The famous Soviet director Sergei Bondarchuk had four children from three marriages - the eldest son Alexei from Evgenia Belousova, daughter Natalya from his second wife Inna Makarova, son Fyodor and daughter Elena Bondarchuk from his third wife Irina Skobtseva.
The director's youngest daughter
Elena Bondarchuk was born on July 31, 1962 in Moscow and grew up with her brother under the supervision of her grandmother Yulia Nikolaevna Skobtseva. The girl, at the insistence of her mother, was named Elena, rejecting her father's proposal to give her the name Olesya. Growing up, Elena stated that her name in no way suited her, and independently changed it to Alena. It didn’t come to redoing the passport, but in the family the girl continued to be called that. In the credits of the films in which Elena Bondarchuk starred, her name was often indicated as Alena.
Education
The parents were very busy people, but they tried to raise their children to be worthy, educated and intelligent people. Elena studied English since childhood, studied diligently at school. The famous director could not pay too much attention to children and did not even hide it, sometimes telling them that the workHe always comes first for him. Alena and Fedor were offended by such statements, but did not cease to love, respect and idolize their father less because of this. The authority of a serious, famous and talented director had a huge impact on the lives of his children. Already as an adult, Alena always consulted with her father on the most important life issues. Before accepting an offer to star in any film, Elena Bondarchuk showed the material to her father. And more than once Sergei Fedorovich rejected the proposals, instructing his daughter that the material must be carefully selected.
Education
Actress Elena Bondarchuk was born to follow in the footsteps of her parents. Her innate acting skills allowed her to enter the Moscow Art Theater School after graduation, successfully completing it in 1983. Being a member of an acting family, Alena was filming already in the process of learning. Sergei Bondarchuk often gave roles to his loved ones in the films he directed. The historical drama "Boris Godunov" was filmed with the participation of all members of the Bondarchuk family: Irina Skobtseva, Fedor and Alena, and the director himself - Sergei Fedorovich. But the film debut for Alena was the role in the film "Living Rainbow", staged by her older sister Natalia.
Private life and family
After playing several roles in Soviet films, Alena met her first husband, Vitaly Kryukov, a teacher of philosophy. The couple played a wedding, in the marriage of Alena and Vitaly, the son Konstantin was born. At the endIn the 80s, the family decided to move to live abroad and left for Switzerland. Thus, Elena Bondarchuk somewhat moved away from the sphere of the film industry, her biography continued as a wife and mother. Sometimes Alena went to the shooting of "Quiet Don", which was filmed at that time by her father. In the film, the actress played the role of Natalia, which, in her opinion, was the most important in life and was a complete success.
Return to the profession
After spending several years in Switzerland, Elena Bondarchuk and her son returned to Moscow. The marriage of Alena and Vitaly Kryukov broke up, after the divorce, the actress enjoyed freedom and since 1998 she began to play in the theater again, getting the main roles in performances. Since 2003, she again plunged into the atmosphere of filming. Having married a second time to a person close to her in spirit and supporting the actress in her endeavors, Elena Bondarchuk began to act a lot. Films with her participation - "I Stay", "Reserve Instinct", "Dear Masha Berezina", the series "Poor Nastya", "One Night of Love", where the actress played empresses, brought success. But the most outstanding role was the work in the film "Quiet Don", where Alena Bondarchuk played Natalia. The film, on which Sergei Bondarchuk fought abroad for many years, trying to settle the formalities and transport the picture to Russia, was left unfinished with the death of the director. But Fyodor Bondarchuk managed to approve the picture and show it on the screens. The audience met the film ambiguously, there were many negative reviews. But the role of Elena Bondarchuk remained untouched by critics, so well entered intoactress image. Alena reacted philosophically to the reaction of the audience to the picture in Russia, believing that the main thing is the completion of her father's work, which Fedor succeeded in.
Departure
Elena Bondarchuk left this world early, bringing an irreparable loss to her family, loved ones and fans. Almost no one knew about the oncological disease, which was discovered in a woman after 40 years, except for the closest ones. Alena stubbornly fought the disease, was treated in an Israeli clinic, but when she realized that there were no chances, she returned to Moscow and courageously supported her relatives, encouraging them. The last day in the life of the actress was November 7, 2009. A funeral service was held at the Sretensky Monastery, Elena Bondarchuk was buried next to the grave of her father at the Novodevichy Cemetery. The son, brother, mother, husband of the actress suffered the loss of a loved one, because Alena was only 47 years old when she left this world.
