Actress Nina Popova (better known by the name Lee in the twenties) was one of the first stars of early Soviet cinema. Like many celebrities of that time, today her name is forgotten, and it is very difficult to find films with her participation. From this article you can find out the biography and filmography of actress Nina Popova.
early years
Nina Alekseevna was born on January 14, 1905 in the city of Bugulma. After the revolution, the Popov family moved to Orenburg, where in 1918, Nina's mother died during the shelling. “The two of us remained — dad and I,” the actress wrote in her diary. Since childhood, she painted well, loved to write poetry and short stories, and also to learn scenes from plays. She called her hobbies the “fork of the hero”, since from the age of eight she had been wondering what kind of work she should devote her life to.
In 1920, the famous theater actress Nina Pavlovna Annenkova-Bernard arrived in Orenburg. She opened her theater studio for children and adolescents, where fifteen-year-old Nina Popova, still tormented by a difficult choice of profession, decided to enroll. Annenkova-Bernard praised the girl's talent and recommended that she study acting in Moscow. Nina followed this advice in 1922.
But, having arrived in Moscow, she completely forgot about the theater scene. In the cinema with the attractive name "Enchantment", the girl first encountered cinema. Fascinated by the magic pouring from the screen, Nina entered the Cinematographic College (now VGIK). Her favorite film actress was the famous American Lilian Guiche, and, taking a syllable from her name, Popova began to call herself Nina Lee.
Movie career
In 1924, one of the school's teachers, Olga Preobrazhenskaya, recommended Nina Popova as an actress for the film “The Pigeons Mansion”. She was approved for the role of Nelly. In the debut film, Nina's excellent data were noted - she was beautiful, played well and kept herself relaxed in front of the camera.
The director of the film, Vladimir Gardin, decided to shoot it in two of his films: Four and Five and The Cross and the Mauser, this time giving the actress the main roles. True, despite the obvious talent of actress Nina Popova, the films themselves did not have success with the audience, and the girl decided to go to the film studio Pyotr Chardynin, who was actively inviting her to shoot after the release of the "Pigeon Mansion".
In 1927, the film "Beyond the Monastery Wall" was released, the main role in which brought the actress real success. On the poster of this film, she was first listed under the name Nina Lee. This was followed by the main roles in the films “Cup of Tea”, “Dam Broke”, “Laws of the Storm” and many others.
Further creativity
With the advent of sound cinema, in 1931, Nina Popova decided to leave the cinema. Her last appearance on the screen was an episodic role in the military film "Rainbow" after a twelve-year break.
During the war, she took part in helping front-line brigades, and in 1949 decided to try her hand on stage. For her famous name, she was taken to the Yermolova Theater, where she served until 1957, but Nina Alekseevna did not have the success that she achieved in the cinema in the theater. This was due to the difference in gaming techniques - Popova was not able to relearn, so the role of her theatrical career was insignificant.
Personal life
Actress Nina Popova, being a first year student, met the famous photo artist Abram Shterenberg. He was 11 years older than Nina, but despite this, already in 1923 they became husband and wife. Immediately after the wedding, the couple settled in a small apartment in Sechenovsky Lane, where they lived the rest of their lives.
Nina and Abram lived together for 57 years, until the death of Abram in 1979. They had no children. Actress Nina Popova herself died on April 27, 1992 from old age - she was 87 years old.