Kyiv, and soon Valeria was sold out at the Oktyabrsky Concert Hall in St. Petersburg and at the Gorbunov Palace of Culture in Moscow.
Valeria's bright talent and her ability to control her voice were highly appreciated not only among the general public, but also in professional circles, and in 1996 the singer was invited to teach at the Music Academy. Gnesins, her alma mater, where she worked until 1998. In parallel with teaching, in 1997 Valeria released the album “Last Name, Part 1” and made a large tour of cities in Russia and neighboring countries.
Valeria model 2000
In the fall of 1999, Valeria re-released her favorite songs, collecting them into a single album, “The Best.” This album also included the new composition “You’re There Somewhere,” which for a long time occupied the top lines of music ratings. In the spring of 2000, multimedia maxi-singles “Metelitsa” and “Riga - Moscow” were released, and in July the “First INTERNET album” was released. After this, the singer compiled the program “Don’t offend me” and went on a big tour, known as the “All-Ukrainian Tour 2000”. Valeria - “Don’t offend me” In September 2001, she released a new album, “Eyes the Color of the Sky,” and on September 18 and 19, 2001, her solo concerts took place in the State Central Concert Hall “Russia” to a full house. After this, due to a break with her husband and producer Alexander Shulgin, the singer stopped her musical activities and returned to her parents’ home in Atkarsk. She spent a year and a half in her native land, with her beloved parents and children, practically no longer dreaming of returning to the big stage.
Valeria's husband and children
Valeria and Leonid Yaroshevsky
Here it is worth first talking not about her husband, but about Valeria’s husbands. The singer’s first chosen one was Leonid Yaroshevsky, with whom Valeria came to enroll in Gnessinka from Saratov. The singer met him in Saratov, where he led the jazz-rock ensemble “Reflection”, in which Valeria herself began performing. Valeria's first husband did an important thing - he persuaded her to enter the music academy when she hesitated between music and the desire to become a teacher.
The first marriage broke up when Valeria met her second husband, Alexander Shulgin. Married to him, Valeria gave birth to a daughter, Anna, a year later, a son, Artemy, and four years later, a third child appeared in the family, a son, Arseny.
Alexander Shulgin played a significant role in Valeria’s development as a singer: he recorded her at the best music studios, sent her to various talent competitions, filmed her in videos, sent her songs to radio and television.
Valeria and Alexander Shulgin in the program “While everyone is at home”
Valeria with children
But still, family happiness was destroyed by Shulgin’s hot temper. He could afford to raise his hand against his wife and had complete control over her income and expenses. Valeria for a long time hoped and believed that her husband could change and selflessly tried to save the family.
Trying to improve the relationship, Valeria invited her husband to get married. But the ceremony turned into a scandal and showdown, which was the last straw for the singer.
Having collected her children and her last money, Valeria returned to her homeland, filing for divorce.
Valeria's third husband, Joseph Prigozhin, appeared in her life back in 1991, when they met at the Morning Star competition. The already well-known producer could not have imagined that he would become Valeria’s husband. But fate is unpredictable, and 12 years later, having met the beauty again, Prigogine fell in love at first sight.
Valeria at that time was not ready for a new relationship and at first perceived Joseph’s advances very coldly. But the producer’s sincere feelings and charm broke the star’s wall of mistrust, and in 2004 Valeria and Joseph Prigogine got married.
Valeria and Joseph Prigogine
Repeated success
In April 2003, the famous producer Joseph Prigozhin approached the singer, and Valeria entered into an agreement with him and him. The new producer, who is also Valeria’s new love and new husband, seemed to breathe fresh creative energy into her, and by October 2003 the album “Country of Love” was recorded with the assistance of composer Viktor Drobysh as a sound producer.
Joseph Prigogine “gave” Valeria a second wind
Valeria herself admitted that work on the album was very easy and with pleasure: The new success more than broke all previous records, and Valeria resumed active concert activity with a large-scale tour of the cities of the Far East, Bashkiria, the Urals, Siberia and the Volga region. During the second half of 2003, the singer gave more than two hundred concerts - not only in Russia, but also in Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic states, including two concerts at the Oktyabrsky Concert Hall in St. Petersburg and three concerts at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow.
Filming the video “Larger than life”
In December 2003, for the song “Chasiki”, Valeria was awarded the national music award “Golden Gramophone”, and in 2004 she received awards from two Russian music channels - “Muz-TV” and “MTV Russia” in the category “Best Performer”. In the same year, she was awarded three more Golden Gramophone awards and the MTV Russia Music Awards for Best Song. The singer’s stunning success was noted at the highest level, and in 2005 singer Valeria was awarded the title of Honored Artist of Russia. Valeria - Watches In April 2006, Valeria released the album “My Tenderness”, and in the fall she made a new tour in support of it, the culminating point of which was a concert at the Olimpiysky sports complex in Moscow. After this, the singer wrote and published an autobiographical book, “And Life, and Tears, and Love.”
