Actress Elena Yakovleva played about 100 roles in films and several roles in the theater, but her real popularity was brought to her by the role of a foreign exchange prostitute in “Intergirl” and the role of police major Anastasia Kamenskaya in the series of the same name.
Becoming an actress was Elena's childhood dream. Either it was the genes that made themselves felt, because the girl’s grandmother was a serf and played in the theater at the owner’s court, or Lena clearly knew what she wanted. But the path to the dream was not easy. After graduating from school, Elena twice tried to enter the Kharkov Institute of Culture, but without success. All these two years, the girl worked part-time and saved money for a trip to Moscow. When the required amount was collected, Elena took her suitcases and went to conquer the capital.
Elena submitted documents to GITIS and was admitted there on the first try. The selection committee appreciated the girl’s efforts, although it looked a little comical. But this was no longer important, because gradually her dream began to come true.
After graduating from GITIS, the question of employment arose. But even here Elena was lucky. She was unanimously accepted into the Sovremennik Theater. This was followed by the working life of the actress. She starred in films, but her finest hour came after the release of Pyotr Todorovsky’s film “Intergirl” on the big screens. Elena became famous in an instant. Many girls wanted to be like her and even dreamed of mastering the oldest profession in the world.
Surely the release of this film made the actress popular among men. But they didn't have a chance. At that time, Elena was already happily married to Valery Shalnykh.
Biography
Valery Shalnykh is a dramatic actor who made a career on the stage of the Moscow Sovremennik Theater and in cinema. The artist has more than 50 images embodied on stage. Today his name is often mentioned in connection with his wife Elena Yakovleva and son Denis Shalnykh, who surprises the public with his creative appearance.
Childhood and youth
Valery Shalnykh is a native of the city of Sverdlovsk, which today is called Yekaterinburg. He was born on April 8, 1956. The family lived in poverty. The mother was a worker at a number plant and raised her son without a father. Valera hardly remembered him. The man abused alcohol, and when the boy was 8 years old, he disappeared, leaving his family.
Actor Valery Shalnykh
Seeing her son’s creative passion, his mother encouraged his passion for art and theater. She was proud of Valera's first successes and tried to give him the opportunity for self-realization. The woman brought the boy to the factory drama club and took a fateful step for the biography of Crazy. While his classmates fell into “bad” companies, Valera studied, read books and developed his dramatic talent.
After graduating from high school in 1973, Valery set off to conquer the capital. He immediately signed up for auditions at the best theater universities in the capital. The young man was lucky. His talent was noted by Vasily Markov, a teacher at the Moscow Art Theater School. In his 2nd year, Shalnykh studied with Andrei Myagkov and Alla Pokrovskaya.
Valery Shalnykh in his youth
On the recommendation of the latter, from the 3rd year the aspiring artist began to accept his first invitations to participate in performances of the Sovremennik Theater. In 1977, having received his diploma, Valery Shalnykh became a full member of the troupe of this theater.
It is curious that the fate of the young man could have turned out differently, because the student was also noticed by the Moscow Art Theater director Oleg Efremov. Having received an invitation from a famous director, the aspiring artist was confused. He was afraid to go on stage with the masters of Soviet theater and cinema.
Daughter of Elena Yakovleva (actress) - Ekaterina Shalnykh
Elena Yakovleva’s daughter, Ekaterina Shalnykh, constantly directed school theater productions. She succeeded remarkably well, which made her want to become a director of theatrical performances in the future.
The girl was born in 1984, her father is Valery Shalnykh. Katya’s mother, Elena Levikova, left the three-year-old girl to her father and took up her career and personal life.
Ekaterina does not work as a theater director, but works as a modest economist. She is married and raising a little son, Nikita.
Theater and cinema
The debut production for Crazy was the play “Echelon” by Anatoly Efros. Valery was lucky enough to work on the same stage with Evgeny Evstigneev, Vyacheslav Nevinny, Irina Miroshnichenko and other artists. During the first year of service within the walls of the famous Crazy Theater, become a participant in the production “Feedback”. He found it difficult to partner with such actors as Oleg Tabakov, Igor Kvasha and Valentin Gaft.
Yanina Romanova, Ulyana Lapteva and Valery Shalnykh at the Sovremennik Theater
A lot of time passed before the young man realized that he was the same independent creative unit and in his work he had to look up solely to himself. Valery Shalnykh was also involved in the play “UFO”, where his stage partners were Mikhail Zhigalov and Marina Neelova. The loud premiere brought the first success.
