Why the death of clown Irina Asmus became the cause of enmity between her loved ones

Kristina Asmus at the opening of the 41st Moscow International Film Festival (MIFF). RIA Novosti / Evgeny Odinokov

How a girl from the Moscow region Koroleva became one of the most sought-after actresses in Russian cinema.

Today Christina Asmus is one of the most famous artists in Russian show business. It is difficult to imagine that behind the rich and famous Asmus is hiding a girl from a large family near Moscow, who was once expelled from the Moscow Art Theater by Raikin himself.

The Internet is replete with false information regarding the artist’s biography. Many are convinced that Asmus is a candidate for master of sports. And also that she wanted to become an actress after watching the series “Wild Angel” with Natalia Oreiro. As it turns out, this is all fiction.

5-tv.ru figured out where truth and fiction are in the biography of one of the most famous artists of Russian cinema.

Childhood

Kristina Igorevna Myasnikova was born on April 14, 1988 in Korolev, near Moscow. As a child, the girl did not even think about an acting career. During this period, gymnastics occupied all her time.

The artist’s family had nothing to do with show business and cinema. Christina's parents worked several jobs, but the Myasnikovs lived more than modestly. Igor Lvovich and Rada Viktorovna with their four daughters lived in a two-room apartment. Christina is the middle child. The actress has older sisters Ekaterina and Olga, as well as a younger sister, Karina. All the girls played sports as children.

Christina, as usually happens, was brought to the Dynamo sports school by her parents. The child was eight years old at that time. By the standards of professional sports, it was too late for her to start. However, Christina had excellent physical characteristics, so they took her. The next ten years of the girl’s life will be spent on strict diets and exhausting workouts. According to the actress’s recollections, her day began at five in the morning, then she went to school for lessons. She did not stay there long. After two lessons, the girl went to training.

As a child, Christina Asmus dreamed of becoming a veterinarian. Instagram @asmuskristina

Despite the strict daily routine and exhausting training, Christina becomes a master of sports. However, the girl tells her parents that she does not want to connect her life with gymnastics. During this period, she had no idea what kind of life awaited her ahead. As a child, Christina generally dreamed of becoming a veterinarian.

And now she is a self-reflective teenager who, according to the artist, really wants to be loved. The actress describes her relationship with her parents as difficult. According to the artist, they simply didn’t care about her. The feeling of uselessness will live inside her until Christina starts her own family.

After graduating from secondary school, the girl will immediately understand where she wants to go. However, it was not the series “Wild Angel” with Natalia Oreiro that encouraged her to become an actress, as is written in many sources. This myth is so tightly attached to the actress that even her long-time fans believe in it. According to the girl, she herself does not remember the moment when she decided to follow the acting path. However, the future star took her first step towards acting as a child.

Kristina Asmus with her parents and sisters. Instagram @asmuskristina

Fatal performance

Still from the film “The Old Fortress” (1973)
Irina Asmus never stopped experimenting in the circus. Despite a long-standing prohibition from doctors, she again began to climb under the dome and perform complex exercises at altitude. In the spring of 1986, the circus went on tour to Gomel. Iriska’s son was serving there at that time, and she was glad to see him.

And during the matinee performance on March 15, the irreparable happened: Toffee fell from her height and fell into the arena. She was immediately carried backstage and the performance continued as if nothing had happened. Children and adults laughed and applauded the next numbers, but Iriska was no longer alive - she crashed instantly...

First roles

Since the age of 12, Christina has been attending the Mel theater studio. Having become older, she will play in the play “And the Dawns Here Are Quiet...”, which will be staged by E. Makhonina. The performance will take place within the walls of the Mel Theater, where there is a theater studio of the same name where the girl studies. After Myasnikov, he gets a role in N. Ermakova’s production of “Portrait of Mademoiselle Tarzhi.”

Christina will decide to take a pseudonym in the future, when her dreams of becoming an actress begin to come true. Then Kristina Myasnikova will decide to take the stage name Kristina Asmus, where Asmus is the surname of her maternal grandfather.

