Svetlana Kopylova Actress Date of Birth: 22.02.1964 Country: Russia

1. Biography of Svetlana Kopylova
2. A Passion for Performing
3. A Journey to Moscow
4. A Successful Career in Theater and Film
5. A Return to Music and Songwriting

Biography of Svetlana Kopylova

Svetlana Vadimovna Kopylova was born on February 22, 1964, in the cold winter night in the city of Irkutsk, Russia. She grew up in a working-class family, with her mother Alya working as a draftsman and her father Sergey being a lathe operator. Svetlana spent her childhood in a small industrial town, living with her grandmother, great-grandmother, and aunt Lucy. Her grandmother Valya worked at a seismic station and often brought home huge black and white balloons, which were the size of a room. Her great-grandmother Manya adored her dearly.

A Passion for Performing

From a young age, Svetlana showed a passion for performing. She loved singing songs for guests, standing on a stool as if on a small stage. By the age of 2, she had an excellent ear and could sing V. Vysotsky's song "If a Friend Suddenly Turns Out" by heart. She also had the ability to compose verses in her childhood and later wrote a poem about her own childhood.

A Journey to Moscow

After completing 8th grade, Svetlana moved back to Irkutsk from Ust-Ilimsk, where she had lived with her parents and younger brother Sasha for 3 years. Following the advice of her aunt Lucy, she enrolled in an aviation technical school. During her third year, she accidentally stumbled upon a performance at the TYuZ theater and fell in love with theater, which was led by Vyacheslav Kokorin at that time. Svetlana fell in love with a young leading actor of the theater and dreamed of performing on the same stage as him. However, she failed to enter the theater school in Irkutsk through a competition. Driven by her passionate desire to prove herself to her beloved (whom she had already met by then), she decided to move to Moscow the following year.

A Successful Career in Theater and Film

Luck smiled upon Svetlana in Moscow, as she became a student at the Boris Shchukin Theater Institute. She started appearing in films and was fortunate to work with talented directors. Valery Rybarev was the first director she worked with, and she starred in two of his films: "The Witness," which marked her debut in cinema, and "My Name is Arlekino," which brought her first success. With this film, she toured half the world, even visiting Australia and New Zealand as a star of Soviet cinema. She also traveled extensively within the country.

During her studies, Svetlana continued to compose songs, and her faithful guitar accompanied her on her trips. Under the guidance of Yevgeny Rubenovich Simonov, she had many interesting experiences. For her diploma performance, Vladimir Etush directed her in the play "Love" by Lyudmila Petrushevskaya. Despite receiving a "5" (the highest mark) for her performance, Svetlana remained unemployed as the film industry declined along with the restructuring of the country.

During this time, Svetlana met and married Yura, and their son Dima was born in 1992. When Dima grew up, