The biography of Lyubov Orlova is complex and ambiguous. The famous Soviet actress was born in Zvenigorod near Moscow on February 11, 1902 into a family of Russian nobles. During her life, she played many bright roles, becoming a style icon and symbol of Soviet cinema. Lyubov Petrovna has long passed away, but interest in the films in which she starred still does not subside.
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The youth of a future star
When the actress was born, her father, Pyotr Fedorovich, served in the military department. For his valor in service, the sovereign awarded him several medals. The girl’s mother, Evgenia Nikolaevna, once graduated from the Smolny Institute. In addition to Lyubov, the family had an eldest child - daughter Nonna. The future actress was lucky enough to be born not just into a noble family - her parents were friends with Leo Tolstoy and Pyotr Chaliapin.
If the girl liked the writer as the author of “Prisoner of the Caucasus,” then the singer Chaliapin had a significant influence on her development as a future star. Pyotr Fedorovich visited the Orlovs more than once when they spent the summer at Evgenia Nikolaevna’s dacha. In winter, the couple and their children lived in Moscow near the Patriarch's Ponds in an apartment on Spiridonovka.
But most of all, Lyubov remembered the children's parties that the singer organized in his capital house on Novinsky Boulevard. They were remembered for staging performances based on famous fairy tales. In one of them, “Mushroom Trouble” with musical accompaniment, six-year-old Lyuba played her first role as Radish. Chaliapin was fascinated by the girl’s performance and predicted her fate as an actress.
Biography of Lyubov Orlova
The biography of Lyubov Orlova began its countdown from the moment of her birth in Zvenigorod near Moscow.
His father, Pyotr Orlov, served in the military department, and his mother, Evgenia Sukhotina, was a housewife who devoted herself entirely to raising her beloved daughter.
Sister - Nonna or Anna Orlova - was born in 1897, was the most beloved and closest person in the actress’s life, since in childhood the girls were always together. They went to sell milk several kilometers away, supported each other, and the sister often gave interviews about the famous Lyuba. The woman married Sergei Veselov early, Lyuba had two nieces - Nonna and Natasha, who died in infancy.
The little girl moved in creative circles, since Chaliapin and Tolstoy, who, by the way, was related to her, often visited her house. By the way, the parents did their best to develop the girl’s acting and theatrical talents; she played in home performances so talentedly that Chaliapin himself advised sending Lyubasha to a theater studio, but mother and father did not believe in their daughter’s acting future. The fact is that Orlova was disabled due to Meniere's disease diagnosed in her, so she often suffered from attacks.
The beginning of a creative journey
Later, a few years later, the singer’s prophecy began to come true: the first step was Lyubov’s admission to the conservatory to study piano, where her teacher was Karl Augustovich Kippa, a teacher who managed to teach the young girl a lot. The studies, which began in 1919, ended three years later: the difficult situation for the noble family during the revolutionary years did not allow the parents to pay for their daughter’s education.
Lyubov did not despair: by that time she was already earning a little money as a performer - providing musical accompaniment for films. She also managed to dance, having entered the Moscow Lunacharsky Theater College in the choreography department after the conservatory. She ended up with Vera Maya, a talented dancer and teacher.
Since 1922, the girl began to study acting with Elizaveta Teleshova, a famous director and dramatic actress. She prepared her for admission to the Music Studio of the Moscow Art Theater named after V. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko, where she was subsequently able to get a job as a chorus girl.
Fast-paced career
The early life of the aspiring actress began with growth in the profession: Lyubov performed her first episodic role in 1927 in one of the performances. In 1927-1933 she played in the following productions:
- "Carmencita and the Soldier";
- the role of Guersilla in Ango's Daughter, where the actress got a few words;
- opera "Pericola", in which she was a soloist.
