Irina Petrovna Kupchenko (russian: Ирина Петровна Купченко; born 1 March 1948 in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

) is a Soviet and Russian stage and film actress. She rose to prominence after acting in

Andrei Konchalovsky Andrei Sergeyevich Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky (russian: link=no, Андрей Сергеевич Михалков-Кончаловский; born 20 August 1937) is a Russian filmmaker. He has worked in Soviet, Hollywood, and contemporary Russian ...

's 1969 movie adaptation of '' A Nest of Gentry''. She has performed in more than forty films since 1969. Her performance in ''Lonely Woman Seeks Life Companion'' won her a Best Actress award at the

Montreal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (WFF; french: le Festival des Films du Monde) was one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF (although the Toronto Interna ...

. She also played Alexandre in ''The Last Night of the Last Tsar'', a play that was based on the book ''The Last Tsar: The Life and Death of Nicholas II'' by Edvard Radzinsky.

Biography

She was born in Vienna in a military family that, after the withdrawal of the Soviet Army in Austria (1955), moved to Kyiv. In childhood, Irina showed an interest in ballet. After high school, she initially studied foreign languages at the

University of Kyiv Kyiv University or Shevchenko University or officially the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv ( uk, Київський національний університет імені Тараса Шевченка), colloquially known as KNU ...

, but after her debut in the role of Liza in ''A Nest of Gentlefolk'', she decided to pursue a career in acting. She graduated from the Shchukin Theatre Institute in Moscow (1970) and began working in the Moscow Vakhtangov Theatre (1971).

Personal life

She was married to actor

Vasily Lanovoy Vasily Semyonovich Lanovoy (russian: Василий Семёнович Лановой; (16 January 1934 – 28 January 2021) was a Soviet and Ukrainian Russian actor who worked in the Vakhtangov Theatre, Moscow. He was also known as the Preside ...

until his death in 2021.

Honors and awards

Honored Artist of the RSFSR Honored Artist of the RSFSR (, ''Zasluzhenny artist RSFSR'') was an honorary title granted to Soviet artists, including theatre and film directors, choreographers, music performers, and orchestra conductors, who had outstanding achievements in the ...

(1980) *

Lenin Komsomol Prize Lenin Komsomol Prize () was a Soviet annual award for the best works in science, engineering, literature or art carried out by young authors of age not exceeding 33 years. Komsomol was the abbreviated name of The Communist Union of Youth (Russia ...

(1981) *

People's Artist of the RSFSR People's Artist of the RSFSR (russian: Народный артист РСФСР, ''Narodnyj artist RSFSR'') was an honorary title granted to Soviet Union artists, including theatre and film directors, choreographers, music performers, and orchest ...

(1989) * Order of Honour (1999) * State Prize of the Russian Federation (2002) *

Order of Friendship The Order of Friendship (russian: Орден Дружбы, ') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation established by Boris Yeltsin by presidential decree 442 of 2 March 1994 to reward Russian and foreign nationals whose work, deeds ...

(2019)

Selected filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kupchenko, Irina 1948 births 20th-century Russian actresses 21st-century Russian actresses Living people Actresses from Vienna Academicians of the National Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Russia Honored Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the RSFSR Recipients of the Lenin Komsomol Prize Recipients of the Nika Award Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) State Prize of the Russian Federation laureates Russian film actresses Russian stage actresses Russian television actresses Soviet film actresses Soviet stage actresses Soviet television actresses