Svetlana Orlova

Svetlana Fyodorovna Orlova (; born 8 April 1956) is a Soviet and Russian film actress. She has appeared in over forty roles and was dubbed the "first beauty of Soviet cinema fairy tales" for her roles in films such as Granddaughter of Ice, The Princess on a Pea, and Finist, the brave Falcon. Born in Kaliningrad, Orlova's family moved to Alma-Ata in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic when she was five years old. She excelled at ballet dancing at the local house of culture, and was invited to study at the Bolshoi Theatre's choreographic school at the age of nine. While walking in Moscow on a day off, was approached to appear Boris Buneev's . She continued her studies with the Bolshoi, combining it with appearances in films, with her breakthrough role occurring when she was cast in Finist, the brave Falcon. She met her future husband while working on this project, and having achieved fame in cinema, she became a fulltime actress. She went on to appear in over forty roles in Soviet cinema during the 1970s and 1980s, before the early death of her husband in 1987. She has since become a fitness teacher, teaches choreography at a private school, and makes occasional appearances on television, and in roles in the New Year's performances on Sparrow Hills. Early life and career Orlova was born in Kaliningrad on 8 April 1956. Her parents moved to the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic when Svetlana was five, and she grew up in a low-income family in Alma-Ata, where her maternal grandfather was a city prosecutor. Her mother, Valentina, was a factory worker, while her father, Fyodor, served time in prison for theft. The family life was violent. Orlova performed at a dance club at the local house of culture, where her talent was noticed during a visit by the commission of the Bolshoi Theatre's choreographic school. Orlova, then nine years old, was invited to study at the school in Moscow. She learnt ballet with the Bolshoi, and while walking in Moscow on a day off, was approached to appear in a film. This was Boris Buneev's . Breakthrough roles Orlova combined her studies at the Bolshoi, from which she graduated in 1974, with appearances in several other roles, before being cast in Finist, the brave Falcon. Written, cast, and originally to have been directed by Alexander Rou, his death before filming began led to it being taken over by Gennady Vasilyev.