The collection of works of the young actress Maria Valeshna, whose star is just rising on the horizon of Russian cinema, already has several successful projects. The most famous films with Maria Valeshna in the title role are “The Verdict of an Ideal Couple”, “What the French Are Silent About”, etc.
However, today the main genre of her creative activity is detective crime series, including such popular ones as “Streets of Broken Lights” and “My Last First Love.”
In the series "Streets of Broken Lanterns"
Among the actress’s other successful works are roles in the films “B.O.M.Z.”, “Ivan the Terrible”, “Task Force”, “State Protection”, “When I Stop Drinking”, etc.
Parents of Maria Valeshna
Maria Valeshnaya's family is inextricably linked with the theater. Her parents, Galina Melnik and Alexander Kirikov, are honored artists who have always been successful and in demand. Who isn't familiar with these famous names? Successful, purposeful and sought-after actors - Galina and Alexander toured endlessly, and therefore all of Maria Valeshna's childhood years were spent in endless moves.
She was born in Vorkuta, but never got used to the harsh cold climate, and her best memories are associated with the bright sun, clear sky and the mesmerizing turquoise of the sea waves of the southern cities, where Maria visited with her parents.
Mom and dad always aroused a special feeling of pride in the actress - she liked to see how strangers asked them for autographs, recognizing them on the streets.
Little Masha was pleased to realize that her parents were so popular and loved by the public, although this was not her merit, she did not miss a moment so as not to bask in the rays of glory of her mother and father.
Maria Valeshnaya grew up in a creative atmosphere, which could not but affect her choice of future profession. When she grew up, her parents, who became her first teachers, took her to the stage, and she played her first roles. Masha did not miss a single theatrical performance in which her parents performed; she not only watched these performances with pleasure, but also absorbed her parents’ experience like a sponge.
She loved watching the enthusiastic spectators, and this whole situation made her gasp with joy. At such moments, Maria understood that the theater would become an integral part of her biography.
However, this lifestyle also had a negative side - in all this fuss, Maria did not receive what should be in the life of every child - communication with peers. Due to frequent moves, Masha simply did not have time to make friends.
As soon as someone liked her, the news about the move immediately sounded. Sweet school tables, discos, birthdays - all this bypassed the girl. Yes, she wanted to live through creativity. But on the other hand, she was driven by the desire to be like everyone else.
The youthful years of Maria Valeshnaya
So, thanks to the creative atmosphere that reigned in the family, Maria Valeshna had a goal - to enter the St. Petersburg State Academy of Theater Arts. The young girl began to turn her plans into reality.
She never stopped working on herself for a minute. Maria did not need private lessons before enrolling, because she had the best teachers in her arsenal - her parents.
Mom and father worked with the future artist every day, and with them she learned the basics of acting, choreography, and stage speech. Her father immediately noticed her talent. He had no doubt that his daughter had a bright future in the acting field.
Mom, who has always been Maria’s best friend, also supported her daughter in every possible way. Masha could always share her most intimate things with her and receive useful advice. She never had secrets from her mother, on whose attention and support she could always count. Maria was not afraid to tell her about her failures, joys, and loves.
Despite active creative activity, parents always found time for their beloved daughter. They understood that warmth and parental love are very important for Masha.
When the time came to take the entrance exams, Valeshnaya went into them fully armed. Of course, there were some traditional worries and oddities. During one of the exams, the girl got distracted and forgot the text. However, Maria wouldn’t be herself if she hadn’t gotten out of it! She skillfully got out of this situation, because her lessons with her father could not be in vain. None of the examiners noticed the mistake, which was evidence of the girl’s high level of acting talent.
Maria Valeshnaya with her mother
This spark of talent was noticed by the famous theater figure Grigory Kozlov. Noting the creative individuality of Maria Valeshna, he became her artistic director.
Maria's joy knew no bounds when she learned that she had become a student at a famous educational institution. She accepted congratulations and was sincerely happy, and that day her parents arranged a gala dinner in honor of their daughter’s admission.
Masha was not going to stop there and set a goal to become the best in the course, so after the entrance exams she did not go on vacation, but continued to study hard.
Maria loved to rise with the sun, in her words, “at this time nature awakens and it’s great to wake up with her.” The girl slowly walked to the academy, enjoying the morning freshness, and studied for hours. She found a free audience and trained tirelessly.
This was to the liking of not only Grigory Kozlov, but also other teachers of the theater department. With her hard work, Maria immediately earned their respect.
Of great importance for Maria was her acquaintance with the famous actor Evgeny Sidikhin, whom she met through his daughter Polina, who studied with Valeshna in the same course. Talented students who had one passion - creativity, quickly found a common language and became friends.
