Childhood and youth
The real name of the actress Lyanka Gryu is Lyana Ilnitskaya. The girl was born on November 22, 1987, under the zodiac sign of Scorpio. Lyanca Gryu received her name from the famous Moldovan actor, her father, Gheorghe Gryu. Despite his Romanian surname, he is Moldovan by nationality. Lyanka's mother is Russian actress Stella Ilnitskaya. The parents separated when the girl was still a child; the father did not keep in touch with the family at all.
Lyanka Gryu in childhood
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The childhood of the future actress was not cloudless. After the divorce, Lyanka Gryu’s mother continued her studies at VGIK and was ready to take on any job to feed herself and her daughter. At one time, Stella Ilnitskaya graduated from a special school with in-depth study of French, and therefore often translated French texts and gave private lessons. However, this was barely enough to make ends meet.
As for the actress’s own father, Gheorghe Gryu spent some time in a homeless shelter near Chisinau and abused alcohol. His relatives did not keep in touch with him. His life became the plot of one of the episodes of the “Let Them Talk” program. However, Lyanka herself refused to visit the studio.
Lyanka Gryu in childhood
Since childhood, Lyanka Gryu learned the profession of an actress. This was facilitated by the girl’s sweet appearance and innate charm. Thanks to these qualities, she did not leave indifferent the directors of television channels, fashion magazines and various companies.
The future star liked to be the center of attention. She enjoyed reading poetry, singing songs, practicing choreography, and at one time even seriously thought about becoming a ballerina. At that time, her idol was the legendary ballerina Maya Plisetskaya.
Lyanka Gryu dreamed of ballet
As a child, her photos periodically appeared on the pages of advertising catalogues. For three years, the girl hosted a television show for children, “Tik-Tak.” Lyanka Gryu was officially the face of Vertex, a company that produces children's clothing. During this period, the actress often appeared in advertisements for children's products, as well as on the pages of catalogs and magazines. Among them were popular publications, for example, the magazine for needlewomen “Natalie”.
An important episode in the biography of Lyanka Gryu was 1992, when she first appeared in the short film “Alone” based on the story by Ray Bradbury. Director Natalya Kalashnikova was then preparing to shoot her graduation film. Having seen Lyanka at VGIK, who came there with her mother, she immediately invited her to audition.
Lyanka Gryu played in the play “Fanta Infanta”
While Lyanka was studying at school, she managed to play in a number of films - Irochka in the film “Who If Not Us”, Katka in the film “Triumph” and Nastya in the series “Leading Roles”. The school director was sympathetic to the fact that the student spent a lot of time on set and allowed her to switch to home schooling.
The girl managed to combine studies, filming films and performing in the theater. Already at an early age she played at the Luna Theater in the play “Fanta Infanta”, as well as in the enterprise play “Flies” on the stage of the branch of the theater. Mayakovsky.
Actress Lyanka Gryu
In 1997, the young actress received a role in Vladimir Grammatikov’s film “The Little Princess.” Although she got the supporting character - the maid Becky, it was this work that brought Lyanka Gryu the first award at the Moscow International Children's Film Festival. For the same role, the talented girl received a prize at the Eaglet film festival.
Until she graduated from school, the actress performed and acted under the name Lyanka Ilnitskoy (her mother’s last name). However, while preparing for admission, she realized that she needed to finally draw the line and start moving on with her life. The girl entered college, dyed her hair blonde and revealed her real name to the world - Lyanka Gryu.
Lyanka Gryu never received a diploma from VGIK
Of course, she had no doubts about where to go after graduating from school - VGIK, where the young actress passed the entrance exams to the acting department without interference. The director of Lyanka was actor Vladimir Grammatikov. However, it was not without difficulties. Due to the fact that the student did not have a residence permit, the dean of the institute forbade her to attend classes.
However, the actress found a way to circumvent the ban and for 2 years attended classes as a free listener. Seeing Lyanka Gryu’s talent, the teachers allowed her to participate in student productions, but she never received a diploma.
Biography
Stella was born into a family far from cinema and art in general - her mother ran a store, and her father worked in medicine.