Valeria at the Golden Gramophone 2003 ceremony
At the end of 2007, Valeria and Joseph Prigozhin announced the cessation of touring activities in Russia and reorientation to the Western market. For these purposes, the family moved to London: “The time has come to try to release the album and video in the West - in England, France, Switzerland, Japan and other countries. To do this, you need to go on TV, give interviews, meet different people. It’s impossible to promote while living in Moscow!”
Valeria in the TV series "Club"
In March 2008, Valeria released a new album, “Out of Control.” Many famous musicians, authors and producers took part in the work on the album: Ray St. John (author of Sade’s song “Smooth Operator”), David Richards (producer of the group “Queen”), Chantal Kreviazuk (author of hits Avril Lavigne, Gwen Stefai and Kelly Clarkson), as well as Francesca Aeschlimann, George de Angelis and Sergei Galoyan (the author of hits for the Tatu group). The album was mixed by Simon Gorgerley (2006 Grammy winner for his work on the U2 album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb). Valeria - Heart Broken The album also includes a cover version of the song “Stayin Alive” by the Bee Gees, which Valeria sang in a duet with its author Robin Gibb. The famous artist was pleased with this collaboration, he spoke warmly about Valeria: “She is really a top artist in Russia, and she is really good!”
Valeria and Rob Gibb of the Bee Gees
In the fall of 2008, a video for the song “Pain! (Happiness in pieces)", in the English version - "Wild" (director - Alan Badoev).
In 2009, Valeria took part in many significant international concerts: in a charity concert at Battersea Evolution (together with Melanie C, Level 42, Atomic Kitten and Bill Wyman), at the opening of the world's largest professional music exhibition "Midem" in Cannes , as well as on the “Simply Red” tour of the UK and at a joint concert in Moscow. “Simply Red” soloist Mick Hucknall noted that Valeria’s performances are always a success. He was very pleased to have such a special guest on the program, and was also pleased to help promote the Russian singer in the UK.
Valeria without makeup
In 2010, the singer’s album “My Love is in Me” was released, which included, in particular, the songs “Magic House” (for the anniversary of Oleg Mityaev) and “It’s not me in your eyes” (for the anniversary of Alexander Kostyuk). In the same year, based on Valeria’s autobiographical book “And Life, and Tears, and Love,” a 16-episode television film “There Was Love” was shot.
In 2013, the album “On the Serpentine” was released, and in the same year Valeria was awarded the title of People’s Artist of Russia, and in 2014 the singer presented a large concert program “Valeria and Friends” in the famous London Albert Hall, accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of British conductor Paul Bateman.
In 2014 Valeria became People's Artist of Russia
Finally, in 2021, a new disc “Oceans” was released, which included, in particular, the song “You are mine,” sung together with his daughter Anna Shulgina. In addition, the album includes the song “The Body Wants Love” - a video was shot for it, authored by singer Slava. The main male role in the video was played by classical ballet dancer Ivan Vasiliev, and Valeria herself appeared in the provocative image of a fatal blonde in a sexy silk slip, which caused a lot of criticism. Valeria – The Body Wants Love “I absolutely don’t like all this rubbish, when everyone and everyone, not excluding the most worthy, go to great lengths,” commented the famous journalist Otar Kushanashvili on the scandalous clip, and this is the softest of his statements. For the singer herself, the defining mood in this case was her passionate love for ballet.
On September 2, 2021, the singer was a guest on the talk show “Secret for a Million” on the NTV channel, where she shared some of her secrets. Valeria continues to release new songs and videos, for example, on August 30, 2021, the premiere of the video for the song “Heart is Broken” took place.
It's hard to believe that Valeria is already over 50
Personal life of Valeria
In the life of the singer Valeria there were three spouses - three men, each of whom played in their own way a key role not only in her female destiny, but also in her creative career. The first of them was Leonid Vladimirovich Yaroshevsky (born in 1960) - a Saratov musician, a graduate of the Saratov Music College. He led the jazz-rock ensemble “Reflection” and the group “Impulse” at the Saratov Philharmonic, where young Alla Perfilova began her creative activity. It was he who inspired the girl to enter the Gnessin Institute - they went together to “conquer Moscow” in the late 80s.
Wedding of Valeria and Leonid Yaroshevsky
For a long time, Leonid simply looked after the aspiring singer and helped her, without asking for anything in return, and only two years later he proposed to her. “I lived the life of Alla, her successes overshadowed my career for me,” Yaroshevsky recalled about this time. He tried to produce Alla as best he could, but the young couple had absolutely no money for videos and “promotion.” For the sake of his beloved wife, Leonid even had to quit the conservatory, but this did not help. “I did it without regret, like everything I did for Alla, because I loved her madly,” he later admitted. The young couple agreed to do any part-time work so as not to starve. Although, for example, Alla sharply rejected the offer to perform in the group “Combination” - she did not like the repertoire.
