Childhood and youth
Actress Ekaterina Olkina was born on November 8, 1985 in the North, in the small town of Kotlas, Arkhangelsk region. Her zodiac sign is Scorpio. Katya's childhood memories are connected with Samara, where her parents took the girl when she was not even a year old. Katya Olkina danced from the age of 3 and went to the pool from the age of four. The girl also tried her hand at drawing, but did not discover any talent in this art form.
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Actress Ekaterina Olkina
Ekaterina Olkina studied at a gymnasium with a focus on foreign languages. She studied English, French and Latin in depth, and seriously thought about entering the Faculty of English Philology. But the musical “Another World” burst into the life of a young girl. Ekaterina lived in Paris for a month, rehearsed every day, and upon returning to Russia, she did not think about another profession other than acting.
Ekaterina Olkina was taking documents to the pop and jazz school on Ordynka, but, having mixed up metro stations, she ended up at GITIS. Later, the artist realized that fate brought her to the theater institute. Katya passed the qualifying round and entered the music department, the course of Alexander Barmak.
Ekaterina Olkina: “Vanya and I came to the registry office in jeans, holding hands”
I hope you understand that my figure has changed somewhat,” Katya laughs when we discuss images for the cover on the eve of the shoot. “I also cut my hair.” So I’m like, surprise girl.” It’s not without reason that they say that people born in the north are special, friendly and open-minded. This is exactly how Olkina seemed to us. Our heroine was born in the city of Kotlas, Arkhangelsk region, and spent her childhood in Samara. Her entry into the acting profession was... spontaneous. In fact, Katya dreamed of becoming a singer and at the age of fourteen she even went to France to present the musical “Another World”. But when, after graduating from school, accompanied by her mother, she came to Moscow to enter the pop and jazz school, fate intervened. They got confused and got off at the wrong metro station. And by chance, passing by RATI (formerly GITIS), they gave the documents there. Today Olkina treats her profession with respect, love, but also with some caution. After all, sometimes, having tried on some role, you can play too much.
Katya, recently the series “Double Life” was broadcast on Channel One, where we saw you in a completely different image. What made you change your image so dramatically? Ekaterina Olkina: “Any actress can be forced to radically change her appearance by her favorite profession. For the role, which promised to be very interesting, I had to cut my hair, but, alas, circumstances changed and the project was closed.”
How was the sacrifice in vain?! Ekaterina: “I’m used to being philosophical about changes in my life. If something happens, it is not by chance. And, I hope, for the better. I've never had a short haircut, so it was a serious experiment on myself. (Smiles.) For me, in cinema, a change in the usual image is always a joy; I feel a certain impetus for further development. This helps me find the “grain” of the role. This means that now it’s time to reconsider everything that I have done so far in the profession. It must be said that directors and casting directors were divided into two camps. Someone didn’t perceive me at all in the new image and said: “What have you done!” You cut off your bread!“. And someone, on the contrary, saw a certain French charm in me. (Laughs.) And I really hope for worthy proposals from this other camp. In a philosophical sense, it is believed that cutting your hair means “resetting yourself,” opening the way to something new. Perhaps now I really need a time-out to accumulate energy for the next push. Lately, I’ve had four projects going on at the same time, filming in different cities - and these flights and travel took a lot of energy.”
Vladimir Vdovichenkov and Ekaterina Olkina in the TV series “Once Upon a Time in Rostov.” Photo: still from the series.
However, many actresses argue differently: while you are young, you need to act in films. Moreover, you have the role of a lyrical heroine. Ekaterina: “Oh, I don’t want to stay in this role! (Laughs.) And I’m always happy when I’m offered character roles. I would love to work in serious, auteur cinema. (Smiles.) Secondly, I think that you shouldn’t overfeed the viewer with yourself. It’s not for nothing that people often complain on film forums that we have the same faces in our TV series. I'm not one of those actors who needs everything at once. I am for quality and for seeing some meaning in what I do. After NTV showed the series “Capital of Sin” - about the girl Katya Solntseva, who dreamed of becoming a photographer and came to conquer the capital, I received a letter. Written by a woman whose husband left her. With his departure, she lost the meaning of life and faith in herself, fell into depression, and did not leave the house for days. And she had the TV on in the background. At some point she became interested in what was happening there on the screen. She started watching the film and remembered that in her youth she was also interested in photography. I went online, found some courses, learned and now I’m building my career in this field! I’m ready to work for one such letter.”
