Origin
Valeria Lanskaya was born in 1987, on January 2, in Moscow. Her father, Alexander Alexandrovich Zaitsev, taught ballroom dancing. In 1993, he emigrated to America and has since lived and worked overseas. Before they moved to the USA, Valeria’s parents were a famous dancing couple and participated in various competitions and concerts. Valeria's mother, Elena Stanislavovna Maslennikova, works as a figure skating coach and choreographer. She worked for a long time with Povilas Vanagas and Margarita Drobyazko, and also collaborated with Ilya Averbukh on all seasons of Ice Age. As a child, Valeria bore her father's surname - Zaitsev. Later she took the surname that her paternal grandmother had in her maiden name - Lanskaya. The actress has younger sisters: Anastasia, born in 1996, and Elizaveta, born in 2009.
Childhood and youth
Valeria was born into the family of a dancer and figure skater. The creative tandem of parents began with joint productions, then turned into marriage. Father Alexander Zaitsev is a ballroom dancing teacher, mother is a figure skating coach. In 1993, the father left his wife and daughter and moved to America, where he started a new family and made a career.
Mother Elena Maslennikova choreographed numbers for figure skaters Margarita Drobyazko and Povilas Vanagas. In the show “Ice Age” she worked with Ilya Averbukh. Valeria Lanskaya has 2 half-sisters: Lisa, on her father’s side, and Anastasia, on her mother’s side.
Valeria Lanskaya in childhood
The real name of the actress is Zaitseva. However, working in the same theater with her namesake and namesake, Valeria took the maiden name of her paternal grandmother so that her fellow actresses would not be confused. From the age of 5, Lanskaya was loaded to the maximum: choreography, gymnastics, music, classes in a theater studio. Already at this age Lera showed bright creative abilities. The first step on the path to the stage was the Moscow Children's Variety Theater, founded by composer Valentin Ovsyannikov. Then the young artist was sent to the Impromptu musical theater, where Lyudmila Ivanova became a teacher-mentor.
Valeria Lanskaya
From 3 to 7 years old, the future star was engaged in figure skating at the request of her mother. There were no high-profile competitions or great victories, everything happened at the local level - Lera did not become a figure skater, which she does not regret at all. As a middle school student, Valeria devoted 6 years to the children's musical theater as a young actor, participated in the productions of “Gerda”, “In the Nursery” and others. At the age of 14, she entered the choreographer’s course at the Russian Academy of Theater Arts. A year later, I graduated from high school as an external student.
Childhood
Since Valeria Lanskaya was born into a creative family, she was involved in dancing and music, rhythmic gymnastics and figure skating from an early age. At the age of five she began attending various theater studios. At first she was involved as a young and promising actress in the Moscow Children's Theater, whose director was Valentina Ovsyannikova. Then the girl found application for her abilities at the Moscow children's musical theater "Imprompt" under the direction of Lyudmila Ivanova. Here she was involved in the production of “The Tale of Tsar Saltan.” And finally, in high school, the girl entered the troupe of the Young Actor Children's Musical Theater, directed by Alexandra Fedorova. Here Valeria’s talent began to sparkle with new colors; she played a lot and successfully in musical performances such as “Gerda”, “In the Nursery”, “Fantasy on a Theme of Dunaevsky”. Lanskaya changed several schools during her studies and graduated from the eleventh grade as an external student.
Childhood and family of Valeria Lanskaya
Valeria's real surname is Zaitseva, and the actress took her grandmother's surname Lanskaya in adulthood, in her third year, so that she would not be confused with her namesake colleague, actress of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theater. Lera's father is a talented choreographer Alexander Zaitsev, and her mother Elena Maslennikova is a figure skating coach who choreographed numbers for Margarita Drobyazko and Povilas Vanagasau. It is not surprising that with such a pedigree, the girl started skating at the age of three, and at four she began taking ballroom dancing and rhythmic gymnastics. Due to her heavy workload, the girl often did her homework on public transport so that she had time to play with friends.