Kristina enters the Moscow Art Theater with Konstantin Raikin for the first time. However, six months later, Christina is expelled as a student who did not live up to expectations. Despite all the requests, Raikin will remain adamant, declaring that the girl needs to work on herself. Future stars of Russian cinema studied with her: Aristarkh Venes, Pavel Priluchny and Anya Chipovskaya.

According to some reports, the expulsion, in fact, was not the fault of the student. Some sources claim that there were too many students that year. At some point it became necessary to reduce their number. Christina herself believes that she was simply lost against the background of her talented fellow students, which is why they showed her the way out.

However, failure will not stop the girl from achieving her goal. In the future, the artist admits that her character was strengthened by sport, in which, in her words, there is no second place. The girl followed the master's advice. For the next couple of years she works in the theater: the regional Youth Theater and the Moscow Theater of the Good Fairy Tale.

During the same period, Christina is thinking about opening her own agency for organizing holidays. In addition, she enters the Higher Theater School. M. S. Shchepkina. The student becomes the best in the course. In addition, very soon she gets a role that makes her a truly famous actress.

How Irishka was born

Irina Asmus in the film “The New Adventures of Puss in Boots” (1958)
The future Toffee was born just before the war - April 28, 1941. A difficult war and post-war childhood was complicated by frequent moves - dad was a civil engineer and actively helped restore the destroyed national economy.

But, wherever the family was, Ira first of all looked for some creative group or theater studio - she could not live without performances.

After school, the talented girl went to a choreographic school, and they were ready to accept her. But they warned: miniature Irina will never become a prima ballerina; this requires height.

She didn’t want to dance in the crowd all her life, so she applied to the circus school.

Kristina Asmus in "Interns"

Along with her studies, Kristina Asmus is trying her hand at big television projects. In 2010, the future star auditioned for the series “Interns.” According to the girl, she was afraid to take on a big project, because she didn’t want to take time off from studying. Moreover, the parents were against it. However, Ivan Okhlobystin’s participation in the series outweighed all the pros and cons. Working together with the famous actor will give Asmus unprecedented professional experience.

Kristina Asmus played Varya Chernous in the series, a naive but very hardworking intern. The character gave the girl genuine love from the audience. The male audience especially liked Varya. A few months after the premiere of the show on the TNT channel, the girl was offered to appear for the men's magazine MAXIM. Asmus appeared before readers in the form of an alien with a bow and arrow.

Ivan Okhlobystin’s participation in “Interns” convinced Kristina Asmus to agree to filming. Instagram @asmuskristina

In the same year, the artist was included in the rating of the Sexiest Women in Russia according to Maxim magazine. In it, the actress took first place, ahead of Ksenia Sobchak, Masha Malinovskaya, Alina Kabaeva, Svetlana Loboda and many others.

Asmus argues for the popularity of Varya Chernous among the male audience of viewers by the simplicity and honesty of her heroine. According to the actress, there are few people like Varya on television today. Asmus believes that men were attracted by the sincerity and authenticity of the character.

During the same period, Asmus received a role in Bekmambetov’s first “Yolki”, and also played in the detective series “Alibi for Two”. In 2011, the girl became a dubbing actress, giving her voice to Belka from the eventually popular “Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf.”

The actress received her first role on the big screen in 2012. The girl played in a modern comedic interpretation of a classic fairy tale. The project was called “Cinderella”. The film became the actress’s debut in big cinema. However, this is not the film that will make the whole country talk about the artist. This tape awaits her in the future.

The series “Interns” was broadcast on TNT from 2010 to 2016. However, Asmus left the project in 2013. The actress was at the peak of her popularity, but participation in “Interns” imposed restrictions not only on her work schedule, but also on her personal life. For example, she was not allowed to become pregnant until the filming process was completed.

In 2011, Christina Asmus received a role in the serial detective series “Dragon Syndrome.” While participating in the filming, the girl investigates a case based on real events. And already in 2012, the film “The Understudy” with Alexander Revva and Asmus was released. The following year, “Easy in Name” was released. The film received low ratings from both critics and viewers. However, participation in the film will still play a role in the life of the star.