The audience appreciated Orlova’s excellent performance, and the young artist soon became recognizable. Since 1933, Love begins to gain weight among film actors. Over the course of several years, a list of her roles in films has been formed:
- Anyuta in the film “Jolly Guys”;
- Ellen in B. Yurtsev’s film “Alena’s Love”;
- the role of Grushenka in “Petersburg Night” by G. Roshal;
- Marion Dixon in the film "Circus";
- Dunya Petrova in the film “Volga, Volga”;
- the main role of Tanya Morozova in “The Shining Path”.
In all these films, Lyubov Petrovna Orlova used her many talents: she sang, performed acrobatic stunts, danced and, of course, acted. Joseph Stalin himself appreciated it, Fr.
Personal relationship between Lyubov Orlova and Franz
In 1932, the actress met an Austrian impresario, whose last name is not recorded in her biography; only his name is known - Franz. Since then, a car with a driver came to pick up Lyubov Petrovna every day.
Lyubov Orlova in the film “Petersburg Night”, 1934
The new lover wanted to take her to Europe and envisioned a brilliant acting career. Orlova’s relationship with Franz lasted about a year, until the actress met the main man of her life.
First marriage and husband's arrest
The personal life of Lyubov Orlova was not very happy at first. The actress’s first husband was not chosen by her for love. In 1926, she became the wife of Andrei Berzin, deputy head of the administrative and financial department of the People's Commissariat of Agriculture. The husband earned significant money for those times, which could allow a 24-year-old girl not to experience financial need.
The reason for marrying an unloved person was the parents of the young actress. They were in great need at that time, and the daughter, using the benefits of marriage, was able to provide for them. Lyubov and Andrey met backstage at the end of one of the performances.
After a short acquaintance, Berzin was introduced to Lyubov’s parents. They then lived in Moscow in an apartment on Gagarin Lane. The Orlov couple liked the young, serious and cultured man with a pleasant appearance. They advised their daughter to marry him, because Andrei held a respectable position.
The actress and her chosen one got married in a short time (at that time marriage formalities were kept to a minimum), and Lyubov moved to her husband’s apartment on Kolpachny Lane. The role of a young wife was easy for her: she sincerely wanted happiness for her family.
Soon the actress's husband received a significant promotion. New responsibilities took up almost all of his time. Love also did not sit idle: the performances and the first filming absorbed her entirely. Her day was scheduled minute by minute: daily rehearsals plus 4 performances a week, and even her own house, which had to be taken care of. This state of affairs could not bring the spouses closer. Due to different interests and constant employment, their marriage could not be called particularly happy.
The actress's quiet life lasted until February 4, 1930. On that terrible day, Andrei Berzin was arrested by OGPU officers on charges of joining the ranks of the opposition. Late at night, in front of his wife, he was taken away in an unknown direction. They never saw each other again.
Love returned to her parents in Gagarinsky Lane. She became withdrawn and silent. Previously, she had to hide her noble roots, but now she had to remain silent about her repressed husband. However, constant employment in the theater and film roles distracted her from difficult thoughts.
She soon acquired a lover: he was the Austrian engineer Franz, who worked in the Soviet Union under a contract. Their romance was short and passionate. Love became seriously infatuated with Franz. Despite her parents' protest, she moved into his room at the National Hotel. In total, they were together for more than a year.
Lyubov Orlova: a love story. The path to the stars
The fateful meeting with Alexandrov is still ahead. Lyubov’s first husband is Andrei Berzin, 9 years older than her. They had nothing in common. But he had a high position, an apartment, and special rations, which was enough for everyone. But then Berzin’s hour came, like many others at that terrible time, and the actress instantly became the wife of an enemy of the people. This happened on 02/04/1930, and from that day, or rather the night, when he was taken away, she and her first husband did not see each other again until the very end of the war.
Perhaps the wife of an enemy of the people should be very modest, sit at home and be afraid to go out. But then this would not be a story about Lyubov Orlova. She falls in love with an Austrian engineer, whose name no one will probably ever know. Their short romance was fraught with bad consequences, was loudly discussed, but it seemed that the actress didn’t care at all.