A little later, a music school and a theater studio were added to these classes. As a teenager, she participated in productions of the Impromptu musical theater and played in performances of the Children's Theater of Young Actors. All this could not but affect her further choice of profession, and after school, which Lera graduated as an external student, she entered the Shchukin Theater Institute. It is worth noting that the actress’s father lives in the USA, and in her youth Lera often went to visit him, and in her senior year she thought a lot about moving overseas. She even started a diary, which had a page with two columns: “pros” and “cons” of moving. What stopped her was that in her homeland she already had some connections in the acting community, but there she would have to start all over again.
The girl studied on the course of teacher Yuri Veniaminovich Shlykov. The diploma performances of her course were the productions “West Side Story”, “Straw Hat”, “Theatrical Romance”, “Don Gil - Green Pants”. In 2006, Lanskaya became a certified actress.
Education
Valeria Lanskaya entered the theater university in 2002. Her choice fell on the B. Shchukin Theater Institute. As a student, the girl played at the Theater. Vakhtangov's production of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. Then she was involved in the play “Country of Love” in the famous “Satyricon”. While studying in her fourth year, in 2006 Valeria played Cordelia in the play “Lyromania” on the stage of the “Theater of the Moon”. This work was a great success. Lanskaya received roles in other theater productions under the direction of Sergei Prokhanov and worked under him until 2012. She played in the plays “Lips”, “Ball of the Sleepless”, “Tender is the Night” and many others. In addition, the girl graced several enterprise performances with her participation - “Nameless Star”, “Lift My Eyelids”, “Don’t Believe Your Eyes”, “Hotel of Two Worlds”.
Theater and films
In 2002, Lanskaya was accepted into the course of Professor Yuri Shlykov at the Shchukin Theater School. While still a 3rd year student, Lera played in the production of “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves”, then “Country of Love”. The first acting experience was presented on the stages of the Vakhtangov and Satyricon theaters. Konstantin Raikin, the chief director of Satyricon, was jealous of the work of the troupe’s artists at other venues. Lanskaya preferred to play leading roles rather than vegetate as an extra, and went to the “Moon Theater”.
Valeria Lanskaya on stage
The artist served with Sergei Prokhanov until 2012. The first role on the stage of this theater was Cordelia in the play “Lyromania”, which was awarded the Anatoly Romashin Prize. This was followed by a series of stage performances: “The Sleepless Ball” and “Lips”, “The Ghoul” and “Mary Poppins - NEXT”.
In addition, the actress participated in enterprises based on other theatrical institutions: “Nameless Star”, “Don’t Believe Your Eyes”, “Hotel of Two Worlds”, “Mata Hari”.
Actress Valeria Lanskaya
Her film debut took place in 2005, when Lanskaya played the role of Princess Anastasia in the film “Yesenin”. The actress gained recognition and fame after her portrayal of Anna, the daughter of a gypsy baron in the film “The Hare over the Abyss,” and consolidated her popularity with the role of Natasha Rotmistrova, the new stepmother of cadet Alexei Syrnikov, in the youth series “Cadets.”
Fame came to Valeria after the melodrama “Circus Princess”, where the artist appeared in the image of Asya. The already established star continued her career in the musical “Scarlet Sails”, where she sang the role of Assol. At the Alexei Rybnikov Theater she appeared on stage in the plays “Juno and Avos”, “Zorro”, “The Star and Death of Joaquin Murrieta”.
Valeria Lanskaya in the series “Circus Princess”
In 2008, the actress received an invitation from the Moscow Operetta Theater to perform in the plays “Fanfan-Tulip”, “Caesar and Cleopatra”, “Count Orlov”. Valeria, the performer of the role of Mercedes in the large-scale musical “Monte Cristo”, was nominated for the national theater award “Golden Mask”.
In 2011, Lanskaya was nominated for the Golden Eagle Award for best performance in a supporting role in the military melodrama Rowan Waltz, based on real events. Afterwards, the filmography was supplemented by the family saga “House of Exemplary Maintenance”, the films “Autumn Leaf”, “Eternal Tale”, “Missing”, and in each the actress had a leading role.
