Valentina Pugacheva was born in the Ukrainian village of Malinovka, in the Kharkov region, in mid-May 1935. Her father was a military technician, and her mother was a housewife. On the eve of the war, the head of the family was transferred to Leningrad for work. He took Valentina and his wife there with him.
In 1941, women were evacuated from the northern capital. Valentina and her mother moved to the Perm Territory. Two years later, when Kharkov was liberated, it was possible to return back to their native lands. Valentina completed her studies at her native school in Malinovka. At the end of the war, the family was reunited in Leningrad.
Studying at VGIK
In 1953, Tamara Makarova, who selected students for her joint course with Sergei Gerasimov at VGIK, arrived in Leningrad. Reviews were held at the cinema "Giant". Valentina found out about this and decided to try her luck - she came to the selection. Successfully received admission. After graduation, she immediately went to the capital - to enter VGIK. Passed the competitive selection and was enrolled in the course to Gerasimov.
After graduating from the institute, the girl was assigned to work at Lenfilm and the Film Actor Theater Studio. There she served most of her creative life, until the studio was disbanded during the years of perestroika.
Creative biography of Valentina Pugacheva
For the first time, Valentina appeared on the silver screen in the role of Vera from the film "Hope" by Sergei Gerasimov. It was easy to work on the project - almost the entire course of the master was involved in filming. Two years after the debut, the girl was invited by students Marlen Khutsiev and Felix Mironer to take part in the filming of the film "Spring on Zarechnaya Street". Young screenwriters came up with the idea to make a story about the life of assemblers. Valentina played the role of Zina, the bride of the protagonist, played by Nikolai Rybnikov. After the release of the film, the girl woke up all-Union famous.
The peak of the actress's career came at the end of the 50s - the first half of the 60s. At this time, she starred in such films as "Height", "Tight Knot", "Night Guest", "Long Day", "After the Wedding", "Snow Maiden", "Mother and Stepmother". Almost all of her roles were of the second plan, but it was impossible not to notice or not recognize the talented actress. One of the biggest works is the role of Zotikha in the serial film "Strogoffs".
Private life
Valentina Pugacheva was married to Vladimir Burykin, who worked as a cameraman at Lenfilm. Young people met while working together on a painting"The Night Guest" in 1958. They immediately got married, a year later their only daughter Ksenia was born. Vladimir Burykin passed away in 1999.
In the last years of her life, Valentina Pugacheva practically did not act in films. Her last appearance on the screen was a cameo role in the TV series Streets of Broken Lights. The actress passed away quietly at the age of 74, in her own apartment, given to her for the role of Zina. On April 14, 2008, she felt unwell, refused hospitalization, despite the excitement of her relatives. She realized that she was leaving and wished to die in her native walls. The actress was seriously ill, she was diagnosed with lung failure and asthma.
Relatives, including the 92-year-old mother, took her departure hard. Daughter Xenia and her three children lost their beloved mother and grandmother. The elderly mother of Valentina Pugacheva immediately after the departure of her daughter fell ill, refused food and did not communicate with anyone.