The year 1933 for Lyubov Orlova was marked by the acquaintance of her future husband, Soviet director Grigory Alexandrov. They say that just once seeing him, Orlova forgot about everything in the world. But he was married, she was in a civil marriage with an Austrian. Although there were never any barriers for her. And the director’s marriage had been on its last legs for a long time, and her Austrian immediately noticed that these people were united not only by sympathy. The common-law husband fled to his native Austria, where his traces are lost.
WHAT SOFTWARE
Grigory Alexandrov: union forever
At the very beginning of her career, Lyubov played in films directed by the famous director Grigory Alexandrov. He noticed her after a song in the opera “Pericola”, to which a friend took him. Then the director was just looking for an actress for the role of Anyuta in “Jolly Fellows” and found her in the person of the 31-year-old talented soloist. Orlova suited the role in all respects, and already in 1934 the film was seen by Soviet audiences.
For the sake of filming the film, Lyubov had to sacrifice work at the Nemirovich-Danchenko studio. Later she realized that this step determined her entire fate. The love story of Lyubov Orlova and Grigory Alexandrov began on the set. There was immediate sympathy between the director and actress, but they were able to get married only after the film was released. Their marriage was considered ideal as a tandem of actress and director. Especially for his wife, Alexandrov came up with an image that was reminiscent of Marlene Dietrich: from a brown-haired woman she turned into a blonde. This is exactly how fans remember her.
However, their union was successful only on the outside. The love that attracted Stalin's attention was his favorite actress. Once, as a joke, the leader even threatened Alexandrov that he would be shot if something happened to his wife. The woman herself was disgusted by the attention of Joseph Vissarionovich. She remembered very well that it was on his orders that her first husband was repressed.
One day she made it clear to the leader once and for all that nothing could happen between them. This happened when Stalin invited her to a restaurant. Their meeting was quite brief. Understanding perfectly the true reason for the invitation, the actress asked what happened to her husband. The question unsettled the leader: he quickly said goodbye to Orlova and since then valued her only as a wonderful actress . Aleksandrov did not enjoy success with Stalin.
It was rumored that the director was cheating on his wife. Still, despite the difference in age (the husband was older than his wife), they were happy in their own way. The couple never had children: Orlova did not want a child, and the director had a son, Douglas, from his first wife. An unpleasant criminal story happened to him at one time. Because of this, Lyubov’s attitude towards her stepson was not very good.
Together the couple went through a difficult time in the mid-1950s. Their popularity declined in those years, there were almost no roles. Eight long years passed between more or less significant film works:
- "Mussorgsky" (1950);
- "The Composer Glinka" (1952);
- “Russian souvenir” (1960).
Orlova’s last attempt to make herself known to the audience was the film “The Starling and the Lyre,” where she, a 70-year-old woman, got the role of a girl. Such obvious age dissonance affected the quality of the film so much that it was never released. Despite the setbacks, the couple never stopped supporting each other.
Actress Lyubov Orlova: biography, personal life
Belongs to an ancient noble family, born in 1902. The original “Prisoner of the Caucasus” with the signature of Tolstoy himself was kept by the future actress of Soviet cinema since childhood. Also, Fyodor Chaliapin himself often appeared in the Orlovs’ house. Lyubov's acting future was predetermined from early childhood.
At first, the girl entered the Moscow Conservatory, but after 3 years she left her studies in search of real income. At the same time she entered GITIS, and later worked as a full-time actress at the Moscow Art Theater. At the age of 31, Lyubov received the role of Anyuta in G. Alexandrov’s film “Jolly Fellows.” This was followed by participation in the musicals “Circus”, which was awarded the Stalin Prize, “Volga-Volga”, “Shining Path”. The actress sang beautifully, played the piano, and was considered the second Marlene Dietrich.
The acting career began to decline from 1960, and the last work was the film “The Starling and Lyra” in 1972. Orlova died on January 26, 1975 from pancreatic cancer and was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery. Her last husband, Grigory Alexandrov, who survived Orlova by only 8 years, also rests there.
