Perhaps not everyone knows her last name, but her face certainly everyone knows. Oddly enough, the peak of her popularity came at a very mature age, when in the early 2000s, 60-year-old Galina Stakhanova said “Oh, fox-a” in one of the commercials. Following this, the artist played a variety of heroines in a huge number of films and series (more than 200).
Childhood
Galina Stakhanova was born in Moscow on an autumn day (October 12), 1940. Her family was no different from a million of the same Soviet families with modest means. During the war, their father abandons them during the most difficult famine. Little Galia did not understand why her beloved dad was leaving, and even at that moment when her mother had just given birth to a younger brother. After some time, another misfortune: Galina's grandmother dies of hunger. At the end of the war, her mother, trying to survive in these difficult years, clutched at any work. The death of a younger brother who was poisoned by accidentally eating bleach shocked Galina. But, she strongly supported her mother, who, in order to feed her daughter, worked as a cleaner and a laundress, clutching at any opportunity that turned up to get some money.
Drama Circle
In school years, little Galina was fond of dancing and studied in the drama club of the Moscow State University. Her mother worked part time as a janitor at the university, so the little one often spent time there. She was a Grandmother-Bee in "Fly-Tsokotuha", the Jester in the tale "Love for Three Oranges." She wanted, of course, to play the main role of some beautiful princess, but even then she got non-standard roles of characteristic characters. However, her acting career seemed to her such an incredible sky-high dream that Stakhanova did not even dare seriously think about it. It should be said that relatives and friends of the family noted her dramatic talent, always amazed at the reality of the transformations she performed.
Youth
Galina Stakhanova (photo in youth, see below) studied at an evening school for working youth and at the same time worked as a telephone operator. At the age of twenty, she, who had always secretly dreamed of drama, got a job as a make-up student in one of the most famous theaters. This is the Mayakovsky Theater. And after 2 years, she held the position of head of the procurement department at GITIS. When Galina was 25 years old, she combined the work of a dresser in the house of culture of Moscow State University and the administrator at the Mosfilm film studio.
Lucky case
So Galina Stakhanova would have worked for the benefit of culture in auxiliary work, if not for the case. Mom Stakhanova was engaged in cleaning up the apartment of actress Vera Pashennaya, and Galina sometimes helped her in this. One famous actress heard that the daughter of a cleaning lady dreams of becoming an artist and asked her to read something. Galya opted for Katerina’s monologue from The Storm. Surprised Pashennaya praised Stakhanova for a sincere good game and advised her to go on amateur performances and try herself in the acting field. After that, Galina decided to change her life. She was taken to the Student Theater of Moscow State University, which at that time was directed by a young Mark Zakharov, where she played her first roles on the stage. At the age of 33, Stakhanova worked in the supply department of the Central Stadium . Lenin and worked in the theater of Roman Viktyuk, which was located in the house of culture "Moskvorechye." It was Viktyuk Stakhanov who played the first big role in the play “Music Lessons”.
First roles
The first role in the movie was played by Galina Stakhanova in 1979. This was a small episode in the film “Scenes from Family Life” by A. Gordon. So, at the age of 39, Galina Stakhanova tried on the role of a movie actress.
After 4 years, she played one of the leading roles in the film "Kindergarten" by Evgeny Yevtushenko. She perfectly conveyed to the viewer the image of the boy’s grandmother, overcoming the numerous obstacles of war, in order to get to the grandmother’s house.
Closer to the age of 50, Stakhanov increasingly appears in Soviet films. Most of her roles are compassionate, kind, mature women. The most striking and memorable works of that time can be called Baba Grush from the drama by Alexander Kaydanovsky “The Wife of a Kerosene Engineer” (1988), the head teacher of the sports drama “Doll” directed by Isaac Friedberg (1988). But there were also negative characters. For example, in 1988, Galina Konstantinovna starred in the role of a harmful old woman (Love with Privileges).
Queen of episodes
Galina Stakhanova is an actress who played a huge number of episodic roles, but these were very bright works. The viewer saw how talented, believable and always sincerely plays his heroines Stakhanov. Her work was highly appreciated by such famous directors as Kira Muratova in the film "Asthenic Syndrome" (1989), Nikolai Dostal in the film "The Little Devil" (1995), Timur Bekmambetov in the film "Night Watch" (2004).
After the collapse of the USSR, Stakhanova continues to act in film. Now she is often invited to work on TV shows that have become so popular. Grandmother, nurse, fortune teller, conductor. Who only did not play Galina Stakhanova. In her youth, she was not given the opportunity to experience such popularity. But now there is hardly a person in our country who would not see Galina Konstantinovna in the cinema.
One of the most famous recent works of this talented actress can be called the role of a funny woman Mani in the film "Christmas Trees."
Galina Stakhanova: personal life
Galina Konstantinovna was not lucky enough to meet great love on her life path. There were fans, boyfriends, gentlemen. But the person with whom he would like to live life, as the actress herself admits, was not there.
In the late 60s, Stakhanova was courted by Rolan Bykov. He at that time was already very popular as an actor and director. And she was an extras actress. They saw each other in the student theater of Moscow State University, in which Stakhanova played. Bykov led the theater until her arrival there. Beautiful courtship ended in a novel. They even lived together for a while. But the loving Rolan Bykov often cheated on Stakhanova, which caused the gap.
In 1975, Galina Konstantinovna gave birth to a daughter. She never talked about who her father was. She only said that she had given birth to a child for herself, and that it was not worth remembering who helped her do this. In those days, a single mother was a rare occurrence. Galina was bullied by her neighbors, many of whom openly called her daughter Masha fatherless. But strong in spirit Galina Stakhanova, whose children were always the key to happiness, was able to protect herself and her daughter from attacks.
Masha even starred in the movie (in Viktyuk’s film “Long Memory”), she played the role of pioneer Gali Galanina. But, having matured, the daughter of Stakhanova chose her life path. She went to medicine. Now Maria works as a teacher at a medical institute.
Galina Konstantinovna does not have a soul in her granddaughter Lisa and tries to spend more time with her.
The creative fate of Galina Stakhanova proves that you can never say goodbye to a dream. It is necessary to go towards her, and then all the most desirable will certainly come true.