Childhood and youth
The future TV presenter and model was born in Krasnodar on March 15, 1989 (zodiac sign - Pisces). From an early age, relationships with parents were not easy. Masha was embarrassed that her mother worked as a hairdresser and could not find a common language with her father, who worked as an architect and was rarely at home.
The girl dreamed of a modeling career since school, despite constant dissatisfaction with her own appearance. Minogarova, who was an excellent student, was teased because of her protruding ears. In order not to worry about this, Masha often joked with her classmates and did not allow herself to be offended by malicious attacks.
Masha Minogarova as a child (right)
Minogarova began to realize her own dream at the age of 17. The girl got a job at a local modeling agency and appeared on the catwalks in shopping centers several times. But no more job offers were received, so Masha gradually abandoned her dreams of a modeling future.
Despite a burning desire to develop in the fashion industry, the girl decided to get an academic education. Minogarova entered Kuban State University, choosing the department of management and psychology.
Career
Already in her second year, the girl gets a job on local television. Masha, without a journalistic education, easily coped with the role of a correspondent. A sudden turn in the girl’s biography came when Minogarova learned about the casting for the new project “Top Model in Russian.”
Masha Minogarova in the show “Top Model in Russian”
Taken into the reality show exclusively as an extra, Masha not only successfully passed the casting, but also made it to the final five. The girl left the competition after taking unsuccessful photos in the image of Barbra Streisand.
After returning to Krasnodar, Masha could not sit still for long. First, the model moved to Moscow, and then moved to Milan to continue working at fashion shows. European designers appreciated the girl's appearance and character.
Masha Minogarova in a swimsuit
Masha became a regular participant in fashion weeks. At one of the fashion shows, the model met Nastasya Samburskaya. At first, the fashion divas disliked each other, but over time they became friends, and now they often relax and work together.
In parallel with her modeling career, Minogarova began developing her own blog on Instagram. The girl shared photos from the backstage of fashion shows and posted videos where she expressed her own opinion on various issues without censorship. Sincerity and a sense of humor quickly attracted subscribers and fans to the account.
Masha Minogarova in the show “Comedy Club”
Gradually, life on constant diets and incessant castings tired the girl. Masha said that she was suspending work on shows and was going to focus on her profession as a TV presenter. Family relationships gradually improved. The girl stated that she began to understand her parents as she grew older. The model got several tattoos, one of which she dedicated to her father.
In 2020, Masha became a guest of the Comedy Club. Pavel Volya and Garik Kharlamov asked the blogger what the reason for the model’s rapid popularity was, to which Minogarova stated that she was the “Efremov of Instagram” and had already concluded several advertising contracts with alcohol companies.
Ida Galich and Masha Minogarova in the show “Where is the logic?”
In the same year, the girl competed in her ability to think logically in the program “Where is the Logic?” Masha’s partner was Ida Galich, an equally successful blogger and close friend of the model. The girls' rivals were the comedy duo "The Zaitsev Sisters".
In October 2017, Masha, together with Nastya Ivleeva and Dakota, became the face of the MAS advertising campaign dedicated to the “Retro Matte Liquid Lipcolour” line of lipsticks. The girls starred in a video where they fooled around and tried on various shades of a new cosmetic product to the song of the musician Monatik.
Personal life
By the time of casting for the TV project “Top Model in Russian,” Masha was in a serious relationship with a young man named Arthur and even planned to marry her boyfriend. Arthur easily let his beloved go on the reality show, setting only one condition - Masha should not cut her hair. The hairstyle remained almost the same, but this did not save the love relationship. Soon after the completion of the project, the young people separated.
Masha Minogarova and her boyfriend Pavel Alekseev
Minogarova’s new hobby was the owner of the nightclub Pavel Alekseev. The businessman and the model met at a rave party at the Arma club and practically never leave each other, accompanying each other to important filming and business meetings. In an interview, the model said that she is not yet ready to get married and have children, but she is sure that someday this moment will certainly come.
Anton Shastun: “I’m just younger and fresher than these three old men!”
We met with the most popular participant in the Improvisation show on TNT. Having recovered from the initial shock, we asked him several burning questions.
