Children of famous artists who spent their childhood behind the scenes, as a rule, follow in their parents' footsteps. However, this is not always the case. The exception is Elena Ulyanova, the daughter of M. Ulyanov and A. Parfanyak. Despite the fact that her parents are one of the most famous Soviet artists, the girl chose a different profession. Why did she make this choice and what came of it?
Star mother of Elena Ulyanova - Alla Parfanyak
Elena Mikhailovna Ulyanova (photo below) was almost always in the circle of prominent people.
The first among them was her mother - Honored Artist of the RSFSR, Alla Petrovna Parfanyak. This actress of amazing beauty and talent has become a national favorite after her first role in the movie (Valya Petrova from "Heavenly slug").
In the 1940s-1950s. Alla Petrovna was courted by the most famous men in the country: Alexander Vertinsky, Leonid Utesov, Mark Bernes and Nikolai Kryuchkov. For some time, the beauty met with Bernes, but later she married Nikolai Kryuchkov. Soon the couple had a son, named after his father - Kolya.
It seemed that Alla Parfanyak's life was completelyarranged - what more could you want, but meeting an unknown young Siberian Misha Ulyanov turned everything upside down.
Famous father - Mikhail Ulyanov
The future performer of the role of Marshal Zhukov was the owner of real masculine qualities: solidity, perseverance, hard work and nobility. After studying at the studio at the Omsk Regional Drama Theater, he went to conquer the white-stone capital.
Having neither money nor connections, the young talent was able to enter the Shchukin School, and after graduation he was enrolled in the Theater. Vakhtangov.
Here he met the young actress Alla Parfanyak, who was then the wife of Nikolai Kryuchkov, famous throughout the USSR. Having fallen in love with a beautiful actress, the Siberian nugget began courting her, and an unexpectedly sleek beauty from a professorial family responded to his feelings.
Shortly after that, Parfanyak filed an official divorce and married Mikhail Ulyanov, and in December 1959 their daughter Lenochka was born.
Elena Ulyanova, daughter of Mikhail Ulyanov: biography of childhood
After the divorce, Kryuchkov left a small two-room apartment to his wife and son. Here the young family of Ulyanov and Parfanyak spent the first years. After Elena Ulyanova was born, their maternal grandmother moved in to look after the baby and her older brother Kolya. In addition, in order to have time to work in the theater, the couple hired a housekeeper. So they lived for several years - six of them in a tiny two-room apartmenton Ostuzheva street.
Despite the fact that Alla Parfanyak did not want to quit her job in the theater, due to the poor he alth of her daughter (Elena Ulyanova had kidney problems from early childhood), she had to give up her career and become an ordinary housewife. This decision was difficult for her, but she loved her children and her husband more than anything.
Over time, Mikhail Ulyanov's career in the theater went uphill, then he began to act in films a lot, receive awards, and soon the family bought an apartment in a good area.
Despite his catastrophic employment on the set, Mikhail Alexandrovich devoted a lot of time to his only daughter. According to eyewitnesses, when he first saw her, he wept with happiness. In subsequent years, the artist always found time to chat with Lenochka, and spared nothing for her.
Despite all-Union fame, Lena's family lived very modestly, while the girl was sent to study at the then prestigious French special school. However, after a couple of years, Elena Ulyanova showed character and transferred to the 11th grade on her own to a school for working youth. Here, the offspring of many stars studied with her - Anton Tabakov, Evgeny Lungin, Denis Evstegneev and others.
Mikhail Ulyanov himself has always been categorically against his daughter's admission to a theater university. Therefore, from childhood, Elena Ulyanova was protected by her parents from the theater. She rarely attended rehearsals, but when she graduated from school, she dreamed of continuing the Ulyanov-Parfanyak acting dynasty. Then her father convinced her to abandon this plan andchoose another major.
Study and subsequent career
The profession that interested the young daughter of Mikhail Ulyanov also belonged to the creative section - Elena became a graphic artist after graduating from the Polygraphic Institute. As she later admitted in an interview, this specialization was not her choice. So, since childhood, Lena, despite her abilities, did not particularly like to draw. However, her father sent his child to art school, and then to college. Mikhail Alexandrovich hoped that, having such a speci alty, his daughter would always be able to earn a living, and he was not mistaken.
After several years of study, Elena Mikhailovna began to show herself as a very talented artist. Although it was not easy to break into the publishing world, she was able to achieve a lot, and not using her father's name, but through her work and perseverance.
While working at the publishing house of the Arguments and Facts newspaper, the girl was simultaneously fond of creating author's etchings. She was often invited to exhibit her work at all-Union exhibitions, and later abroad.
Relationship with older brother
As mentioned above, Alla Parfanyak had a son from her first marriage, Nikolai Nikolaevich Kryuchkov. After the divorce of his parents, the boy stayed with his mother and stepfather.