Amazing story! Did your conquest of the capital take place without bloodshed? Catherine: “I was born in the year of the Ox. And as my mother jokes: “You definitely need to dig to the center of the Earth.” Indeed, blessings did not fall on me just like that. Yes, after graduating from theater school, I was immediately offered the main role in the film “The Volga River Flows,” and then I had wonderful partners and directors who helped me grow professionally. But! “Once Upon a Time in Rostov” lay on the shelf for five years. “Double Life” - three years. Now I’m also looking forward to a film called “Family Album.” I hope it doesn't linger. I'm curious to see this work of mine for myself. By the way, I’m not the lyrical heroine there, I play a girl with a difficult fate. (Smiles.) The events take place in the sixties, my heroine studies at a theater institute. She is ambitious, pretty, but, alas, mediocre. The whole family looks at her like a spoiled princess and, in fact, expects nothing from her. And it was very interesting for me to show this transformation from a dummy into an adult, independent person... Until it happened that some kind of picture came out - and bam, I woke up famous. Well, that means this is my path. And I accept it. In addition, this allows me not to be wasted on any attributes of the life of a public person and to completely immerse myself in my work.”
I also meant the everyday side. Many people, coming to the metropolis from the provinces, experience shock at first. Ekaterina: “I spent my childhood in Samara, it is a large city with a population of one million. There is also a metro there. (Laughs.) And the rhythm of my life was quite energetic. At the age of three, my mother sent me to dance, at four - to the swimming pool, to a music school and a drawing club. When my parents realized that fine art was not my thing, they even took it away from me. (Laughs.) But I studied music seriously, I sang well. We even went to France with the musical “Another World,” it was a joint Russian-French production. I lived there for a month and a half. So life was busy even before moving to Moscow. Nothing has changed radically. Moreover, my mother came with me, who did not want to leave her daughter alone. Although I had impulses to go live in a dormitory and experience all the delights of student life, my filial duty took over. We rented an apartment together, and this helped a lot, because here in Moscow I had such a piece of home. Everything developed organically. Then we bought an apartment and moved dad from Samara. (Smiles.)
“My friends say: “Katya, give this country at least one real man!” “Can you imagine the responsibility I have,” jokes Ekaterina Olkina. Photo: Instagram.com/ekaterina_olkina.
And my mother always dreamed of living in Moscow, she entered the physics and technical college here, but one point was missing. So now, thanks to me, her dream has come true. She is very interested in art, we go to theaters together. I have always dreamed of the Dodin Theater - a small creative laboratory where one performance is rehearsed for five years. (Smiles.) And my mother absolutely loved it all too. In general, she is a unique, versatile personality. She graduated from an aerospace university, then taught information systems, and during the years of perestroika she became an anti-crisis manager. At the same time, she also sang in the choir, and took first place at a literary competition in Yasnaya Polyana. And what I like about her is that she doesn’t stop developing. In this I want to be like her.”
When parents use authority, we unwittingly copy the relationships they had. Ekaterina: “In this case, everything is just the opposite. I looked at how active and responsible my mother was, just the driving force in the family, and I didn’t want to take on the same role. But, as they say, never say never. Very often in our lives exactly what you say you won’t happen happens. For a long time, my thirst for independence - first from my parents, and then the desire to basically get on my feet, to become established as a person - took me far from my own idea of what an ideal family should be. Hermann Hesse has a phrase in “Steppenwolf” that as soon as a person begins to passionately desire something - whether it be power, money, independence - fate endows him with it to such an extent that he begins to strain himself and is no longer happy about what happened . And it’s true: I was so eager to be strong, independent, successful that, unnoticed by myself, I turned into the woman I didn’t want to become. Now I have changed. Maybe age has come, and youthful maximalism has already exhausted itself. Or maybe there was no person next to whom I would want to feel weak. But I can state: changes have occurred. Before that, I didn’t understand: “Why is this happening? My friends have had families and children for a long time, but I’m somehow wrong.” No, it's not wrong. She simply, without admitting it to herself, was running away from it. I believe that when a person matures internally and is ready to face his destiny, this will happen.”
Back in an April interview with a magazine, you admitted that you were in love, but everything was just beginning. Apparently, then events developed rapidly. Ekaterina: “Cut hair is to blame for everything! (Laughs.) Well, I guess I was a little disingenuous then. Or was the interview at the beginning of the month? I got married in April and now I proudly wear my ring. (Shows the wedding ring on his ring finger. - Author’s note.) I’m very happy about this event, so far I like everything.”
Judging by the fact that there was no information in the press, the wedding was modest? Ekaterina: “I have had a phobia of wedding celebrations all my life. In my youth, for some reason I convinced myself that I would never get married. It seems like it was a phrase from some movie: “They marry people like you, but they don’t forget people like me.” And this sunk into my soul, I thought: “How cool it is when they don’t forget you.” (Laughs.) Even if I had to play a bride in a movie and wear a wedding dress, I felt uneasy. My psyche simply did not accept this. (Laughs.) There were several on-screen weddings, but I couldn’t even imagine what kind of wedding I would like to see. So Vanya (Ivan Zamotaev, actor, musician and composer. - Author's note) and I decided to just come to the registry office in jeans, holding hands. After the painting, we gathered our parents and closest friends for a festive lunch, and in the evening we went on a trip.”
There were no pre-wedding jitters? Ekaterina: “It was! Right before you cross the threshold of the registry office. I don’t know how my husband had the patience and some kind of wisdom to endure all these attacks and hysterics of mine. No other person could stand them. By the way, we were late for registration because it took me a long time to gather my strength. (Laughs.) And when they arrived, they were already painting a couple, so we had to wait. We are sitting. And suddenly... the lights go out in the entire registry office building! Pitch darkness and silence. And my voice is heard: “Well, that means it’s not fate.” The moment I said this, the light came on. (Laughs.) “Fate, fate,” said my husband.”
What a fine fellow! Ekaterina: “Yes, I’m surprised where he has so much patience with me! Because he is also a creative person and sometimes emotionally unrestrained. Perhaps love gives strength.” (Smiles.)
Did you meet your future husband at work? Ekaterina: “At the film festival. And we just talked for quite a long time. Before that, I was attracted to a completely different type of men - some kind of protest, rock and roll personalities.”
Ekaterina Olkina with her husband Ivan Zamotaev. Photo: Instagram.com/ekaterina_olkina.
And Ivan? Ekaterina: “What he does for his group “Zamataev Band” is very rock and roll. (Laughs.) But towards me he shows completely different character traits, becomes soft and patient. Actually, at first I fell in love with what he does. He invited me to concerts and performances. (Ivan works at the “Other Theater” and the “Quartet I” theater. - Author’s note.) Relationships should develop, this is normal. It is very important for me that the person next to me opens up a new world for me. I think this is a unique opportunity to complement each other, and if such a desire arises, then to change in some way.”
As I understand it, time-out at work is also related to your position. Are you expecting a child... Ekaterina: “It happened instinctively: as soon as I found out about my pregnancy, I immediately wanted to switch gears and devote myself to my family. I've come such a long way to this. (Laughs.) I’m twenty-nine years old...”