Their daughter was born on December 7, 1964, the family then lived in Chisinau. From an early age, parents tried to give the girl a comprehensive education. The school that little Stella entered was not quite ordinary - here they studied the French language in depth. It was at school that Stella realized that she wanted to be an actress and tried her best to make her dream come true. Immediately after the graduation party, the girl submitted documents to the Chisinau Conservatory at the Faculty of Musical Comedy, and in 1991 she entered VGIK. Stella’s entry into the profession coincided with a deep cinematic crisis and the collapse of the country, so the actress did not immediately become a famous person.
Movies
Gryu combined her studies at the institute with filming work, playing mostly minor roles. She appears in the following films - “Detectives-4”, “Pops”, “Doomed to Become a Star”, etc. Lyanka Gryu received her first leading role in the film “Come in - don’t be afraid, come out - don’t cry.” Such a busy schedule did not prevent the actress from painting and ballet, as well as performing on the theater stage.
Lyanka Gryu in the film “Come in - don’t be afraid, come out - don’t cry”
In 2009, the film “Return of the Musketeers” was released, where Lyanka Gryu played the role of d’Artagnan’s
. For the sake of this role, she had to learn fencing and horse riding, which the girl coped with without much difficulty. True, relations with Mikhail Boyarsky did not work out at first. Returning from Odessa, straight from the set of Taras Bulba, the actor was exhausted and irritated. When the “daughter” was introduced to him, he threw a caustic phrase at Lyanka Gryu: “Don’t even hope for it.”
However, later, after reviewing the material, the legendary actor was satisfied and before leaving, he gave her a bouquet of scarlet roses.
Lyanka Gryu and Mikhail Boyarsky in the film “Return of the Musketeers”
In the same year, Lyanka Gryu worked on the youth series “Barvikha”, where she plays an elite school student, Evgenia Kolesnichenko. Her heroine is one of the most colorful characters in the series. Zhenya dreams of feeling like she belongs among the “golden youth,” but because of her impulsive actions, she gets something completely different from what she wanted. In one of the episodes, Zhenya throws a party for her friends in someone else’s mansion, passing it off as her own.
Lyanka Gryu on the set of the series “Barvikha”
In 2011, the actress was invited to a new series about the adventures of Sherlock Holmes
, where she played Irene Adler.
In 2013, Lyanka Gryu decided to try herself in a different direction and took part in the show “Ice Age 4”, her partner was figure skater Maxim Marinin. Based on the results of the final voting, the couple became an honorary bronze medalist.
Maxim Marinin and Lyanka Gryu - “Ice Age”
Today, the filmography of actress Lyanka Gryu includes over 50 roles in feature films and TV series. Among them are “Jackpot for Cinderella”, “9 signs of betrayal”, “Victory wind, clear day”, “Love and hate”, “Dirty work”, “Children under 16”, “Scouts”, etc.
Lyanka Gryu in the melodrama “The Road Home”
In 2014, the film “Only Girls in Sports” was released, where she played an extreme snowboarder. Arriving at the premiere, the actress was very worried, because the film had some rather piquant moments (this was the first time she starred almost naked). However, the picture turned out not at all vulgar, but truly kind and cheerful.
During the filming, which took place in Sochi, Canadian Claudia Avon performed stunts for the actress. Over the weekend, Lyanka Gryu snatched a couple of hours to enjoy a ride in Krasnaya Polyana.
Personal life
Lyanka Gryu’s personal life was successful. She met her future husband on the set of the film “Looking for You.” Stanislav Bondarenko starred in the film together with Gryu. The girl’s fans dreamed that passion and love would flare up between the actors and outside the set.
Lyanka Gryu and Stanislav Bondarenko in the film “From Heart to Heart”
However, they soon learned that their favorite was married, and not to Bondarenko at all. Her chosen one was composer and director Mikhail Weinberg. The wedding took place on July 9, 2010. Lyanka’s husband is 12 years older than her, but this does not prevent them from being “on the same wavelength.”
Before the wedding, the lovers managed to live together for a year. And, according to Gryu, even after so many years, the husband remains just as caring and sensitive.