Shalnykh served at Sovremennik for more than 30 years. During this time, his creative biography was replenished with iconic roles. The actor appeared on stage as Nikolai Turbin in “Days of the Turbins” and Tuzenbach in “Three Sisters”, portrayed Pickering from the play “Pygmalion” and Alexei in the production of “Murlin Murlo” by Nikolai Kolyada.
Valery Shalnykh in the film “Big Adventure”
The directors offered the artist wide scope for creativity and self-realization. He worked on classics and modern drama, trying himself on stage in a variety of roles. Crazy performed in the images of noble burdens, comic old women, and tragic characters. It was at Sovremennik that Valery met his current wife, actress Elena Yakovleva. Together with his former partner, the artist left his native theater in 2011.
Crazy's career in cinema turned out to be prosaic. The directors did not see him as the main character, so the artist’s filmography is full of episodic roles.
Valery Shalnykh in the film “Shuttle Girls”
At first, Valery was often invited to act in films, and among his works were characters with a bright temperament, whose characters were interesting to develop on camera. But it was obvious to critics that the films did not give the actor the opportunity to reveal himself as multifaceted as is possible on the dramatic stage.
Valery Shalnykh considers the role of the Bear in Mark Zakharov’s film “An Ordinary Miracle” to be the main creative omission. The actor did not pass the audition, and this image was embodied on the screen by Alexander Abdulov.
Personal life
Now Valery Shalnykh is known as the husband of Elena Yakovleva. Shalny's first wife was theater critic Elena Levikova. The marriage, certified in 1979, broke up 3 years later. The alliance with the theater theorist was concluded in a fit of ardent feelings characteristic of youth and the perception of the world inherent in creative people. There were no children in it.
Valery Shalnykh and his wife Elena Yakovleva
Valeria's second wife was Natalya, an accountant at the Sovremennik Theater. Their family existed from 1983 to 1985. The marriage produced a daughter, Ekaterina. But even she could not restrain the artist when he met great love. Elena Yakovleva captivated Valery as an actress and as a woman. She became the third wife of Valery Shalnykh.
After getting used to each other for a long time and testing the waters, the artists did not dare to get married for 5 years. The wedding took place only in 1990, bringing real happiness to their personal life. 2 years later, son Denis was born. Unlike his half-sister Ekaterina, Denis Shalnykh entered the acting department, but dropped out.
Denis Shalnykh, son of Elena Yakovleva and Valery Shalnykh
Today Valery Shalnykh rarely receives filming offers. Most often, he is offered episodic roles and supporting roles in TV series. In his free time, the man likes to re-read the works of Dostoevsky and enjoys driving.
Family of Elena Yakovleva (actress)
Elena Yakovleva’s family consists of her beloved parents, younger brother, husband and incredibly talented son.
Father
- Alexey Nikolaevich - was a serviceman who was often thrown from garrison to garrison. The whole large and friendly family followed him. Even during the Soviet Union, he was invited to teach tactics at the Kharkov Military School, where he worked until retirement.
Mother
– Valeria Pavlovna – worked at the research institute as a research assistant for a long time.
Elena Yakovleva always claimed that she became an actress thanks to the genes of her great-grandmother, who was a serf artist.
Valery Shalnykh now
Today Valery Shalnykh is not as popular as his star wife. This is probably due to the fact that the artist sacrificed his career for the sake of raising children and realizing his beloved wife. While Elena was busy filming and in the theater, Valery spent time with the child, always being nearby.
Valery Shalnykh now
The actor's name often appears in the press when discussing the appearance of his son Denis. In 2018-2019, the young man attracted public attention with dramatic changes in his appearance and repeatedly became an invited guest on programs for mass audiences.
Unlike his wife, Shalnykh did not appear on air with his son, his photo was not published in magazines, and the actor did not answer awkward questions in interviews. Valery remains a non-media person. He does not share personal information, so even the man’s height and weight remain a secret.
In love
Shalnykh did not react in any way to the fact that his wife is now associated with a girl of easy virtue: after all, she remained an excellent actress, a loving wife and mother of their only son. And the fact that Yakovleva is amorous is no secret to anyone. While the acting family was young, Valery was terribly jealous of his beloved. And then I realized that her love - it’s like creative ecstasy - is not at all scary for their marriage.
One of Elena’s last “loves,” by her own admission, is Hugh Laurie in “House.” The actress enjoys watching the series because of this actor. The husband is understanding.
Like any other family, they had their differences. But the dogs always saved the situation. Actors are dog lovers. Their four-legged friends play the role of children who will never grow up and, if they start families, it will be on their “parental” territory.
Several years ago, Elena was hospitalized. According to her husband, it was then that he realized that in the whole world there was no one dearer to him, he looked after his wife and supported her. This was the period when they both confessed their love to each other once again, and there will be many happy occasions to do so again in the future.
