Actress Valeria Kiseleva is known primarily as the mother of the popular TV presenter Ivan Urgant. There are no leading roles in her filmography. For most of her life, actress Valeria Kiseleva worked at the Comedy Theater of St. Petersburg. What is known about the life of this artist? Why did Urgant’s mother never give interviews and talk about her famous son?
short biography
Kiseleva Valeria Ivanovna was born in Leningrad in 1952. Graduated from the Institute of Theater and Cinematography. Since 1986, she has played on the stage of one of the theaters in her hometown. The actress's first husband was Andrei Urgant. The second is Dmitry Ladygin.
She passed away in February 2020. Valeria Kiseleva is an actress whose cause of death became known in early February. Information appeared in the press that Urgant’s mother died in her apartment as a result of complications of a respiratory viral infection.
Death of Valeria Kiseleva
The famous actor, showman and TV presenter Ivan Urgant admitted several times that he was not at all prepared for the death of his mother. It is worth noting that nothing foreshadowed a fatal outcome, except perhaps one operation in 1998. Valeria Ivanovna died on the night of January 31 to February 1, she was 63 years old. It is noteworthy that the woman did not live until her birthday only 6 days. The medical team reported that the woman died due to complications of an acute respiratory viral infection.
After the loss of his mother, Ivan Urgant, as well as his entire family, refused to comment on the death of Valeria Ivanovna. The popular program “Evening Urgant” also did not air for some time.
When 8 months passed after the death of his mother, Ivan Urgant had a daughter, whom the couple decided to name in honor of the late Valeria. In the winter of 2020, Ivan published a photo of his mother in her youth on her Instagram account; in the image one could find an incredible resemblance between Ivan and his mother. The showman signed the photo with the following words: “Happy Birthday, Mom!”
Filmography
In films, actress Valeria Kiseleva played few roles. She can be remembered in the image of one of the participants in the street ensemble in the melodrama “You Are the Only One for Me.” Valeria Kiseleva played a cameo role in one of the episodes of “The Street of Broken Lanterns.” Other films in which the actress took part:
- “You know... mom.”
- "The Fourth Planet"
- "Leningrad".
- "Cross the line."
- "A trip to see my son."
Biography of the actress
Valeria Kiseleva was born in Leningrad on February 7, 1951. Her father Ivan Kiselev took part in the Great Patriotic War; he lived for 22 years after the victory. The actress’s mother saw the war when she was still a child. The parents got married after the war. Daughter Lera grew up as an active, artistic child.
The theater became her cherished dream, but the girl did not manage to enter the theater institute right away. Valeria became a student at LGIK only at the age of 20. R. S. Agamirzyan took Kiseleva to his course.
In 1977, Valeria Kiseleva graduated from the Leningrad State Institute of Theater, Music and Cinematography and entered the service at the Drama Theater. V.F. Komissarzhevskaya, where she worked for 8 seasons. After this, the actress transferred to the Comedy Theater named after N.P. Akimov. In the new creative team, Kiseleva’s talent as a sharp-character actress was truly revealed. She became one of the leading artists of the lineup.
Her track record of roles includes particularly notable works in the productions “A Lady’s Visit,” “The Tricks of Dorothy Dot,” “Total Trouble,” and “Ghosts.” These performances formed the backbone of the theater's repertoire.
In 2000, Valeria Kiseleva received the title “Honored Artist of Russia.”
Years of life: 02/07/1951 - 02/01/2015.
Andrey Urgant
There were a lot of rumors about the relatives of the television celebrity. Information has repeatedly appeared in the press that Ivan Urgant was allegedly raised by his grandmother, and his parents were removed from their duties for a long time. The grandson of the performer of the famous patriotic song in the film “Belarusian Station” prefers not to comment on this information. He never told reporters anything about his family.
However, according to the recollections of acquaintances and friends of Ivan Urgant’s mother and stepfather, the future star of Russian television spent his childhood and adolescence in his parents’ home. Actress Valeria Kiseleva met Andrei Urgant as a student. The aspiring artist moved to live in a communal apartment, where Ivan’s mother subsequently lived for many years. However, Andrei Urgant was not adapted to family life at that time, and therefore his young wife soon kicked him out.
Who is Ivan Urgant's mother
Popular TV presenter and actor Ivan Urgant was born into an acting family, and everyone knows that his grandmother is the famous actress Nina Urgant, his father is Andrei Urgant, but not everyone knows who Ivan Urgant’s mother His mother is also an actress, Honored Artist of Russia Valeria Ivanovna Kiseleva, who, after graduating from the Leningrad Institute of Music and Cinematography, has been serving at the St. Petersburg Comedy Theater for thirty-seven years. N.P. Akimova. She can also be seen in films - Valeria Ivanovna starred in three films by Dmitry Astrakhan - “Everything will be fine”, “You are the only one I have” and “The Fourth Planet”, as well as in several other films. However, Ivan Urgant’s mother is best known for her theatrical works.
