Soviet Actress Elena Proklova

Soviet actress Elena Proklova – one of the few actresses who began acting as a child, made a brilliant career. The majority of child actors simply disappear into oblivion. Probably because Elena has been a workaholic since childhood, and was engaged in gymnastics since the age of four. Five year-old girl acted in the Kremlin, with the performance “Girl on the ball.” It was incredibly impressive, the hall applauded. At the age of 11 she has become a master of the sport in gymnastics. But her life changed one day when out of 11,000 girls who were casting for the film “Ringing, Open the Door” director Alexander Mitta chose Elena Proklova. For this film Elena subsequently received an award. There was not a single newspaper or a magazine in the country, which would not have written about it, because for the first time the prize for best actress went to the girl, not the actress. She received bags of letters and her pictures were sold in kiosks.

Then there was the film “Snow Queen”. The filming took place in Leningrad and in Uzhgorod – away from her parents. For a year she saw them twice. In that expedition she had a feeling of total loneliness. She wanted to return to the sport. She wanted to go home to her dog, to her fishes. Isolation from the house, the wrong school, other people’s children was hard. But it tempers the character. There was another plus – she was living in a fairy tale, she felt the character of the film – Gerda. From the hotel in Uzhgorod, where she lived, to the set of the film, she was carried in a carriage …

From an interview of Proklova:
– The boys, of course, were all in love. But I was not interested in them. The girls did not communicate with me. Always – boycotts in every school. In general, I would like to quickly become an adult. When we were shooting the film “Shine, shine, my star”, director Oleg Efremov used to say: “Lena, leave this stupid school, which no one needs, and come to the theater”. The other director Oleg Tabakov objected: “How to make a career without a diploma? No, let her learn, and then become an actor!” I was 15 years old. But two great directors Oleg Yefremov and Oleg Tabakov took me as an equal. They took me to football matches, and to night rehearsals in the “Sovremennik”. It was for me a temple in the truest sense of the word. Perhaps, if I had not met Yefremov and Tabakov, everything in life would have happened otherwise.”

Elena graduated from the 9th and 10th classes as an external student and passed exams in the Moscow Art Theatre School. She was no longer just the best actress for the film “Ringing, Open the door,” but also received numerous awards, including the Grand Prix of the “Lion of St. Mark” at the Venice festival. All her life turned quickly. In the second year she gave birth to a daughter. When she was a third-year student, Yefremov invited her for the leading role of Masha in “The Kremlin chimes” in Moscow Art Academic Theater. She worked in 20-25 performances per month.

Relationship between Elena and Oleg Yefremov was very trusting. In case of personal drama, Oleg found time to support and comfort her. Then, when the tragedy occurred (Elena lost her newborn twins), he did not let her sink in sorrow, and loaded her with work hard in the theater. He offered to play “Tartuffe” and many other performances. He believed that the theater – the only thing worth living for. And he sacrificed everything for the sake of the theater.

Soviet and Russian theater and film actress Proklova was born into a family of teachers September 2, 1953 in Moscow. The winner of the Lenin Komsomol Prize (1977) for her role of Marina Maksimovna in the film “The key is not transferable.” Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1984), she starred in 40 films, beginning with the role of Tanya Nechaeva in the movie “Someone Is Ringing, Open the Door” (1965), The Snow Queen (Gerda, 1966), Meetings (1967), Awkward age (1968), Shine, Shine, My Star (1969), The only one (1975), Key non-transferable (1976), Mimino (1977), Dog in the manger (1977), Be my husband (1981), Remember me such (1987) …. Yellow dwarf (2001), Happiness prescription (2006).

Elena, in addition to work in theater and film, worked on television – In 2002 participated in the reality show “Survivor 3: Stay alive.” As of 22 May 2006 to 13 August 2010, together with Gennady Malakhov, she led the program “Malakhov +” on the First Channel. From 25 October 2010 to 12 October 2012, began broadcasting “Housing and Communal Services” on the First Channel.

Proklova – member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, Member of the party “United Russia”.

The first husband of Proklova – Vitaly Melik-Karamov, documentary filmmaker. The marriage lasted four years, from 1971 to 1975, their daughter Arina (1970) was born in a marriage. Second husband – Alexander Deryabin, the doctor. Third husband – Andrei Trishin, businessman, their daughter Polina was born in 1994. However, after 30 years, the marriage fell apart, they got divorced in 2015.

Soviet Actress Elena Proklova

Based on an interview to 7days.ru
sources of images: kinopoisk.ru,
magazine Soviet Screen,
magazine ‘England’, 1975