Laima Vaikule (born 31 March 1954) is a Latvian actress, singer, director, and choreographer, best known in Europe and in the former

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

for such popular hits as "Vernisage" and "Charlie," among other songs.

Biography

Vaikule was born on 31 March 1954, in

Cēsis Cēsis (), (german: Wenden, liv, Venden, et, Võnnu, pl, Kieś) is a town in Latvia located in the northern part of the Central Vidzeme Upland. Cēsis is on the Gauja River valley, and is built on a series of ridges above the river over ...

, Latvia. Her parents moved to Riga when she was three. Young Laima was fond of music and dancing. In 1966, at the age of 12, she took part in a competition of young singers and was noticed. Between 1970 and 1973, she studied

nursing Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...

at the Vilnius Medical College, while also continuing to sing with a band. Eventually, she became a lead singer with a local band in Riga, Latvia and worked night gigs at local clubs and restaurants for several years. In the 1980s she studied acting and directing at Moscow State Institute for Theatrical Arts (GITIS), graduating as actress and director. In 1985, Laima Vaikule made her first hit in the Soviet Union. Since 1986, Vaikule has been enjoying a fruitful collaboration with popular Latvian composer,

Raimonds Pauls Ojārs Raimonds Pauls (born 12 January 1936 in Iļģuciems, Riga, Latvia) is a Latvian composer and piano player who is well known in Latvia, Russia, post-Soviet countries and worldwide. He was the Minister of Culture of Latvia from 1988 to 1 ...

, and Russian poet Ilya Reznik, who wrote such hits as "Vernisage", "Charlie" and "Skripach na kryshe" ("Fiddler on the roof"). She is among the original organizers of the Jurmala Festival of popular music, along with Raimonds Pauls. During the 1980s and 1990s Laima Vaikule was a regular participant at international music competitions and festivals across Europe. Vaikule was awarded the Golden Lyra at the 1987 Bratislavská lýra, was a guest singer and a host at " Jurmala 92" festival, and also took part at "AU music world" in Monaco, among other festivals and competitions. She was awarded the title Peoples Artist of Latvia (1995) and the

Grand Music Award Great Music Award ( lv, Lielā mūzikas balva), is the highest prize awarded by the Latvian state in the field of music. Award winners receive a monetary prize, and a silver statuette, created by Armands Jēkabsons. References External links * ...

(1996) for her special contribution to the music and culture of Latvia.

Personal life

Vaikule is currently living and working in Riga, Latvia and owns a second home in Moscow, Russia. She is an

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their Utilitarianism, utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding s ...

activist and a vegetarian.

Controversy

In a 2018 interview to the Ukrainian press, when asked about performing in the Russian-annexed

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

, Vaikule responded "I won't go there, whatever royalties they offer me" and explained "I'm a citizen of the European Union, I don't have the right to travel there", receiving criticism from Russian Senator

Aleksey Pushkov Aleksey Konstantinovich Pushkov ( rus, Алексе́й Константи́нович Пушко́в; born 10 August 1954) is a Russian politician who has been Senator from Perm Krai since 29 September 2016. He is also a former Deputy of the Sta ...

and several Russian cultural figures. Vaikule later went on Russian national television, where she said her answer had been misinterpreted and what she meant was that the law forbids her from going to Crimea, not that she would not want to perform there. When asked by the anchor, whether she would perform in Crimea if no Latvian law forbade it, Vaikule answered positively.

Popular songs

* It's Not Evening Yet * Yellow Leaves * Vernisage * What Does the Pianist Play * Fiddler On the Roof * Charlie * On Piccadilly Street

Awards and honors

* Zlatá Bratislavská lyra (1987) * (1990) *

World Music Awards The World Music Awards is an international award show founded in 1989 under the patronage of Albert II, Prince of Monaco and co-founder/executive producer John Martinotti. The event is based in Monte Carlo. Awards are presented to the world' ...

(1993) * Peoples Artist of Latvia (1995) *

(1996) *

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 ...

(2011) * Certificate of Merit of the President of Latvia (2019) *

Golden Gramophone Award The Golden Gramophone Award () is a yearly national Russian music award, established by Russian Radio in 1996.p. 241, ''Pop culture Russia!: media, arts, and lifestyle'', Birgit Beumers, ABC-CLIO, 2005, . The awardee receives a gold-colored figur ...

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References

External links

Official site
* * /www.youtube.com/watch?v=La1H_kBEClU Laima Vaikule at the World Music Awards 1993 {{DEFAULTSORT:Vaikule, Laima 1954 births Living people People from Cēsis 20th-century Latvian women singers Latvian stage actresses Latvian film actresses 20th-century Latvian actresses 21st-century Latvian actresses Winners of the Golden Gramophone Award