After this, in 2015, Asmus will release a remake of “The Dawns Here Are Quiet,” followed by the youth drama “Psychos.” However, none of the works will be to the taste of the audience. The only film that will be appreciated by both fans and professional viewers will be the sports biopic “Champions”, where the star will play the role of Svetlana Khorkina. The athlete will be delighted with Asmus’s professionalism not only as an actress, but also as an athlete. Ten years of experience in big-time sports will help the star not only get used to the role, but also perform a significant part of the stunts with dignity.

In “Champions,” Kristina Asmus played the idol of her sports childhood, Svetlana Khorkina. Instagram @asmuskristina

After “Champions” paid off at the box office, the girl devoted herself to participating in television projects. Actress Kristina Asmus will make her next splash in the 2020 film “Text.”

Nickname

Now, reading the biography of the famous actress-clown, you can come across her sweet fictitious nickname “Toffee”. It was attached to her upon returning to the circus. Alexander Volodin, a playwright and Irina’s theater comrade, seeing her again at the circus, asked: “Iriska, what are you doing here?”

It is precisely by the pseudonym that one can compare two talented namesakes. The fact is that Irina Asmus and Christina Asmus both have fictitious surnames. The modern TV intern has a real name - Myasnikova.

The circus children respectfully addressed their colleague, calling her Iriska Pavlovna - politely and affectionately at the same time.

Scandalous scene in the film "Text"

In October 2019, a film adaptation of Dmitry Glukhovsky’s novel “Text” will be released. The main character of the film goes to prison on false charges. Once free, the young man finds the policeman Peter who slandered him and takes his life in several senses of the word.

However, it was not the drama of the plot or the acting that attracted the audience. The sex scene with the participation of Kristina Asmus caused the most noise. The public was outraged by the frankness of the episode. According to those who watched the tape, it looked more like ordinary porn. The actress suffered especially hard from social network users.

Photo from the filming of the film “Text”, directed by Klim Shipenko, 2020. / "Kinopoisk"

The girl began to be bullied on her Instagram page. Viewers were shocked that a young married woman with a child allowed herself to participate in episodes of erotic content. Some colleagues also expressed criticism. Nastasya Samburskaya called the episode with Kristina Asmus in “Text” pornography.

Ksenia Sobchak, who had previously praised the same scene, later burst out with curses against the star. The scandalous presenter interviewed the film’s actor Alexander Petrov for her show on YouTube. During the conversation, Sobchak raised the topic of what she considered to be a well-filmed episode. Fragments of it were inserted into the video, after which the Internet site flagged the material as potentially dangerous for viewing. The video received far fewer views than Ksenia Anatolyevna expected. Therefore, she cursed Christina Asmus in her characteristic ironic manner.

However, there were those who supported the actress. Garik Kharlamov calmly accepted his wife’s work. Asmus herself stated that these racy shoots were part of her work, and Kharlamov knew who he was marrying. Singer Yuri Loza generally called the erotic footage of Asmus a kindergarten compared to real representatives of the genre. But as usual, the insightful Tina Kandelaki reminded the public that haters very often forget how those who receive rude comments from them feel.

Nevertheless, the actress continues to work in films and appear in TV series. In addition, Christina Asmus does not forget about the theatrical stage.

But my favorite circus brought trauma

Irina loved her job - as a “top” gymnast, who had to perform complex and very spectacular exercises on a tiny spot of a raised persha - a 10-meter pole. The spectators watched with bated breath the refined movements of the graceful Ira.

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But one day, a wildly successful act almost caused the death of a young woman - she fell from a height and received a head injury, after which doctors forbade her to go up to the circus big top.

Personal life

Little is known about the personal life of Christina Asmus. Even after becoming a celebrity, a girl rarely gives rise to gossip. Nevertheless, journalists managed to find out about the artist’s personal life.

The girl’s first lover, according to the press, was her classmate at the acting school, Viktor Stepanyan. The young people were connected not only by feelings, but also by a common interest in the acting profession. However, their romance did not last long. The young man, in rare conversations with journalists, refuses to comment on his relationship with the artist and sincerely wishes her happiness.