Valeria left her first husband for producer Shulgin
The situation changed dramatically in 1992, when Alla met producer Alexander Shulgin (born in 1964). The singer’s creative career immediately took off. After working on a studio album with Shulgin, a handsome man in an expensive suit, the girl quickly lost interest in Yaroshevsky. When she didn’t come home one night to spend the night, Leonid understood everything. He tried to talk to Alexander, but met only reproaches from him.
Leonid had a hard time with the divorce. And although his life turned out happily professionally (he left for Germany and continued to study music), he considers Valeria’s act a betrayal and still cannot forgive. In her book “Valeria. “Locomotive” from Atkarsk,” he accused Perfilova of skillfully exploiting his capabilities and connections, and as soon as a more profitable candidate for her heart turned up, she left without hesitation.
Photo from the book “Valeria. "Steam locomotive" from Aktarsk"
Valeria does not agree with his accusations. According to her, she never entered into an intimate relationship with Shulgin while she was married to Yaroshevsky. But she does not deny that while working at the studio, feelings began to arise between her and the producer. Valeria calls Yaroshevsky her first youthful love, and the memory of him is memories from a distant, but very good time. But he doesn’t regret his action: One way or another, in 1993, the producer and singer officially got married. By this time, the couple had already had a common daughter, Anna (1993) (now known as the singer Shena), and then sons Artemy (1994) and Arseny (1998) were born.
Valeria's eldest children: Anna, Artemy and Arseny
But, despite successful joint activities and the birth of three children, Valeria’s marriage with Alexander Shulgin could not be called happy: the husband turned out to be a domestic tyrant. “My husband beat me until I was purple, locked me in a dog enclosure in the winter cold, constantly and sophisticatedly humiliated and insulted me,” Valeria recalled.
Alexander Shulgin beat Valeria, the singer claims
The children also suffered from him physically. In addition, he took all the singer’s income for himself and managed to almost completely subjugate her to himself. Shulgin motivated this by the fact that if not for him, Valeria would have remained a “restaurant diva,” and only years later she realized that this was not so. Finally, in 2002, the singer could not stand it, left her husband and returned with her children to her parents’ home in Atkarsk. Subsequently, she spoke in detail about her unhappy marriage in her autobiographical book “And Life, Tears, and Love,” published in 2006 with a circulation of 200 thousand copies. Alone with everyone: Valeria A year and a half after breaking up with Shulgin, Valeria still found her female happiness in the person of producer Joseph Prigozhin (born in 1969), with whom she lives to this day. Prigogine not only became a reliable support and “stone wall” for the singer, but also became close to her three children from a previous marriage, truly replacing their father.
In the photo: Valeria and her husband and producer Joseph Prigozhin (2005)
Unfortunately, Valeria was unable to make good friends with Prigozhin’s son and daughter from her first marriage. The singer herself believes that the meeting with Prigogine hit her like a ninth wave, which carried her in a “bright and correct” direction. Much to the couple’s chagrin, they were never able to give birth to another child together: in 2014, Valeria became pregnant, but lost the child in the sixth month.
Now Valeria is happily married to Joseph Prigogine
Valeria is especially proud of her healthy lifestyle and excellent physical shape. With a height of 170 centimeters, the singer maintains a weight of 58 kilograms throughout her adult life. “Instead of sweets, sports!” - this is her motto. In 2010, she wrote and published the book “Yoga with Valeria.”
Real name and surname of the artist
Initially, the singer should have been called Valeria, because it was her mother who wanted to name her that. But the registry office did not do this for some reason, but wrote the name Alla. Thus, the artist’s pseudonym was initially supposed to become her real name. In the 80s and 90s, Alla Pugacheva was extremely popular, so the girl did not want to perform on stage under her real name, which is indicated in her passport. This is quite logical, because the name of the Diva would overshadow her. But she remembered what her mother wanted to name her at birth, so she decided to adopt the name Valeria to use it as a stage name.
Views and social activities
Singer Valeria and her husband Joseph Prigogine quite often make political statements on the topic of the day;
they provide enthusiastic support for the domestic and foreign policies pursued by Vladimir Putin. Valeria characterized her attitude towards the president as follows: “I am sure that in Russia there is not yet a person who could cope with presidential responsibilities better than Putin. And those who believe that I was bought or persuaded are wrong.” In 2012, the singer was officially registered as a confidant of Russian Presidential candidate Vladimir Putin. Valerie on Putin, Sobchak and Pussy Riot In the same year, her statement regarding the protest of the Pussy Riot group in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior caused a wide resonance: “Punishment must be felt so that others will not be disgraced.” At the same time, the singer’s statements about the problems of the LGBT community are not entirely unambiguous: in 2008 in the UK, she happily starred in a video for the LGBT portal “Pink News” and assured the portal of her love and support, but already in July 2013 she called homosexual orientation “biologically unjustified” and actively supported the adoption of a law banning the so-called “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations.”