...And in Europe, many people still don’t even think about starting a family. Ekaterina: “Well, that’s there, but for my grandmother I was an old maid. (Laughs.) So now she is very happy for me. Maybe I was a little hasty in going on maternity leave because I understand that I already miss work. But it seems to me that this was still the right decision. Acting families are special; very often people are forced to adapt to each other’s filming schedules and put up with forced separation. And right now, when we just got married, the foundation is being laid on which we can further build our long and happy life. I don’t have the mindset that I’ll give birth to a child and give up my career. No, on the contrary, I believe that these can and should be combined. Find some kind of middle ground. Don’t grab on to all the projects in a row, don’t fly to Cuba to film for three months, as I did before. (Smiles.) Then I had a desire to get out of the house. The more travel and work, the better. That's how I felt alive. Three days in the four walls of the house - and that’s it, I went crazy.” (Laughs.)
And now you've become a homebody? Ekaterina: “No... (Smiles.) But I hope when the baby appears, I will be drawn home. Although it’s difficult to predict anything now.”
Who do you dream of - a son or a daughter? Ekaterina: “I always wanted a daughter. The girl is somehow closer to her mother, you can dress her up and play with dolls. (Laughs.) Now I think that having a son is probably great too. There will be an assistant. All my friends now say: “Katya, give this country at least one real man.” Can you imagine the responsibility I have!” (Laughs.)
Has something changed in you, any new habits, tastes? Ekaterina: “Even without knowing about my pregnancy, I suddenly started listening to Radio Classic. I remember taking my mother to the airport, and this radio station started playing. Mom looked at me so strangely... (Smiles.) For some reason I was drawn to classical music. People around me say that I have changed, become softer. I myself don’t notice any drastic changes - I feel so harmonious in my current state. Of course, there are times when you want to feel sorry for yourself and cry. But overall, I think this is a wonderful period for a woman to enjoy. I view it as a time-out from work, which you can devote to your family, yourself, and your development. By the way, I started singing again, I’m taking vocal lessons.”
It’s all for a reason: classical music, vocals. The boy will probably be musical. Ekaterina: “Or she will hate music. (Laughs.) Either dad plays Bach’s “The Well-Tempered Clavier” on the button accordion, or mom sings Whitney Houston songs. It’s clear that we won’t impose anything ourselves; we’ll see what his inclinations are. Vanya told me that when he was taken to a toy store as a child, all the boys stretched their hands to the cars, and he to the harp. So wherever you want, we’ll give it there.”
It seems to me that when parents enroll their child in all sections in a row, their own vanity speaks here - to raise a child prodigy. Ekaterina: “It seems to me that things have changed in this regard now. I don’t read specialized literature, but from time to time I come across some books on raising children. And in one of them I read that there is no need to convince a child that he is the smartest, the best, and so on. Otherwise, he will develop a complex of unfulfilled parental expectations. After all, he will not always be able to be the best in everything. I felt it myself. I am the only child in the family, and all the efforts of my parents were aimed at making something out of me. I wanted to prove that everything they invested in me was not in vain. This is a very heavy burden. I hope we have enough wisdom not to burden our son with our love and our faith in him.”
Ekaterina Olkina’s latest work is the film “Double Life”. Photo: Instagram.com/ekaterina_olkina.
Katya, did you change your last name? Ekaterina: “No. Everyone knows me as Olkina! When I came to the first acting agency in my life, they offered me to change my last name. I was very little then, and was somehow confused. But one of the casting directors said: “Put doesn’t even think about it, such a surname is memorable!” Well, my family is pleased that I work like Olkina.”
Does mom like what you do? Ekaterina: “She doesn’t like that I dive deeply into the material. I'm afraid I won't get out of character. There is such a danger; many actors overplay it. In life, I am not a homicidal maniac, not a prostitute, and not a physicist. But I have to play this, and we get all the “components” for the role from our internal emotional reserves. You can strengthen a trait so that it grows like a tumor. On my last day of filming “A Double Life,” I experienced mixed feelings. On the one hand, it was a pity that it all ended; we had a good team. On the other hand, I felt relieved: “Goodbye, Nina!” She influenced me very much. I began to notice that I reacted more nervously to everything, and was more critical of people. So it is a necessary part of the profession to take off your mask. I hope that over time I will be able to develop this ability to switch. And family and home should help with this. This is your fortress where you can be yourself.”
