Who does actress Elena Koreneva call “creatures of creativity”?

BIOGRAPHY

Elena Koreneva was born into the family of the famous Soviet film director Alexei Korenev and Natalya Koreneva, a casting assistant at the Mosfilm film studio. A creative atmosphere always reigned in the house; famous actors, poets and singers came to visit them.

From early childhood, the future actress dreamed of becoming a ballerina. Her idol was Galina Ulanova, the girl looked at her work with admiration and imagined herself on stage. Elena recalls: “The day when they gave me pointe shoes was probably the happiest in my life, but I was not accepted into the Bolshoi Theater School. In general, as they say, it didn’t work out, although I regret it to this day...”

At the insistence of her parents, the girl went to school with in-depth study of the English language. Elena was destined for a career as a translator, but fate turned out differently. At the age of 16, Koreneva starred in her father’s film “Taimyr is calling you.” “Dad was looking for an actress who would play the pure and naive girl Dunya. And so our neighbor and family friend Lenya Platov, who worked at Mosfilm as an artist, said: “Why are you suffering, try Lenka.” I was chubby and freckled. I was suitable for the role. I liked acting, but I didn’t want to become an actress. I imagined that I would be a philosopher. However, I decided to start my education at a theater school. All my parents’ friends studied there and seemed to me to be bright and liberated personalities,” says the actress.

After school, Elena Koreneva entered the Higher Theater School named after. B.V. Shchukin, which she successfully graduated in 1975.

Daughter of Alexey Korenev

The biography of Elena Koreneva, like all children of famous parents, it would seem, could not be different. The daughter of a famous director must certainly graduate from a theater university, then act in films and instantly become famous. But this is a misconception. One might think so without going into the details of Elena Koreneva’s biography.

She was born in 1953 in the family of a cinematographer who did not always have the opportunity to film what he wanted, often wrote scripts “on the table”, and his films were accused of bourgeois frivolity. As for the family tradition of creating or acting in films, there was none at all. Elena Koreneva's older sister played only two cameo roles in her father's films and later became an artist. The heroine of today’s story herself dreamed of becoming a ballerina as a child, but she was not accepted into the choreographic school.

Elena Alekseevna Koreneva’s father is the creator of the legendary “Big Change” - a film that has been loved by several generations of viewers. But the director's success was preceded by many years of creative torment. Filming was prohibited, and sometimes already filmed material was sent “to the shelf.” Failures throughout his life filled him with uncertainty and slight disappointment. He never associated himself with the great figures of Soviet cinema. It was as if he was in the shadow of famous actors and directors. Talking about her family, Elena Koreneva first of all remembers her father, who passed away in the mid-nineties, and never had time to understand the significance of his paintings for Russian viewers.

Elena Alekseevna Koreneva’s mother was the daughter of repressed people. Natalya Konstantinova's father was arrested in 1936. Soon they shot me. Elena Koreneva’s grandmother spent more than twenty years in the camps.

Natalya Konstantinova was raised by a close relative, whose husband was a professor of philosophy and taught at VGIK. Students often came to his house - future actors and directors, who infected Natalya with a love of cinema, and she, in turn, her future husband Alexei Korenev, whom she met during her school years. Elena's mother worked as an assistant director for many years. She worked with Eldar Ryazanov, Andrei Konchalovsky and other famous filmmakers.

THEATER

Immediately after graduating from the institute, the actress was accepted into the troupe of the Sovremennik Theater, where she worked until 1977. She played in the plays “The Princess and the Woodcutter”, “Four Drops”, “Valentin and Valentina”, “And I’ll Go! And I’ll go!”, “Forever Alive.”

In 1977, at the invitation of Anatoly Efros, Elena Koreneva moved to the theater on Malaya Bronnaya. The actress recalls her first meeting with the director: “In the spring of 1977, Anatoly Vasilyevich conducted tests for the film “On Thursday and Never Again.” They called me and invited me to come. Our conversation lasted no more than fifteen minutes and took place amid the continuous chatter of his assistant - she was talking about something interesting on the phone. After talking very briefly and formally, we also said our faceless farewells. And in the evening of the same day they called me with an offer to start rehearsals for the play “A Month in the Country,” directed by Anatoly Efros. Deciding that there was confusion, I asked again about the screen tests, but they confirmed to me that they were talking about the theater, and not about cinema. I was shocked then by his lightness, and from now on this quality will become a criterion of talent for me. A true artist does not need much time to discern the “image” of his interlocutor behind meaningless details.”

On Malaya Bronnaya, the actress played in two more productions by A. V. Efros - the plays “Veranda in the Forest” and “The Continuation of Don Juan”. In 1979, Koreneva left the theater.