Valeria Lanskaya in the musical "Monte Cristo"
With Evgeny Pronin, the heroine Valeria formed a romantic couple in the TV series “Shopping Center”, with Dmitry Dyuzhev - in the comedy about changing personalities “Temporarily Unavailable”. In the film “Citizen Katerina,” the actress’s character enters into a fictitious marriage with the hero of Kirill Grebenshchikov in order to obtain Russian citizenship.
With the Moscow Provincial Theater under the direction of Sergei Bezrukov, Valeria delighted fans with the role of Vera in Dmitry Dyuzhev’s directorial debut “The Bench”. In the summer of 2016, the artist passed a difficult casting for the musical Anna Karenina, in which she received the main role. Lanskaya’s son had just turned one year old, and at the same time filming began in the detective melodrama “New Life”. Lera’s partner was Igor Balalaev, familiar to the public from the projects “Cats”, “Cabaret”, “Notre Dame de Paris”.
Valeria Lanskaya and Dmitry Ermak in the musical “Anna Karenina”
At the same time, Valeria managed to get to the Channel One studio, where she became a co-host of Dmitry Nagiyev in the 3rd season of the show “The Voice. Children".
Work in musical performances
Thanks to her good voice and ability to move well, Lanskaya became a star of musicals. The girl played the role of Assol in “Scarlet Sails”, was involved in the productions of “Juno and Avos” and “The Star and Death of Joaquin Murieta” on the stage of the Alexei Rybnikov Theater, and played Mercedes in the musical play “Monte Cristo” at the Moscow Operetta Theater. For this role, Valeria was nominated for the Golden Mask. The girl also plays roles in the musicals “Count Orlov”, “Fanfan-Tulip”, “Caesar and Cleopatra”.
Valeria Lanskaya now
Now Valeria Lanskaya is busy in 2 musicals. The actress still plays in the sold-out “Anna Karenina,” and in October 2020, “Monte Cristo” returned to the stage of the capital’s operetta theater. These images, Lera admitted, are her favorite. Mercedes is a debut on the theatrical stage and immediately in the leading role. Anna Karenina is a complex and significant thing in the development of every artist.
Lanskaya pleased moviegoers with her performance in Vasily Livanov’s directorial project about the history of the creation of the Bronze Horseman monument. In the film, Valeria has the main role of the first female sculptor Marie-Anne Collot, who created the head of the monument to Peter the Great.
Valeria Lanskaya in the 2020 film “The Bronze Horseman of Russia”
The co-author of the film “New Life” is the actress’s husband. The heroine of Valeria is the wife of the main character, who miraculously did not get on the plane that subsequently crashed, but never returned to his family. Stas Ivanov cast Lanskaya in the leading role in the melodrama “Wait for Me” about a member of a front-line propaganda brigade facing a difficult choice between a colonel and a young lieutenant.
Film roles
Valeria Lanskaya, whose filmography began to expand in 2005, made her debut in the series “Yesenin” in the role of Princess Anastasia. Fame came to the actress in 2006 after she appeared on screens as the daughter of a gypsy baron in the film “The Hare over the Abyss.” The girl also played a small role in the TV series “Kadetstvo”. There she played Natasha Rotmistrov, the stepmother of one of the cadets. The actress’s popularity was cemented by her role as Asya in the film “Circus Princess.” Valeria Lanskaya was involved in the filming of more than twenty films and TV series, such as “New Year’s Tariff”, “Women’s Stories”, “Hot Ice”, “Rowan Waltz”, “Snipers: Love at Gunpoint”, “Officer’s Wife”, “Autumn Leaf” ", "Piranhas", "Shopping Center", "End of the World", "House of Exemplary Maintenance".
Career is going uphill
Thanks to her talent, Valeria began performing at the Vakhtangov Theater and Satyricon while still at university. She was protected by Konstantin Raikin himself, who was the artistic director of the Satyricon Theater. The university management was happy to accommodate the eminent artist, although students’ work in theaters, generally speaking, was not welcomed.
Thus, Konstantin Raikin gave the aspiring actress the opportunity to work with her idol - Lanskaya adored Raikin since childhood. It was then that the managers of the Moon Theater noticed her, where the girl began performing in 2004.