Despite care and attention, close relations with Mikhail Ulyanov, as well as with his own father, did not work out for Nikolai. And over time, the guy moved away from his mother, especially when his half-sister, Elena Ulyanova, was born.
The biography of Nikolai Kryuchkov Jr. was extremely unsuccessful. He dreamed of emigrating from the USSR, for which he was sent to a hospital, as was done then. After Kolya was still able to leave for Germany, but had problems with the law and ended up in prison. Ultimately, the guy emigrated to the United States and no longer kept in touch with his family.
As for Elena, she and her brother kept apart from childhood, and after the emigration they completely lost contact. The woman admitted that while her mother was alive, Kolya often asked her for money, although he was able to earn money himself. His rampant lifestyle upset Alla Petrovna very much, so today Elena Mikhailovna does not have particularly warm feelings for her brother.
Mikhail Ulyanov's daughter Elena: personal life
Shortly after graduating from the institute, Elena Mikhailovna met the son of the famous Russian poet Alexei Markov, Sergei.
The young man was 5 years older than Lena, but had already traveled half the world and met such famous writers as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Julio Cortazar, Nicolas Guillen, Paco de Lucia and Alejo Carpentier.
At the time of their acquaintance, the future husband of Elena Ulyanova worked as a full-time traveling columnist for the Ogonyok magazine and hosted several literary programs. An affair broke out between Sergey and Elena, and in 1982 they got married, and 2 years later they had a daughter.
The baby was named after Mikhail Ulyanov's mother - Liza. She became a joy not only for her parents, but also for her famous grandfather.
However, it turned out that the girl had a congenital heart defect. Her eminent grandfather raised all ties and obtained permission from Gorbachev himself to take Lizonka abroad for treatment. After the operation, the baby began to feel better and was able to lead a full life.
Unfortunately, the union with Sergei Markov turned out to be short-lived - the couple lived together for only 8 years, after which Elena Mikhailovna Ulyanova divorced her husband.
The personal life of a woman after a divorce developed with varying degrees of success. So, she got married twice more.
The fate of Elena Ulyanova's daughter turned out very well. Lisa successfully married a worthy young man and in 2007 gave birth to twins - Igor and Anastasia.
The last years of Elena Mikhailovna's parents
Throughout her life, Elena Ulyanova was very attached to her parents, especially to her father. So when he was diagnosed with Parkinson's in the early nineties, she was very worried.
The last years of Mikhail Ulyanov, his daughter did her best to help him and Alla Parfanyak, who was also very ill.
Elena Mikhailovna beat out places for parents in the best sanatoriums and clinics in the country, took them to the best doctors, but the condition of the artists gradually worsened.
In March 2007, Mikhail Alexandrovich was hospitalized, and a few days later he died. Shortly before his death, Ulyanov learned about the birth of great-grandchildren, but never saw them.did it.
Elena Ulyanova's mother came down with a stroke a few months after her husband's death and, after lying in a coma for over a year, died peacefully without regaining consciousness.
Elena Ulyanova Foundation
Mikhail Ulyanov's daughter knew firsthand how difficult the fate of drama artists in the USSR and the Russian Federation, who, in their old age, when they are no longer able to work, are forced to vegetate on a beggarly pension. Therefore, in collaboration with the newspaper Arguments and Facts, she organized a fund to help artists named after. Mikhail Ulyanov.
As the head of the fund, Elena Mikhailovna sees her primary task in financially supporting needy actors abandoned by society to the mercy of fate. In addition, Ulyanova is engaged in the installation of monuments to famous artists whose relatives cannot afford it.
Under the auspices of the foundation, Elena Mikhailovna erected a monument to her father in his hometown of Tara, as well as monuments to Igor Starygin and Vyacheslav Innocent.
The woman admits that recently, due to the difficult situation in the country, it is becoming increasingly difficult to collect donations, but there are still generous people who support her noble undertakings.
Memorial House-Museum. Mikhail Ulyanov
Among other achievements of Elena Ulyanova is the organization of her father's memorial museum in Tara, which opened in 2014
One day after visiting dad's hometown, the woman found the house where he spent his childhood, andset about creating a museum in his memory.
Having collected the necessary funds, with the support of the director of the local history museum of the city of Tara, Peter Vibe, Elena Mikhailovna was able to fulfill her dream. In addition, she personally provided most of the exhibits.
Today, when Mikhail Ulyanov's daughter is already over fifty years old, and she evaluates the influence of her father on her choice of profession, the woman admits that he was incredibly far-sighted when he prevented her from connecting her life with the theater. Established as an artist, journalist, head of the foundation, mother and wife, Elena Mikhailovna feels grateful to both parents who managed to raise a real personality in her, and also became an example for her, which she follows to this day.