Today the actress does not work in the repertory theater, but often collaborates with enterprises. She admits: “The good thing about the enterprise is that the actor chooses the role for himself. If he wants, he agrees, but if he doesn’t want, he doesn’t. In repertory theater, an actor is often simply obliged to play the roles that are given to him. In addition, the enterprise is more mobile; in its pure form it demonstrates the success or failure of the performance.”

MOVIE

Elena’s first big film work was the role of Tanya in Andrei Konchalovsky’s film “The Romance of Lovers.” Koreneva starred in it when she was in her second year at the institute. “My mother worked for some time as an acting assistant on the film “Romance of Lovers” together with Galya Babicheva, and Konchalovsky could not find the main character. One day he asked his mother to show photographs of her daughters. Then he invited “the one who looks like Shirley MacLaine” to a meeting, says the actress.

After her role in the film “Romance of Lovers,” All-Union fame came to Koreneva. New offers rained down on her; many famous directors wanted to work with her. She starred in the films “Sentimental Romance”, “Asya”, “Siberiada”, “Crew”, “That Same Munchausen”, “Pokrovsky Gate”, and many others.

Instagram and Wikipedia Elena Koreneva

In the modern world, it is easy to find the necessary information about an idol, having gadgets with Internet access at hand. Many fans follow a person they are interested in on social networks. However, the actress does not have such a page as Instagram, and Elena Koreneva’s Wikipedia will help you find out details from her life. Here you can find out what films she starred in, the years of her work in Russia and abroad, and how her fate unfolded. Upon arrival in Moscow from America, Elena Alekseevna was shocked by what was written about her in various sources. Someone said that she led an immoral lifestyle, some thought that she was a drunkard, and the yellow press colorfully said that she worked as a waitress for a piece of bread. It was then, after all the ridiculous gossip, that Elena Koreneva decided to publish books about her life, about her men and profession. In them, she reveals some secrets of her past, talks about her thoughts and what really happened to her.

USA

In the early 80s, the actress made an unexpected decision to give up everything and move to the USA. “It seemed to me that I was tired of the acting profession, I needed to rest and change the “scenery” of my life. In addition, I talked a lot with representatives of the so-called golden youth - children of famous artists, poets and writers who dreamed of leaving for some capitalist country. Involuntarily, I began to try on such a fate for myself. Then I experienced several romances with foreigners and realized that there was nothing unrealistic in my desire. If you set a goal for yourself, you can leave. And fate gave me such a chance: I met Kevin, married him and went to America,” recalls Elena.

Abroad, Koreneva worked as a cloakroom attendant, a manager in a company selling gold and precious stones, and worked as a waitress in the Samovar restaurant. Over the years spent in the USA, the actress starred in several films, including Andrei Konchalovsky’s “Mary’s Beloved” (1984) and “Homer and Eddie” (1989).

LATER WORKS

Elena finally returned to Russia only at the end of 1993. It was already a completely different country. The actress recalls: “In the winter I wore jeans with torn knees, then it was a novelty. I inserted English words into the conversation to make it easier to express thoughts. Having lived in America for some time, I completely mastered the exclamations “wow” and “oops”. True, at first they burst out of me completely out of place.”

In 1999, Koreneva graduated from the Higher Directing Courses (workshop of A.N. Mitta). Based on her own script, she shot the short films “Chopin’s Nocturne” and “Lucy and Grisha.”

Today, the actress is in demand in films, especially often seen in TV series. She starred in the films “Blood Sisters”, “The Year of the Goldfish”, “Urgently to the Room”, “I Leave You Love”, “The Doctor”, “Leningrad 46”, and many others.

Contribution to the development of Russian art and not only

But Elena’s creative activity was not limited to performances in the theater. In those same years, while participating in theatrical productions, she starred in four films. Moreover, in 1978, Elena Koreneva and Andrei Konchalovsky again worked together on the set of the famous director’s next project, “Sibiriyada.” In the four-part war epic, our heroine got one of the minor roles - the image of Taya Solomina.

And the very next year, the celebrity appeared before the audience in the leading role in the two-part feature film “That Same Munchausen,” where she played a charming girl, Martha, in love with the main character. After some time, the actress was invited to star in another Soviet film hit - the film “Matchmaking of a Hussar”. And again she gets the main role - the young and romantic Liza Potapova, the beloved of the hussar Ivan Nalimov (this role was played by Mikhail Boyarsky).

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However, soon the popular Soviet actress faced a year-long break from work. In 1982, she suffered from depression, to combat which Elena Alekseevna had to leave her homeland and go to the USA. The actress emigrated from the USSR almost immediately after the two-part film directed by M. Kozakov, “Pokrovsky Gate,” was released.