Konstantin Raikin also influenced Valeria’s development as a film actress. In her final year, Lanskaya had to literally be torn between studying and traveling to Moldova to film the film “The Hare over the Abyss,” which became her personal debut in cinema.
After playing the role of the daughter of a gypsy baron in “The Hare,” her next step in cinematography was the main role in the film “Circus Princess,” where she performed all the acrobatic and dance stunts and movements without doubles. Lera was grateful to her parents for the multifaceted physical training she received as a child. This gave the young actress a competitive advantage on her further path into the world of cinema.
Over the next years, Lanskaya discovered new horizons for herself, playing a wide variety of, often genre-contradictory roles. She did not forget about the theater, where she could often be seen in the most famous musicals. Of course, television could not miss such a versatile star, and soon Valeria was already participating in the Ice Age project, where the actress’s figure skating skills were very useful.
The girl’s partner in the project was Alexey Yagudin, with whom she managed to take third place. In the next project, “Ice Age - the best of the best,” the couple climbed to the second step of the podium.
Participation in television shows
Valeria Lanskaya, whose filmography is discussed in this article, takes an active part in various television projects. Everyone remembers her brilliant performances paired with Alexei Yagudin in “Ice Ages” in 2008-2009. Together with the famous figure skater, the girl received prizes in two seasons of this colorful show. In 2013, the girl took part in the “Two Stars” project on Channel One, where she sang in a duet with Denis Klyaver. At the same time, actress Valeria Lanskaya was involved in the parody show “Repeat!”, where she demonstrated her talent for transformation. She managed to very accurately portray Klara Novikova, Irina Khakamada, Cher, and the images of other famous people.
Awards
Valeria Lanskaya, whose biography is outlined in this article, received the Audience Award named after. Anatoly Romashin for the role of Cordelia in the production of Lyromania in 2006. The creative activity of the actress was awarded three times with prestigious awards at the “Russian Musical Day” holiday. At the Amur Autumn theater and film festival, Valeria was awarded twice: for her performance of the role of Katyusha Maslova in the production of Saved Love and for her successful production debut in 2012.
Personal life
Valeria Lanskaya, whose biography worries many fans of her talent, dated Anton Kolyuzhny, a producer, for several years. The girl met him in 2010 at the Amur Autumn festival in Blagoveshchensk. The lovers dated for a long time and planned to get married, but broke up in 2012. Valeria Lanskaya and her men are often discussed on the pages of the tabloids. The girl is credited with many novels. At the end of 2013, information appeared in the press that the actress had a new lover. She is dating a guy named Denis, a candidate of sociological sciences. The young people met on a social network, then met in real life and really liked each other. Valeria does not rule out that she will soon marry her chosen one.
Star personal life
Lera Lanskaya's personal life has always been as bright as her roles on stage. Her first romance, which began in the musical “The Count of Monte Cristo,” almost ended in a wedding. Andrei Alexandrin courted the girl for three years, but the couple separated due to ordinary everyday jealousy.
The actress was also in a romantic relationship with her personal trainer. Ilya Averbukh and Valeria Lanskaya met on the first project “Ice Age”. As it turned out, Averbukh and Lanskaya had so much in common that they spent a lot of time together.
It is not surprising that those around them began to look for a romantic background in this rapprochement. But even if there was mutual passion, it ended with the completion of the Ice Age project. Averbukh and Lanskaya chose to part as good friends.
The next acquaintances did not last too long. However, the “yellow press” regularly tried to marry Lanskaya and one of the following famous people:
- producer Anton Kalyuzhny;
- actor Ramaz Chiaureli;
- Head of the TV press service Denis Nazarov.
Valeria answered “inconvenient” questions either jokingly or seriously: “I don’t pay attention to such short-term sympathies. They were and are gone. Nothing bad happened".
Throughout the year, the press amused itself by sorting through the star's likely new parties. Perhaps this would have continued to this day, but the actress herself put an end to the discussion of her novels: the message that Valeria Alexandrovna Lanskaya got married thundered like thunder from a clear sky .
