Iya Savvina

Iya Savvina is a Russian actress of Moscow Art Theatre (MKhAT). She was born Iya Sergeevna Savvina on March 2, 1936, in Voronezh, Russia, Soviet Union (now Russia).

From 1954 - 1958 she studied Journalism at Moscow University, graduating in 1958 as a journalist. While a student, Savvina was active in student drama club of Moscow University.

Gave birth to her only child at age 21, a son Sergei Shestakov on March 27, 1957. Child's father is her first husband, Vsevolod Shestakov.

There she was spotted by casting directors from Lenfilm studios and made her film debut in Leningrad: Savvina shot to fame with the leading role opposite Aleksey Batalov in The Lady with the Dog (1960) by director Iosif Kheifits.

From 1960 - 1977 Iya Savvina was member of the Mossoveta theatre in Moscow. There her stage partners were such actors as Rostislav Plyatt, Georgi Zhzhyonov, and Aleksandr Lazarev among others.

In the 1970s - 1990s Savvina made her best known stage appearances in Anton Chekhov's classic plays. She shone as Anfisa in 'Tri Sestry' (aka. . The Three Sisters), and as Sharlotta in 'Vishnevy sad' (aka. . The Cherry Orchard). She also made acclaimed performances as Sofia opposite Natalya Tenyakova in 'Rozhdestvenskie grezy' (aka. . Christmas dreams) by director Pyotr Shteyn, and as Khlestova in Aleksandr Griboyedov's 'Gore ot Uma' (aka. . Woe From Wit). Iya Savvina was designated People's Actress of the USSR.

Since 1977 Iya Savvina has been a permanent member of the troupe at Moscow Art Theatre (MKhAT). There her stage partners were such renown Russian actors as Olga Androvskaya, Angelina Stepanova, Mark Prudkin, Anastasiya Georgievskaya, Vasili Toporkov, Mikhail Bolduman, Pavel Massalsky, and the next generation of MKhAT actors - Oleg Efremov, Tatyana Doronina, Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy, Oleg Tabakov, Alla Pokrovskaya, Kira Golovko, Tatyana Lavrova, Iya Savvina, Nina Gulyaeva, Elena Panova, Darya Moroz, Olga Litvinova, Natalya Rogozhkina, Ekaterina Semyonova, Olga Yakovleva, Raisa Maksimova, Irina Miroshnichenko, Evgeniya Dobrovolskaya, Kristina Babushkina, Anastasiya Voznesenskaya, Andrey Myagkov, Stanislav Lyubshin, Vladimir Kashpur, Vladlen Davydov, Viktor Sergachyov, Vyacheslav Nevinnyy, Evgeniy Kindinov, Vladimir Krasnov, Sergei Desnitsky, Dmitriy Nazarov, Sergey Sazontev, Avangard Leontev, Igor Vasilev, Igor Vernik, Sergei Sosnovsky, Mikhail Porechenkov, Konstantin Khabenskiy, Valeri Khlevinsky, Aleksei Agapov, Valeriy Troshin, Mikhail Trukhin, Eduard Chekmazov, Aleksey Kravchenko, and Evgeniy Mironov among others.

In August 2011, two weeks before her death, Iya married her longtime boyfriend, Anatoly Vasilyev, with whom she had a relationship for more than 30 years.