In the photo is the mother of Ivan Urgant
Valeria Kiseleva met Andrei Urgant at the institute, and almost a year after graduation she gave birth to a son, Ivan. She was never officially married to Andrei Lvovich, and the civil marriage of the two actors did not last long - they separated a year after the birth of their son. They say that the reason for the separation was Andrei Urgant’s indifference to alcohol and girls. Tired of enduring the antics of her common-law husband, Ivan Urgant’s mother decided to break up with him.
But she did not remain lonely, and soon married Dmitry Ladygin, a member of a famous acting family, from whom she gave birth to two daughters - sisters of Ivan Urgant. Valeria also studied with Dmitry at the same institute, only in different courses, they were not closely acquainted, and Ladygin did not make any attempts to get to know her better, especially since Valeria began an affair with Andrei Urgant. Only when Dmitry Ladygin returned from the army, and Valeria Kiseleva was left alone, did they get to know each other better, and soon got married, and from that time on they never parted.
Ivan Urgant grew up in a large, friendly but poor family, and in order to earn pocket money, he began working at school, washing dishes in a restaurant. Now that Ivan has become a star and a very wealthy man, he does not forget his mother and stepfather, and helps them, and this is another “plus” for the popular showman. Ivan Urgant’s mother is a very modest person and tries not to mention her son again. According to the actress, she does not like public speaking, and all that can be said about her relationship with her son is that they love each other and communicate often. Maybe,
Dmitry Ladygin
Valeria Kiseleva did not like to give interviews and talk about her personal life. And this is a rather rare phenomenon in the theatrical and cinematic environment. The second husband of the actress was Dmitry Ladygin. According to close friends of Urgant’s parents, including the bard Alexander Rosenbaum, Kiseleva was an intelligent and extremely modest person. Despite her occupation, she did not like public speaking.
For Dmitry Ladygin, marriage to Valeria Kiseleva was the first. They studied at the same institute, but took different courses. When the actress married Ladygin, her son was four years old. A few years later, daughters Valentina and Alexandra were born into the new family. For some time, Ivan called his stepfather “dad,” but, having matured, he apparently remembered the presence of his own father and began to address Ladygin by name.
The family of theater actors did not have much financial wealth. Especially in the nineties. However, during this period it was not easy for all St. Petersburg residents. Ivan already started working part-time during his school years. When he became a star, he began to help his relatives.
Valeria Kiseleva passed away on February 1, 2020. The actress would have turned sixty-four years later in a week. After the death of Valeria Kiseleva, the Evening Urgant program did not air for three days. In the next episode, the presenter explained the reason. Ivan Urgant told the audience about the death of his mother, mentioning that she was a very modest person and not only did not give interviews, but even once again tried not to talk about who her son was. “She would be embarrassed if she found out that I was talking about her to the whole country,” said the presenter in the epilogue of the “Evening Urgant” program.
Personal life
The aforementioned Andrei Urgant was 5 years younger than his future wife. But when they both graduated from university, they got a job in the same theater and started living together. In 1978, the couple had a son, who was named Ivan. But Andrei was not ready to become a family man and an exemplary father. So after 1.5 years Valeria left Urgant.
Valeria became truly happy in her marriage to another of her classmates, Dmitry Ladygin. Due to military service, Dmitry was not in the city for some time, but when he returned, he immediately decided to propose to the girl with whom he had been in love during his studies.
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In this marriage, two children were born: Valentina and Alexandra. And Ivan and his stepfather had a very good relationship. The boy was glad that he had sisters to look after. Despite the fact that Vanya began living with his own father as a teenager, he was able to stabilize relations between the two families and still calls Ladygin his second dad.
Death
Valeria Kiseleva died suddenly
on the night of February 1, 2020. She was healthy, no chronic diseases were recorded. The cause of the actress’s death was the flu, which Valeria caught a few days before her departure. The ambulance could not do anything - when the doctors arrived, the woman was already dead. The unexpected death of the actress became a real tragedy for relatives and colleagues.
Mother of Ivan Urgant Valeria Kiseleva
For three days, Ivan Urgant interrupted the broadcast of the “Evening Urgant” program. Valeria Ivanovna was buried in Komarovo, and the funeral service took place in the St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral of the northern capital. Only close people were present at the funeral and farewell. In the next episode of the author’s program, Ivan explained the reason for the cancellation of the broadcast and asked all viewers to honor the memory of his mother with a minute of silence.
Ivan Urgant looks like his mother
8 months after the death of his mother, the presenter became a father for the second time. Urgant named his newborn daughter in honor of his mother - Valeria. In 2017, at the beginning of February, Ivan Urgant posted on Instagram a photo of Valeria Kiseleva in her youth, in which the showman’s extraordinary resemblance to her mother is noticeable. The caption under the photo read: “Happy birthday, mom!”
