Lyudmila Maksakova

Her second husband was Yakov Davtyan, a Soviet Ambassador in Poland who was executed by the Soviet KGB under the dictatorship of Joseph Stalin in 1938. Young Maksakova was raised by single mother. She studied cello and singing, and also learned French from a lady-tutor, who was a native of France.

Lyudmila Maksakova is a Russian film and stage actress, member of the Vakhtangov Theatre in Moscow. She was born Lyudmila Vasilevna Maksakova on September 26, 1940, in Moscow, Soviet Union (now Moscow, Russia) to singer of Bolshoi Theatre Mariya Maksakova, nee Maria Sidorova. Her father was never identified. Her mother took the name of her first husband, opera singer Max Karlovich Maksakov, whose real name was Maximilian Shvartz, a native of Austria.

From 1957 - 1961 Maksakova studied acting under Vladimir Etush at the Shchukin Theatrical School of Vakhtangov Theatre in Moscow, graduating in 1961, as an actress.

During the 1960s - 1990s she enjoyed a steady film career working with such directors as Iosif Kheifits, Igor Talankin, and Pyotr Todorovskiy, among others.

Since 1961 Lyudmila Maksakova has been a permanent member of the troupe at Vakhtangov Theatre in Moscow. There his stage partners were such actors as Mikhail Ulyanov, Vasiliy Lanovoy, Yuliya Borisova, Vladimir Etush, Ruben Simonov, Boris Zakhava, Mikhail Astangov, Varvara Popova, Alla Kazanskaya, Irina Kupchenko, Lyudmila Tselikovskaya, Mariya Aronova, Marianna Vertinskaya, Elena Dobronravova, Inna Alabina, Yuriy Yakovlev, Andrei Abrikosov, Grigori Abrikosov, Vyacheslav Shalevich, Nikolai Timofeyev, Nikolai Gritsenko, Aleksandr Grave, Sergey Makovetskiy, Vladimir Simonov, Vladimir Koval, Viktor Zozulin, Evgeniy Karelskikh, Aleksandr Koznov, Vladimir Vdovichenkov, Andrey Zaretskiy, Mikhail Vaskov, Mariya Aronova, Elena Sotnikova, Anna Dubrovskaya, Olga Tumaykina, Maksim Sukhanov, and Ruben Simonov, among others.

Maksakova made her film debut co-starring as Nina in There Was an Old Couple (1965) by director Grigoriy Chukhray.

Lyudmila Maksakova was designated People's Actress of Russia (1980), was awarded the Stanislavski Prize (1996), and received numerous awards and decorations for her works on stage and in films. She is a professor of acting class at the Shchukin Theatrical School of Vakhtangov Theatre in Moscow.

Maksakova's most memorable stage performances included such roles as Anna Karenina in the critically acclaimed adaptation of the eponymous novel by Lev Tolstoy, staged in 1983 by director Roman Viktyuk, and as Lady Anna in the Shakespeare's 'Antony and Cleopatra' (1970s).

Maksakova shone as Adelma in the legendary Vakhtangov's production of Carlo Gozzi's comedy 'Princess Turandot', and as Anna Andreevna in 'Revizor' (1990s) (aka. . Ispector general) based on the classic play by Nikolay Gogol, among her other roles.

In 1995 Maksakova earned the State Prize of Russia for her role as Korenkina in 'Bez viny vinovatye' (aka. . Innocent as charged) directed by Pyotr Fomenko.

In 1996 Maksakova created the leading character as Countess in Pushkin's 'Pikovaya dama' (aka. . The Queen of Spades) and the play has been a continuous success for 12 seasons in a row.

Since the 2003 premiere of 'Chaika' (aka. . The seagull) by Anton Chekhov, Lyudmila Maksakova has been delivering critically acclaimed performances as Irina Arkadina opposite Sergey Makovetskiy and Yuriy Yakovlev.