It is known that the couple broke up during the period when Christina Asmus began filming “Interns.” It is assumed that the girl at that time simply did not think about starting a family. Instead, she was attracted to a career as an actress - Asmus’s long-time dream. According to other sources, the reason for the separation of the young people was Christina’s candid photo shoot for MAXIM magazine.

The actress is often told that she looks younger than her age. Instagram @asmuskristina

The next chapter in Kristina Asmus’s personal life began with her participation in the film “Easy to Know.” The actress's partner on the set was comedian Garik Kharlamov. They had crossed paths before, but it was only while working on the comedy that they got to know each other better. Garik and Christina liked each other. So much so that even the fact that the actor was married at that time did not interfere with the matter. A barrage of criticism rained down on Kristina Asmus. Then the comedian said that he had not been cohabiting with Yulia for a long time (the first wife of Garik Kharlamov - Ed.), and no one took him away from the family.

The couple got married in 2013. Before this, Garik divorced his marriage to Yulia, but this happened without the presence of the artist’s legal wife at that time. Nevertheless, the marriage with Asmus was registered. The second one was already pregnant at that time. However, the last months of waiting for the child were overshadowed by a series of unpleasant events that arose against the background of the division of Garik’s property with his first wife.

Later, the court even annulled the marriage of Asmus and Kharlamov, because bigamy is prohibited in the Russian Federation. Nevertheless, the actress herself stated that their marriage was valid, and called the information about the annulment a fabrication of the press.

Why does the husband consider Andrei guilty of his mother’s death?

Both the artist’s husband and son took her death very hard. Andrei later recalled that a couple of days before the fateful performance, saying goodbye to him, Irina Asmus cried bitterly, which was completely uncharacteristic for her.

Now Andrei Asmus is over 50 years old and lives in St. Petersburg. Having received the profession of an operator, he films various celebrations. He has two adult children: a daughter and a son.

Mikhail Sychev, although he still calls Andrei his son, considers him one of the culprits in Iriska’s death - after all, she risked her life in order to retire by the age of 45 and finally take serious care of her problem son.

Kristina Asmus in 2020

Today Kristina Asmus and her husband are raising their common daughter, Anastasia. The girl was born on January 5, 2014. Recently, a rumor has appeared on the Internet about discord in a young family. At one of the social events, Asmus appeared without a wedding ring. Later, the girl explained that she and Garik do not wear rings at all, because it is inconvenient.

The actress continues to act in films and participate in theater productions. Kristina Asmus has taken her own place in Russian show business. Today she shines in outfits from luxury brands, and her accessories include jewelry from world-famous brands. The actress often shares news about her personal life and films with her participation on her Instagram page.

How Iriska was born

A still from the film-play “12 Chairs” (1966)
Irina began performing in the theater - the roles of Juliet, Cinderella and other heroines in her performance were remembered by the audience.

But the circus didn’t let her go either - at every opportunity she rushed to the arena, often took part in children’s performances that were shown in the circus during the holidays: she played Dunno, Volka from “Old Man Hottabych”, the old woman Shapoklyak...

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And one day I decided to stage my own clown act. It was risky - there are very few clowns who are successful in solo programs. But difficulties only attracted Iriska - this is the pseudonym she took for herself.

Filmography of Christina Asmus

Full meter

• "Christmas trees" - 2010.
• "Cinderella" - 2012.
• "True Love" - ​​2012.
• "Understudy" - 2012.
• "What are men doing!" — 2013.
• “Easy to Know” - 2014.
• “And the dawns here are quiet...” - 2020.
• "Psychos" - 2020.
• "Champions. Faster. Higher. Stronger" - 2020.
• "Text" - 2020.

Series

• "Interns" - 2010.
• “Alibi for two” - 2011
• "Dragon Syndrome" - 2012
• “And the dawns here are quiet...” (mini-series) - 2020.
• “The Secret of the Idol” - 2020.
• “When entering a house, look around” - 2020.
• "Hero on Call" - 2019