Maria Valeshnaya and Polina Sidikhina in the play “Cat House”
“Workshop” and Maria Valeshnaya
After graduating from the acting and directing department of the St. Petersburg State Academy of Theater Arts, Maria Valeshnaya came to the newly created Workshop Theater, where her creative biography began. The young theater troupe was aimed at improving creative skills, and the young actress liked the energetic team. Having just emerged from the walls of the acting university, Maria was ready to work day and night, honing her skills.
The guys worked every day. They received both sincere praise and harsh criticism. Improving their acting, young actors listened to the advice of experienced mentors, as a result of which their premieres amazed the audience with the simplicity of their acting, sincerity, and humanity. Maria enjoyed special sympathy from the audience.
In the footsteps of parents
Maria Valeshnaya was born on January 23, 1987 in Vorkuta into an acting family.
Maria's parents Galina Melnik and Alexander Kirikov moved from city to city several times in search of a theater they liked. Until, finally, they gained a foothold in Kirov at the local Drama Theater. Maria was familiar with the acting life from an early age and dreamed of following in the footsteps of her parents. After graduating from school, she was preparing to enter a theater university, but, knowing about the huge competitions, she didn’t really hope to get in the first time, and even to the budget department. It turned out that nothing is impossible. In 2005, the girl came to St. Petersburg and, having successfully completed three rounds, was accepted into the St. Petersburg State Academy of Theater Arts (formerly LGITMiK) for the course of Grigory Kozlov.
In 2010, Maria graduated from the acting and directing course at St. Petersburg State Academy of Theater Arts and joined the troupe of the new Workshop theater, which is directed by her teacher Grigory Kozlov. Under his leadership, she took part in the following plays: “The Idiot” based on the novel by Dostoevsky (Nastasya Filippovna), “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” based on Shakespeare’s play (The Mustard Seed, Titania), “Dreams of Love” (Raisa), “Two Evenings in a Happy House "(Tamara), "The dawns here are quiet" (Gurvich).
Maria Valeshnaya: latest news
Maria Valeshnaya told what she went to for the sake of marriage with Kirill Zhandarov (06/18/2018)
There was no such performance when Valeshnaya’s performance did not receive a standing ovation. Maria left each performance with a huge armful of flowers. She is such a friendly person that she gave half of her bouquets to her colleagues right on stage. The actress knew how hard they worked and was not stingy about sharing the glory equally. Maria was sure that her efforts would not be in vain.
And so it happened. With unsurpassed success, Maria played the heroines of the productions “The Idiot”, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, “The Dawns Here Are Quiet”, and these leading roles became a real highlight of her theatrical career.
Unlike many other actors, Maria did not “turn up” her nose. To this day she remains the same simple, easy-to-communicate, affable and friendly girl.
Maria Valeshnaya's husband
Maria is one of the few actresses who can boast of a complete absence of scandals, gossip, and intrigue around her name. She did not have numerous whirlwind romances, provocative statements, rude statements, etc. The personal life of Maria Valeshna remains outside the discussion of numerous media.
In the photo: Maria Valeshnaya with her husband
The actress explains the absence of scandals in her personal life by saying that she simply does not have enough time for them. She is an incredibly hardworking person who is constantly improving herself. This strong girl can be used as a role model. Instead of going to discos during her student years or to various parties in her adult life, Maria was engaged in self-education.
Valeshnaya’s spiritual beauty harmoniously combines with her external beauty, and another famous actor, Kirill Zhandarov, who for some time now became a part of her personal life, could not help but pay attention to such a wonderful girl. Maria Valeshna's husband met her on the set, and for a very long time there were only friendly relations between them.
They turned a new page in their biography after they found themselves filming together in the film “Road into Emptiness.” They had to work together for a long time, staying late on filming, and working together brought the young people closer, made them look at each other differently, and friendship gradually grew into a strong, deep feeling.
For a long time they lived in a civil marriage, and in 2013 they decided to officially seal their relationship.
Since that time, much has changed in the personal life of Maria Valeshna - she became not only a beloved wife, but also a loving and caring mother of her and Kirill’s son Valery.
In the photo: the actress with her husband and son
In raising the child, they are helped by their grandmothers, and sometimes by her cousin, who successfully copes with the duties of a nanny.
Personal life
If the creative biography of Maria Valeshna still promises to develop and be filled with new projects, then on the family front the actress has already formed and built everything. Maria has a wonderful husband: the actress is happily married to her colleague Kirill Zhandarov, the star of the films “Once Upon a New Year” and “The Milkmaid from Khatsapetovka.”
Maria Valeshnaya and Kirill Zhandarov met on the set and at first the actors shared a friendly relationship. But after working together on the film “Road to Emptiness,” their friendship grew into a more serious feeling.