Lyudochka, a nurse played by the actress in Pokrovsky Gate, was remembered by television viewers for her eccentricity and optimism against the backdrop of the realities of the early 80s. In 1986, our heroine decided to return to the Soviet Union, enriched with knowledge of the French language, with improved English and experience as a waitress.

In 1988 and 1989, Koreneva starred in two more Soviet films. In one, even in the title role (“The Comedy of Lysistrata”).

Throughout her active creative film career, Elena Alekseevna Koreneva was involved in a huge number of films, many of which became classics of Soviet cinema. The total filmography of the heroine of our article includes more than fifty films, including modern TV series:

• “Leningrad 46” was released in 2020, shown on the NTV channel.
• “Philfak” has been broadcast since 2020 on the TNT channel.

Elena Koreneva, whose biography and personal life is covered here, in addition to her acting abilities, was also able to reveal her talents as a writer and director. She presented her original works as a screenwriter at the end of the 20th century. These were the short films “Chopin's Nocturne” (1998) and “Lucy and Grisha” (1999).

In addition, Elena has published three books of her own authorship, which are biographical in nature:

• “The Idiot: A Biography Novel,” published in 2001.
• “Net-Lenka: Biographical Prose”, year of publication – 2004.
• “Creatures of Creativity” – published in 2009-2010.

Currently, despite her age (the actress will celebrate her 65th birthday this year), Elena Alekseevna continues to lead an active lifestyle. She is a well-known human rights activist and simply an outstanding woman who often appears on television and participates in discussing the problems of our society in the media.

BOOKS

In 2001, Koreneva’s biography novel “The Idiot” was published, in which the author willingly shares with readers the details of his life and talks about meeting and working together with interesting people. Three years later, another autobiography of the actress appeared on the shelves of bookstores - the book “Net-Lenka”.

More recently, the actress decided to try herself in the genre of fiction. In 2010, Koreneva’s book “Creatures of Creativity” was published. “My book is about people who are creative. Behind fictitious names there are real persons and events. I used my observations on film sets, in the theater, and recordings of telephone conversations that seemed funny or interesting to me. There is a double meaning hidden in the title of the book. “Creatures of creativity” are not only “God’s creatures,” that is, you and me. But also those people who are called “creatures”, wanting to give them a certain characteristic. And the beginning of the book is detective,” explains Elena Koreneva.

Elena Koreneva now

Now the actress is actively filming. Her creative biography does not stand still, and her filmography is replenished with more than one project every year.

Elena Koreneva in the film “Her name was Mumu”

In 2020, Vladimir Mirzoev’s film “Her Name was Mumu” ​​was released. The plot of the film is based on real events. All of them are associated with blogger Ekaterina Gerasimova, known as “Katya Mumu”. At one time, the girl worked for the special services and had relationships with a number of opposition politicians. Meetings with them were filmed and then posted online as incriminating evidence.

The film received mixed reviews. However, Koreneva received the Nika Award in 2020 for her supporting role.

Elena Koreneva on the set of the film “Excellent Student”

Then Elena Koreneva appeared in the comedy series “Philfak”

and in the detective serial film
"Excellent Student"
.

In March 2020, the premiere of the television series “The Other Side of Love” took place. The plot is built around a girl named Natalya. She lives an ordinary life and raises her daughter alone. At one time, Natasha was abandoned by her fiance, leaving her ex-lover with a child.

Elena Koreneva in the series “The Other Side of Love”

By chance, she meets businessman Mikhail, played by Vladimir Zherebtsov. An entrepreneur falls in love with a girl and gets her beloved a job as a director in his store. Mikhail’s mother, Tamara Gavrilovna, is against her son’s relationship with Natalya. She tries to separate the couple. The role of Tamara Gavrilovna was brilliantly performed by Elena Koreneva.

In addition, the artist will appear in the films “Van Gogh” and “Russian Demon”.

PERSONAL LIFE

On the set of the film “Romance of Lovers,” Koreneva began an affair with the director of the film, Andrei Konchalovsky. Their relationship lasted three years, after which the couple broke up.

In 1982, the actress married a teacher of Russian language and literature, Kevin Moss. However, after a few years their marriage broke up.

Now Elena lives in a civil marriage with the famous actor Andrei Tashkov. “We are two people who met and could not part. Our relationship has gone through all stages, except for the stamp in the passport and divorce. They even once tried to separate and each start a new romance, but they remained together. And who knows what’s ahead,” admits the actress.

Elena Koreneva spoke about the details of her personal life in the program “The Fate of a Man with Boris Korchevnikov.”