The first husband of Lyubov Orlova is Andrei Berzin
She lived in legal marriage with her first husband, official Andrei Berzin, for 4 years. They met in 1926. Berzin, an employee of the People's Commissariat of Agriculture, fell in love at first sight and was fascinated by the beauty and talent of the then famous actress of Soviet cinema. She called him her only love in life.
Berzin was 9 years older, handsome and influential, powerful and self-sufficient. Loving Orlova could not resist. The parents approved of their daughter's choice and the lovers got married. This union was often called fictitious, since Berzin financially supported the entire Orlov family.
Lyubov and her husband lived in a spacious apartment and did not need anything. The family idyll ended when Berzin was arrested and exiled to Kazakhstan. He was pulled out of bed and taken by the arms in an unknown direction. Orlova experienced extreme stress. The spouses did not see each other again.
Fate
During his work, power in the country changed twice. The first time he managed to escape persecution, but not the second. Then Andrei Berzin joined the ranks of the opposition, for which he paid dearly in 1930. He was arrested and then exiled to Kazakhstan, where he worked as a full-time economist.
A second arrest followed in 1938. This time the party leader was imprisoned in the Gulag, but after the end of the Great Patriotic War he returned to Moscow. A few years later he moved to Latvia, where he lived out his last years with his relatives. Andrei Berzin's health gradually deteriorated; his death occurred in 1951 from oncology.
The former official did not remarry. They say that he loved Olga until his last breath. She remembered him with slight melancholy and nostalgia, and did not hide the fact that she loved him very much.
Lyubov Orlova's husband - Grigory Alexandrov
3 years after Berzin’s arrest and exile, Orlova met director Grigory Alexandrov, who was looking for an actress for his film. She fell in love at first sight, and he even left the family for her sake. Until the end of his days he called her his muse.
She became both his wife and mother, because, like all creative people, Alexandrov was completely unsuited to real life. Until the end of her days, they lived in a country dacha, which became a quiet family nest.
Did Lyubov Orlova have children?
Orlova never had children. Colleagues claimed that once during filming Lyuba was very cold, so she never gave any of her husbands a child. Later it became known that the actress twice had an abortion from Alexandrov, not wanting to interrupt her career. But she doted on her niece Nonna, whom she spoiled in every possible way and delighted with gifts.
She always called James Patterson her on-screen son, whom she met on the set of “The Circus.” The actor was a welcome guest in the house of Orlova and Alexandrov, and did not miss a single family holiday. He spoke only positively about the spouses.
Old age of Soviet Marlene Dietrich
Lyubov Orlova spent her last years almost in obscurity. Young actresses replaced her in films, and all the roles went to them. The actress was very ill: pancreatic cancer made itself felt. The terrible disease began in 1974. Orlova felt bad after one of the voiceovers of “The Starling and the Lyre,” but the doctor calmed her down, convincing her that it was all about kidney stones. She learned about the true cause of the illness later, although her husband tried to hide the illness from her.
The death of Lyubov Orlova occurred on January 23, 1975. Her last words were addressed to her husband. The great actress left behind a wonderful filmography and vocal works that continue to arouse the interest of viewers. The best films in which she took part can rightfully be called masterpieces of Russian cinema.
Lyubov Orlova's husband - Grigory Alexandrov
Lyubov Orlova's husband, Grigory Alexandrov, appeared in her life in 1933, when he was looking for a heroine for his film. After this, Lyuba became his wife, muse and constant heroine of Alexandrov’s films.
Orlova often said that as soon as she saw Grigory, she fell head over heels in love with him, and Alexandrov decided to divorce for her sake. The woman became not only a wife, but also a mother for her husband, who was not adapted to life, like all creative people.
She never asked questions about who he had affairs with before her, which served as the key to a happy family life. Orlova and Aleksandrov lived separately at the dacha until Lyuba’s death.