Kirill Zhandarov and Maria Valeshnaya with their son
At first, the lovers lived in a de facto marriage, and in 2013 they got married. Today, the personal life of Maria Valeshnaya is harmonious and rich, because now the actress is not only a beloved wife, but also a happy mother: on September 19, 2013, Kirill Zhandarov and his wife had a son, whom it was decided to name Valery, in honor of his paternal grandfather. And at home the parents call the boy in the Italian manner - Valero. Grandmothers actively help in raising the baby; also, due to the time-consuming profession, Maria Valeshnaya resorts to the services of a nanny, in the role of which she invites her own cousin.
Under the name Maria Valeshna, she maintains an account on Instagram, to which 6 thousand people subscribe. The page is regularly updated with new photographs of the actress, but does not contain any marks that would prove the authorship of Maria Valeshna.
Roles of Maria Valeshna
The actress has a lot of interesting, memorable roles in which her talent and enormous acting potential are visible. Maria presented interesting work in the melodrama with a criminal overtone “My Last First Love”, in which she played the main role.
One of Valeshna’s last roles was the image of Zhanna Isakova in the Russian-Ukrainian film “The Verdict of an Ideal Couple.” Last year, the actress took part in the filming of a tragicomedy with elements of science fiction, “What the French Are Silent About,” in which the heroine found herself in a whirlpool of mystical events.
Actress in the film "The Perfect Couple's Verdict"
Not in all projects, Maria is involved only in leading roles - she also successfully plays secondary ones, such as the senior police lieutenant in the ironic detective story “When I Stop Drinking,” and she manages to reveal all the characters fully and vividly.
In the movie "When I Stop Drinking"
Movies
Maria Valeshnaya first appeared on the television screen during her student years. She starred in one of the episodes of the popular detective series “Streets of Broken Lanterns”, playing an insidious criminal, and also took part in the work on the adventure film “B.O.M.Z.”, the historical drama “Ivan the Terrible” and the crime film “Task Force” " And later, after graduating from theater school, the actress was again invited to the police saga “Streets of Broken Lanterns”, where this time Maria Valeshnaya transformed into one of the main characters, senior lieutenant Olga Ushakova.
Maria Valeshnaya in the series “Streets of Broken Lanterns”
At the same time, the actress starred in another crime series, “State Protection.” It's funny that for two years the actress regularly switched from the image of a policewoman to the former criminal Taisiya Zlatogradova.
The actress has the average female size - enthusiasts have calculated that the actress is 173 cm tall and weighs about 50 kg, so the actress regularly gets roles in melodramas, where she plays the role of a woman similar to film spectators, with whom Russian women can easily associate themselves and with whom, because I want to empathize with this even more.
Maria Valeshnaya in the series “The Verdict of an Ideal Couple”
In 2011, the actress played the main role of weather forecaster Maria Olkhovskaya in the crime melodrama “My Last First Love.”
Also very interesting during this period were Maria’s roles in the melodrama “An Exception to the Rule” and the detective story “Such Work.”
In 2020, the actress appeared in another striking leading role. Maria Valeshnaya played the role of Zhanna Isakova in the Russian-Ukrainian melodrama “The Verdict of an Ideal Couple.” Maria's heroine is the happy wife of a successful businessman, whose life collapses overnight when the woman finds out that her newborn son is seriously ill and needs a heart transplant.
Maria Valeshnaya in the film “When I Stop Drinking”
In 2020, Maria Valeshnaya played the main female role in the fantastic tragicomedy “What the French Are Silent About” based on the novel of the same name by Vladimir Kornev. The action of the film took place in St. Petersburg during the White Nights. The main character of the film, Tillim Papaleksiev (Kirill Varaksa), is faced with mystical events. The young man gains magical power, which allows the hero to achieve whatever Tillim wants. Napoleon had the same power, which is why the film got its name associated with the French.
Also in 2020, the actress played two minor roles. Maria played the role of senior police lieutenant Elvira Ivolgina in the ironic detective story “When I Stop Drinking” about a lonely investigator who drinks heavily, to whom death comes in a dream in the form of a pensioner he knows.
Maria Valeshnaya in the TV series “Investigator Tikhonov”
Maria Valeshnaya also appeared as a fashion model in two episodes of the detective series “Investigator Tikhonov”, a film adaptation of the detective novels by Arkady and Georgy Vayner: “Visit to the Minotaur”, “Vertical Race”, “Medicine against Fear”, “I, Investigator”, “ A Watch for Mr. Kelly”, “The City Received”, “Groping at Noon”, “Telegram from the Other World”. Maria Valeshnaya played in the second and third films of this series, which were called “Groping at Noon” and “The City Accepted”.