Why are you the most followed Improv actor on social media?
Hard to tell. It seems to me because I look younger than everyone else. And just younger and fresher than these three old men. But seriously, I don’t know. Somehow it happened that way. I didn't do anything specifically for this. Maybe it really is due to age. After all, the audience of social networks such as Instagram and VKontakte are young and very young people. So we decided that it was better to subscribe to a guy who always feels 18.
If you hadn't become a comedian, what would you have been?
I probably wouldn't be able to work in an office. Sedentary work is definitely not for me. My diploma says “manager”. But I would make a very bad manager. I enjoy performing in front of people. Perhaps I would try my hand at something other than humor. I also like football. I love this sport. I would love to be a football player. But as the coach told me at the first and last training session of my life: “Football is too fast a sport for you.”
Who is the funniest person in Russia right now? In the world?
It's difficult to single out just one. There are many people who can be equaled in humor: Pavel Volya, Garik Martirosyan, Ivan Urgant, Ruslan Bely. Two more people stand out for me - Misha Galustyan and Garik Kharlamov. It’s difficult for me to adequately evaluate them, because everything they do is funny to me. As for the whole world, I have always had one idol. This is Jim Carrey. He's the funniest!
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The secret of success for girls?
There is no secret. Moreover, I don’t think that I enjoy any incredible success with the opposite sex. Sometimes someone writes something, someone says something. But no more than my colleagues, for example.
Our funniest editor is also from Voronezh. Why does Voronezh give the world funny people?
I don’t know this. And I’m surprised by this too. Maybe because Voronezh is a very student city. We have many universities, and they also love humor very much. There are two official KVN leagues in our city. At the same time, for a long time there were few comedians from Voronezh who became widely known. Yulia Akhmedova and Ruslan Bely became the first. And then somehow it burst. Nowadays, a lot of people from Voronezh not only perform on stage, but also work behind the scenes. Including the project “Improvisation”.
The hardest part about coming up with jokes?
For me, as a participant in the Improvisation show, the main thing is to have time to come up with and tell a joke before my partner suggests something new and it’s too late. If we talk about pre-prepared humor, the most difficult thing for me and my colleagues has always been to come up with the idea for a miniature. Or Stand Up, for example. This took a huge amount of time. And when the idea is thought up, and it’s good, then jokes will be written into it quickly and easily.
Who do you test jokes on?
We test our jokes on the audience who came to our concert or filming. This is the beauty of such a genre as improvisation. There are no “material checks” or “edits.” You're standing on stage in front of a crowd of people, your partner said something to you, and you need to make a joke. Right here and now. You joke and get an instant reaction, an assessment of your joke. Funny - well done! It's not funny - keep working!
Masha Minogarova now
In February 2020, the blogger became a victim of a prank carried out by participants in the ChebuRussia TV project. Natalya Krasnova and Andrei Glazunov also became victims of pranks. In June 2020, the model was invited to the comedy show “Improvisation”. Masha was accompanied by Ida Galich.
Masha Minogarova in 2020
Together with Arseny Popov and Anton Shastun, the girls acted out a funny scene in the “Understudy” section, where Masha and Ida appeared as rivals wooing the same young man. In the same month, the model visited Kinotavr 2018. The passage of a girl in a black flowing dress attracted the attention of both journalists and other television stars. Masha's image was recognized as one of the most stylish.
In July, the program “Heads and Tails” was broadcast on the Friday TV channel. Russia". Masha went to Kaliningrad to explore the sights of the city. Unlike co-host Zhanna Badoeva, the blogger’s budget was limited. But such little things did not upset Minogarova.
Masha Minogarova and Zhanna Badoeva in the show “Heads and Tails. Russia"
At the end of July, it became known that Masha was nominated for the “Woman of the Year” award from Glamor magazine for her own project “ABOVE THIS”. After another social evening, where Minogarova heard unflattering comments about her appearance (the model’s height is 1.84 m and her weight is 58 cm), the girl launched a flash mob, the main task of which was to draw attention to the fact that high growth is not ugliness. In response, the blogger received thousands of messages with sad and ridiculous stories about how society is intolerant of non-standard beauty.