There are many such actresses who sacrificed their personal lives for the sake of their careers. Ekaterina: “Yes, there are many such examples, especially in Soviet times. It's easier now. Previously, actresses were afraid that they would go on maternity leave and lose their position as a prima in the theater or miss out on the main role in a movie. Of course, I want to leave a mark in this life, but the question is: at what cost? Your films are also a legacy. But is it comparable to what you can leave as a continuation of your family? A piece of my “I” that will continue to live on this earth.”
Personal life
Olkina met her future husband at a film festival. Ivan Zamotaev is Ekaterina’s colleague, 2 years older. Before going to the registry office, the couple dated for a long time. After celebrating a modest wedding, the newlyweds went on a trip.
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Ivan Zamotaev and Ekaterina Olkina
In November 2020, the couple had their first child, who was named Dmitry. The boy was born on the actress’s birthday, and on her 30th anniversary. According to Olkina, she has a special connection with her son. The artist is also sensitive to the baby’s health, so she breastfed him until he was one and a half years old. Even work didn’t interfere; every day the actress sent expressed milk home from the set.
Ekaterina’s personal life with Ivan Zamotaev did not work out. Almost immediately after the birth of the child, the couple separated. Dmitry's upbringing fell on his mother's shoulders. She has adapted to go on filming with her son, where a nanny helps her look after the boy.
Now I'm a man of the world
- A simple girl, Lucy, from a provincial town - this is practically about you.
You also came to conquer Moscow from Samara. “I’m as much a loner as Lucy, and in this we are in agreement.” She, like me, seeks truthful relationships with people without trying to play some games with them, and not everyone likes that. I can say that back in school they called me a lone wolf. We had groups in our class - “smart guys”, “stooges” and so on, but I didn’t want to join any of them. I was interested in different guys, but I didn’t interfere with my friendship with anyone. And she managed not to fall under anyone’s influence. Only my mother influenced me, she formed in me an understanding of how important it is to develop all the time and have my own outlook on life.
Ekaterina Olkina now
Today, the actress does not waste time and uses every opportunity for self-education. She regularly travels to Europe and the USA for acting training, combining travel around the world with professional development. The actress is waiting for serious offers from directors - she dreams of working in auteur cinema, and she is attracted not only to dramatic, but also to character roles.
Ekaterina Olkina in 2020 (still from the series “Altitude Sickness”)
In 2020, work on the “Sand Castle” project was completed, in which Ekaterina Olkina appeared in an ensemble cast with Artem Karasev, Kristina Kuzmina, and Evgeny Shirikov. And already in the summer, the premiere of the detective story “Altitude Sickness” started, in which Olga Lomonosova and Pyotr Barancheev became the actress’s partners.
Now the artist is working on several projects, including the thriller “The Techie,” where Ekaterina will appear as the main character. Her wife is played by Vladimir Zherebtsov.
The most interesting
Actresses who received the Golden Raspberry for Worst Actress (02/13/2020)
Actresses who have overcome alcohol addiction (05/15/2019)
The actress publishes romantic family photos on social networks. You can also find photos on the Internet in which a celebrity is captured during the creative process.
