Ines Aru

Ines Aru (born Ines Parker; 1 July 1939) is an Estonian stage, radio, voice, television, and film actress whose career began in the early 1960s. Early life and education Ines Aru was born Ines Parker in Tallinn to Martin Johannes Parker and Leena Parker (née Laid). Both of her parents were communist activists who had been incarcerated by Estonian authorities in the early 1920s for their political activity and released in 1938, the year prior to her birth. Following the German occupation of Estonia during World War II in July 1941, she was evacuated to Samara Oblast in the Ural Mountains of Russia with her mother and grandmother. Her father remained in Tallinn and planned to join them shortly thereafter. In August 1941, he boarded a ship at the Port of Tallinn that struck a mine and was killed. Her mother Leena died of tuberculosis while in Russia on 3 December 1942 at age forty when Ines was three years old. Afterward, she returned to Estonia with her grandmother who raised her in Tallinn. Ines Parker attended primary and secondary schools in Tallinn. One of her primary school friends and classmates was future politician Marju Lauristin. After secondary school, she enrolled in courses at the Tallinn State Conservatory (now, the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre) under the course supervision of theatre pedagogue Voldemar Panso; graduating from the academy in 1961. Among her classmates were noted future actors Tõnu Aav, Mikk Mikiver, Maila Rästas, Aarne Üksküla, Madis Ojamaa, Jaan Saul, Meeli Sööt, and Mati Klooren. Career