Anton Shastun: “Girls don’t stand in a crowd near my entrance”
— You started your career in the TNT project “Comedy Battle” as a participant, now you are a member of the jury. Are you proud of it?
— I can’t say that I’m proud of it, but it’s cool. In fact, I only appeared on the Comedy Battle stage once - in the season called “Without Borders.” It’s unlikely that I was called to judge him for his past services. Although, if I’m not mistaken, I am the only one who performed in this project, and then became a member of the jury.
— Why, after leaving the Comedy Battle show, did you return home to Voronezh and not stay in the capital?
— I want to clarify that I did not fly out of the project. I performed once and even made it to the next stage, but I could not come to it due to the circumstances that existed at that time. I returned to Voronezh because I love my city very much, and, by the way, I only recently moved to Moscow. At the stage of launching Improvisation, Dimka Pozov and I lived in two cities: we worked in Moscow for four days, and then returned home to Voronezh. So you can build a comedy career not only by living in the capital, but also by coming here from time to time.
— Few comedians were born and raised in Moscow. What do you think is the reason for the “dominance” of comedians from the regions?
“I’m not sure if it’s correct to call this the word “dominance.” I know a lot of cool guys from Moscow who not only perform on stage, but also work behind the scenes as authors and screenwriters. As for Voronezh itself, it is a very student city. There are many universities in it, and young people often choose humor from all available activities. And that's great. I can’t say anything about other regions. I'm sure everything is fine there too.
— What can we expect from the new season of Comedy Battle on TNT?
— The main difference of the new season is that for the first time the winner will be able to choose which of the Comedy Club Production projects he will get into. Previously, he received either a cash prize or the opportunity to become a resident of the Comedy Club. It is possible that in a year a new actor will appear in “Improvisation”. By the way, many people ask us on social networks: “How can this be? Where will you put the fifth ottoman? I don't know how it will all work out, but if one of the winners ends up on our show, he will most likely replace one of us.
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— You are a member of many comedy shows, including “Improvisation” on TNT. The main feature of these projects is the participation of show business stars in them. How do you work with them every time?
— Works great with everyone. We already knew some of the stars before filming, others we only dreamed of meeting. There are still many famous people whom we are waiting for to visit, but, alas, due to conflicting schedules, they will not come to us.
— Have there been situations where celebrities have reacted inappropriately to humor and become offended?
— We have not had any critical situations and, I hope, never will. I think this is due to the fact that any person who comes to visit us initially understands perfectly well what awaits him. Plus, we have no intention of ridiculing or humiliating the star. We want to have fun together and enjoy the process!
— Have you ever improvised dates with girls?
— When a person involved in improvisation says this word, he primarily means the humorous genre, the skills of which are hardly applicable in life. For example, if on a date at a café, if the waiter says they don't have coffee, I won't start playing improvised "change" to choose a different drink. So in life we are the most ordinary people who, of course, sometimes have to make spontaneous decisions and get out of different situations.
— Are guys with humor always popular among girls?
- This is probably true. Sometimes girls show me signs of attention (and this is most clearly manifested on social networks), but they do not stand in a crowd near my entrance. I think all famous people have their fans, people who like their work, etc.
— There is an opinion that in many comedy projects, including KVN, women in humor are treated skeptically. This is true?
— One of the main problems of girls who want to engage in humor is the fear of seeming funny. Let me give you a simple example. If in a company a guy makes faces and entertains everyone, everyone thinks: “How funny Seryoga is!” And when a girl does this, they call her a fool. I heard about the skeptical attitude, but never witnessed it. And I personally know a lot of girls who joke no worse, and even better than men.
— What are your plans and goals for 2020?
— For now, all my thoughts are devoted to January 27, when we will have a big concert at Crocus City Hall. I would like to take this opportunity to invite everyone who is reading this interview to it. Come, it will be cool! Look how I joke when I'm nervous. (Smiles.) And there are plans to tour a lot and film new funny episodes, so that every Tuesday at 21:00 TNT viewers will enjoy watching them.
See more photos of Anton Shastun in our gallery. Also read: We made a joke: 5 Russian comedians with the strongest marriages.