Filmography
- 2006 – “Stalin.Live”
- 2007 – “Servant of the Sovereigns”
- 2009 – “The Volga River Flows”
- 2010 – “Capital of Sin”
- 2010 – “St. John’s wort-2”
- 2012 – “Once upon a time in Rostov”
- 2013 – “Only You”
- 2013 – “Night Swallows”
- 2013 – “The Three Musketeers”
- 2014 – “While the village sleeps”
- 2014 – “Turn the other way around”
- 2014 – “Cop”
- 2015 – “Family Album”
- 2016 – “Broken Hearts”
- 2017 – “Substitution”
- 2019 – “Fortune Teller”
- 2019 – “Altitude sickness”
Actor career
Ekaterina Olkina made her film debut while still a student - the teachers had no problem letting the student go to auditions and filming. Catherine’s first film work was a role in the biographical series “Stalin.Live” (2006), which offers a solution to the mysterious death of the Soviet leader. During her senior year, Olkina played small roles in a number of TV series, including “Kolobkov. A real colonel!” (2007), “Morozov” (2007) and “Cop in Law” (2008).
Ekaterina made her film debut while still a student.
In 2009, immediately after graduating from university, the actress received her first leading role - in the lyrical melodrama “The Volga River Flows.” Ekaterina played a married village woman, Lyudmila, with whom a young archaeologist Andrei (Ignatiy Akrachkov) falls in love, helping a local old man (Vladimir Menshov) restore the old church. According to the actress’s recollections, when Menshov began asking her about her childhood and family, it turned out that his wife Vera Alentova was also born in Kotlas.
Ekaterina Olkina and Nikolai Dobrynin in the film “The Volga River Flows”
The most difficult moment of filming for the girl was swimming in the river, because the calendar already showed October 4th. During the first attempt, Catherine lost her breath, so she could not say her line, and the take fell through. But already on the second take everything turned out perfect. This episode characterizes Catherine as a true enthusiast of her profession.
After the series was released on one of the central channels, Olkina was given leading roles. The actress appeared in the TV series “Capital of Sin” (NTV, 2010), “St. John’s Wort” (seasons 2 and 3, 2011-2012, NTV), “Road to Easter Island” (Russia-1, 2012), as well as in the Russian-Cuban adventure series “Gloria's Gold” (2012), in which she appeared as a captive Spanish woman.
Still from the series “Capital of Sin”
In 2013, Ekaterina broke through to Channel One - the girl starred in the military drama series Night Swallows, playing a pilot of a special women's aviation regiment. Other roles in the series were played by Tatyana Arntgolts, Denis Nikiforov, Elizaveta Nilova.
An even more successful project for Olkina was the 24-episode crime saga “Once Upon a Time in Rostov” (2015, Channel One), based on real events. The plot of the series, with the participation of Vladimir Vdovichenkov, Kirill Pletnev, Sergei Zhigunov, Bogdan Stupka and Alena Babenko, revolves around the Tolstopyatov gang, which operated in the Rostov region in the 60s. The series, which had been on the shelf for five years, received several prestigious awards, and was also nominated for TEFI and Golden Eagle.
Ekaterina Olkina on the set of the series “Once Upon a Time in Rostov”
This was followed by a role in the series “Double Life” (2015, Channel One), for which the actress radically changed her image. However, it was not the first time for Catherine to change her hairstyle. She once cut her hair short for a role, but the project was soon canceled. Olkina’s colleagues were indignant and said that she “cut off her bread,” but someone saw a certain French charm in her.
Ekaterina Olkina with short hair
One of Ekaterina’s most striking works was her role in the historical series “The Three Musketeers” (2015, directed by Sergei Zhigunov). In it, the actress appeared in the image of the Duchess de Chevreuse, one of the main intriguers of France in the first half of the 17th century.
Ekaterina Olkina in the series “The Three Musketeers”
On the set of the series “Family Album” (2016, Channel One), Olkina again plunged into the atmosphere of past centuries. This time the story takes place in the 1950s and tells the story of a brilliant physicist Kolokoltsev (Igor Sklyar), whose family is going through difficult times. “Family Album” took 8th place in the list of the most discussed Russian TV series of 2020, and the number of Ekaterina’s fans increased significantly.
Ekaterina Olkina in the series “Family Album”
Also in 2016-2017, the actress could be seen in the melodramatic mini-series on Russia-1 “Substitution” and “Broken Hearts”. In both, Olkina played leading roles.