Elena Koreneva's ex-husband - Kevin Moss

When the actress was twenty-eight years old, her fate changed dramatically. She met a man with whom she would later connect her life. It was then that she needed changes that would lead her out of depression. Elena suffered from obsessive attention from the authorities; they constantly called her at home and asked if there were foreigners around her and what they were like. Plus, in the professional sphere, her state of mind left much to be desired. The actress said that it was as if the soul and body were separated, the body worked, got dressed, put on makeup, and the soul cried quietly. It was during that period that Elena and her friends went to visit a foreign woman, where one of the guests was also an American named Kevin. He became very interested in the young woman and their romance began to develop quickly. They were interested in being together and spent quite a lot of time together. When Kevin proposed his hand in marriage to Elena, the girl immediately agreed. They got married in the capital and a few months later went to live in their husband’s native country. The actress's relatives had mixed reactions to the actress's choice, and Elena's father did not even attend her wedding, as he was very worried about his daughter. The actress lived in America for about eleven years, but never found her happiness. She divorced her husband because Elena Koreneva’s ex-husband, Kevin Moss, turned out to be bisexual. His love for men was greater than for his wife, and in his defense he used the Russian proverb “You can’t go against nature.”

INTERVIEW

About age

“Perhaps I am philosophical about age. Age is not something that only happens to you. And thoughts about death come not only in old age, but just the opposite. It was in my youth that I loved to indulge in decadent moods and think about sudden departure. But the older I get, the more interesting life becomes to me, with all its challenges, mysteries and twists and turns.”

About the acting profession

“The actor’s work itself already contains conflict. On the one hand, it is very pleasant for vanity: the audience remembers you, the directors need you as an actress. On the other hand, acting is very expensive. And not only moral, but also material. An actor needs to look good all the time. You can’t sit in front of the TV or read a book for an extra hour, because you have to go to bed early. Or, conversely, you have to get up early. And sometimes you have to waste a lot of time on the set. You are irritated by the conditions in which you find yourself during this forced wait, by the food they feed you. But I still love my profession and am never disappointed in it.”

About family life

“In my opinion, you need to maintain some kind of balance of freedom and lack of freedom, and not let a person get tired of you.”

About freedom

“I don’t have a title, a dacha, a car... I’m not officially married, I don’t have children. Not only am I free, I feel pretty good. I like that a lot of things are no longer a task for me and I don’t have to fight for them because of my age. For example, I don’t care whether I’m married or not.”

Based on materials from the books “Idiot” and “Net-Lenka” by E. Koreneva, websites kino-teatr.ru, vokrug.tv, 7days.ru, bulvar.com.ua, sobesednik.ru, ug.ru, kp.ru, peoples .ru

FILMOGRAPHY: ACTRESS

• The Other Side of Love (2018)
• Leningrad 46 (2014-2015)
• Weak Woman (2014)
• Doctor (2014)
• Insomnia (2014), TV series
• I leave you love (2013)
• Rehearsals (2013)
• Double Life (2013), TV series
• Stone (2011)
• Boris Godunov (2011)
• Blizzard (2010)
• Roses for Elsa (2009)
• Urgently to the room (2007), TV series
• Year of the Goldfish (2007)
• Dead, Alive, Dangerous (2006)
• 1st Ambulance (2006)
• Blood Sisters (2006), TV series
• Silver lily of the valley-2 (2005), TV series
• Silver lily of the valley (2004), TV series
• Spy Games: Illegal (2004)
• Dad (2004)
• People and Shadows-2. Optical illusion (2003), TV series
• Stiletto (2003)
• Clean Keys (2003)
• Ice Age (2002)
• Code of Honor (2002)
• Northern Lights (2001)
• Happy new happiness!-2. Kiss in the Frost (2001)
• With new happiness! (1999)
• Full Moon Day (1998)
• Zenboxing (1998)
• The Devil's Charm (1994)
• Kashtanka (1994)
• Anna Karamazova (1991)
• Chernov (1990)
• The Lonely Man's Trap (1990)
• Comedy about Lysistrata (1989)
• Homer and Eddie (1989)
• Maria's Lovers (1984)
• Pokrovsky Gate (1982)
• Sturdy (1982)
• Apple in the Palm (1981)
• Lenin in Paris (1981)
• An Ideal Husband (1980)
• Crew (1980)
• Morning Walk (1979)
• The Same Munchausen (1979)
• Hussar's Matchmaking (1979)
• The Same Munchausen (1979)
• Yaroslavna, Queen of France (1978)
• Sibiriada (1978)
• Asya (1977)
• Sentimental Romance (1976)
• The Cherry Orchard (1975)
• Romance of Lovers (1974)
• Morning Walk (1974)
• Assignment (1973)
• Sing a Song, Poet (1971)
• Taimyr is calling you (1970)
• Once again about love (1968)