Valeria about gays In March 2014, after the referendum on joining Russia took place in Crimea, Valeria and Joseph Prigozhin were listed in the list of signatories of the document “Russian cultural figures - in support of the president’s position on Ukraine and Crimea” on the website of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, but in In 2021, the couple stated that they did not sign this document.
Picket against Valeria's concert in London
In 2014, Valeria was banned from entering Latvia due to her support for the annexation of Crimea to Russia and critical comments about the policies of the Ukrainian authorities. In addition to her, the Latvian blacklist includes Joseph Kobzon, Oleg Gazmanov, actors Mikhail Porechenkov and Ivan Okhlobystin. Ukrainian activists accused Valeria and Kobzon of “openly supporting terrorist organizations - the DPR and LPR,” and in 2015, the Security Service of Ukraine included Valeria on the list of cultural figures whose actions pose a threat to the national security of Ukraine.
Valeria now
In recent years, Valeria has given almost no solo concerts in her homeland, with the exception of private performances and “corporate events.” However, she continues to enjoy popularity as a singer and media personality.
Proof that Valeria did not undergo facial plastic surgery
She is a frequent guest on major radio stations and federal television channels, was a member of the jury of the television competition for young performers “The Secret of Success” (“X-Factor”) on the Russia channel, and also repeatedly participated in the work of the jury of the International competition of young performers “New Wave” in Jurmala .
In 2021, Valeria turned 50. In honor of the anniversary, the singer held an anniversary solo concert with the new program “To the Sun” in the Crocus City Hall concert hall. A year later, a 16-minute documentary about the preparation for the show was released on YouTube.
Photos from Valeria's anniversary concert
In the summer of the same year, at the “Heat” festival in Baku, Valeria sang the famous “Clock” in a duet with Yegor Creed. In addition to the well-deserved “Collaboration of the Year” award, presented as part of the festival, the song was awarded the Muz-TV Award as the best duet of the year. Egor Creed and Valeria - Watch The audience admired not only the original re-singing, but also Valeria’s appearance. Many of those gathered in the hall heard “The Clock” back in their teens, but since then Valeria seemed to have not changed at all in appearance.
The secret of Valeria's youth is proper nutrition and sports
At the same time, the star will spend his time in business, far from music. Being an advocate of a healthy lifestyle, she launched the food delivery service NoSecret ByValeria. Professional nutritionists calculate the diet depending on the customer’s goals and lifestyle and send home meals for several days in advance. However, even Valeria’s fans were unpleasantly surprised by the high prices: the cost of a ration for one day started at 3.5 thousand.
In 2021, Valeria joined the mentors of the second season of the show “The Voice 60+”, the participants of which, as the name suggests, were talented vocalists of retirement age. Her colleagues were Pelageya, Lev Leshchenko and Mikhail Boyarsky. Filming began with trouble: Valeria injured her leg while sitting in the mentor's chair. But otherwise the artist was delighted: “Each of my team is a diamond!”
“Voice 60+” – Valeria’s choice 2021 was remembered by the artist for another joyful event. Her eldest son Artemy married his longtime girlfriend Natalya, with whom he studied in Switzerland. Despite the fact that the young man announced the wedding on the eve of the celebration, Valeria respects her son’s choice and considers his chosen one a sweet girl from a good family.
Artemy Shulgin and his wife Natalya
Parade of addictions
Whose biography should be filmed? Yuri Baturin, “Wedding Ring” (“Russia 1”): – Governor of the Moscow Region Boris Gromov. My father fought in Afghanistan under his command. Larisa Savankova, “A Word to a Woman” (“Russia 1”): – An unknown person of a heroic profession, for example, a fireman. The life of someone who saves lives every day is no less interesting than a popular artist. Anna Ardova, “One for All” (STS): – Yuri Luzhkov – remake of “Once Upon a Time in America”. Anastasia Grebenkina, figure skater: – Track and field athlete Sergei Bubka! A phenomenal athlete's biography cannot be uninteresting. Nastya Zadorozhnaya, actress and singer: – Britney Spears and Drew Barrymore. After the scandals, they remained in the profession. Ekaterina SALTYKOVA, Maria LAPKOVSKAYA, Bernard BATTALOVA This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Photo by Vlada KRASILNIKOVA, ITAR-TASS, channel “Russia 1”, from personal archive
Subscribe
secret show business news
Leave a comment
