Nonna Viktorovna Mordyukova - one of the most beloved by the people of Soviet actresses, who lived a long and difficult life. Her biography included a difficult hungry childhood, German occupation in her youth, a failed personal life and the tragic death of her only son.
Noyabrina Mordyukova (this is the name the actress received at birth) was born on November 25, 1925, in the Ukrainian village of Konstantinovka. Soon, parents moved to the village of Glafirovka of the Krasnodar Territory, where the girl spent her childhood. Her father, Viktor Konstantinovich, was a military man, and her mother, Irina Petrovna, was the chairman of the collective farm (according to other sources, Noyabrina was the illegitimate daughter of Alexander Afonichev, with whom her mother had a brief romance already in Glafirovka, and Irina Petrovna married Viktor Mordyukova later and he adopted Noyabrina). Subsequently, the Mordyukovs were born two more sons and three daughters.
Brilliant career start
Already her first film work brought the student all-Union fame: in the 2nd year she starred in the film by Sergei Gerasimov “Young Guard” in the role of underground activist Ulyana Gromova. Many of her classmates debuted with her: Vyacheslav Tikhonov, Sergey Bondarchuk, Evgeny Morgunov, Tamara Nosova, who later became famous actors.
After graduating from VGIK in 1950, the young actress was immediately invited to the Theater Studio of the film actor, where she will last 40 years. Despite the successful debut in cinema, Mordyukov was practically not shot. The next creative success of the actress was the role of Stesha Ryashkina in the film directed by Mikhail Schweitzer “Alien Relatives” (1955).
From that moment, she played many vivid roles: collective farm chairman Sasha Potapova in “Simple History” (director Yuri Egorov, 60), speculator Donya Trubnikova in “Chairman” (director Alexei Saltykov, 64), merchant Belotelov in “ The Marriage of Balzaminov ”(dir. Konstantin Voinov, 64), an official Priestyazhnyuk in the film“ Thirty-Three ”(dir. George Danelia, 65), the manager of Varvara Plusch from“ The Diamond Hand ”
(dir. Leonid Gaidai, 69 g. ) etc.
The tragic fate of the son of Nonna Mordyukova - Vladimir Tikhonov
After the divorce of parents, Vladimir Tikhonov often remained in the care of strangers: Nonna constantly disappeared on the set or on the road, and Tikhonov Sr. was not very interested in the fate of his son. What happened quite often happens when a teenager is left to his own devices: he got involved in a bad company, started using alcohol and drugs ...
Vladimir graduated from “Pike”, became an actor in theater and cinema, was married twice - to his classmate actress Natalya Varley and dancer Natalya Egorova. He became the father of two sons - Vasily (from Varley) and Vladimir (from Egorova). At one time he showed great promise in cinema. His most notable role was the work in the film “Russian Field” in 1971. It is curious that in this picture, the real mother of Vladimir, Nonna Mordyukova, appeared in the role of his mother.
But I could not cope with drug addiction. Drugs ruined his marriages, career, and health. No matter how Mordyukova tried to fight her son’s disease, on June 11, 1990, he died of cardiac arrest caused by an overdose in his 41st year of life.
Last years. Illness and death
In the 91st year, the actress quit the theater. Interesting movie roles were no longer offered to her. Farewell's work in the cinema for Mordyukova was the main role of Polina Yurieva in the film “Mom” directed by Boris Evstigneev (99).
Nonna Viktorovna met with spectators, took part in film festivals, wrote an autobiographical book “Do not Cry a Cossack”. She lived in a 3-room apartment near the Krylatskoye metro station, which she received by the personal order of Minister Chernomyrdin. Brothers and sisters, who, thanks to the actress, also lived in Moscow, often visited her, and rarely saw Mordyukov’s grandchildren - they didn’t have close relations with them. When the health of the actress worsened, her sister Natalya Kataeva moved to her apartment and looked after Nonna Viktorovna until her last days. Mordyukova was seriously ill: she suffered from diabetes and thrombophlebitis, suffered a heart attack and stroke. On July 4, 2008, she was delivered to the Central Design Bureau with high pressure, and after 2 days the famous actress died.
As the actress asked her relatives, there was no civil requiem. On July 9, a funeral service was held in the Church of the Savior Not Made by Hands-on Svetuni, and on the same day, Nonna Viktorovna was buried in the Kuntsevo Cemetery near the grave of her son Vladimir.