Wedding of Lyanka Gryu and Mikhail Weinberg
On February 20, 2011, Lyanka Gryu became the mother of a charming son, Maxim. It is noteworthy that the couple found out the sex of the unborn child quite late, and therefore prepared a room for the girl. The actress admits that during pregnancy she hoped that she would have a daughter.
Few people know that at the age of 17-18, Lyanka Gryu kept a personal diary online, sharing her emotions and thoughts with subscribers. She liked that there were people who knew her primarily not as an actress, but as a person. But over time, she abandoned this hobby, as work and family began to take up all her time, and in addition, journalists began to visit her personal page more and more often in search of sensations.
Lyanka Gryu with her husband and son
In 2020, the actress gave an interview where she said that in 2013 their couple was on the verge of divorce. Both spouses immersed themselves in a lot of work. Mikhail was filming the series “Pregnancy Test” at that moment, and she participated in “Ice Age”. The schedules were so tight that Lyanka did not see her husband for six months. Of course, all this had a negative impact on the relationship.
In parallel with this, another problem in the family was growing - son Maxim was already 2 years and 10 months old at that time, and he still did not speak. Even the words “mom” and “dad”. The neurologist diagnosed his son with “delayed speech development.” The doctor prescribed strong drug treatment. But Gryu did not want to “stuff” the baby with pills, she was going to find another solution.
Lyanka Gryu and her family moved to America
On the eve of the New Year 2014, Lyanka decided to take a break from her career and leave Moscow. Her husband supported her in everything, the family packed their bags and left for America, New York. They rented out their Moscow apartment and sold their cars.
There they turned to doctors, the boy’s diagnosis was confirmed, but only a more democratic treatment was offered. They began to visit a speech therapist, a psychologist, and a specialist in fine motor skills. The treatment was designed for 2 years, which the actress did not expect.
The situation with the child helped the spouses get closer again. After 2 months, the therapy bore fruit, Maxim said the word “give”.
Lyanka Gryu with her husband
During these two years, Lyanka completed English courses and a little later entered an American film school. And during this time she noticeably became prettier. First of all, fans noticed that the girl had lost weight (with a height of 175 cm, her weight is 54 kg). She admits that she tries to eat right, drink a lot of water, and also does yoga. Although there are those who are sure that the actress achieved such forms with the help of plastic surgery. But all questions disappear by themselves, you just have to look at the photo of Lyanka’s mother.
Many roles are left behind, but everything is still ahead
She gained her first experience in cinematography in commercials and photo shoots for magazines. Her natural beauty from birth attracted many directors who happily wanted to work with her and were looking for opportunities to offer her interesting roles in TV series and films.
At the age of 4, Lyanka learned what success and public recognition mean. The short film “Odin” brought great success not only at Russian, but also at European festivals. After a five-year break, the actress starred in the film “The Little Princess.” In this film she was not given the main role, but critics noticed her and said pleasant words for her, and she also received an award from the Rolan Bykov Children's Film Festival, and this was a truly significant result for her. “Who else if not us”, “Nude”, “Triumph”, “From Heart to Heart”, “Barvikha” - these are popular films in the actress’s career, after which she became an even more famous and experienced actress from her school years.
Admission to a prestigious university, namely VGIK, was an unambiguous decision that was made since childhood. Lyanka Gryu and her filmography can give a head start to many aspiring artists, because the charming actress from an early age discovered her talent for acting and life on stage, surprising her fans with different roles.
Lyanka Gryu now
In January 2020, it became known that the actress had joined the cast of the American drama series The Americans. In addition, she is participating in the project “Impossible Monsters” directed by Nathan Catucci.
Occasionally, she and Mikhail still came to Russia, for example, Lyanka starred in the continuation of the series “Pregnancy Test”.
Mikhail Weinberg and Lyanka Gryu on the set of the series “Pregnancy Test”
In April 2020, Lyanka informed followers on Instagram that she and her family had moved to Los Angeles. At the same time, the actress, about all 5 years of their life in New York, two children and herself, bought tickets and flew to the other side of the country. Of course, everyone was interested in her words about two children, and questions about this began pouring in in the comments. But the actress did not give answers to them.
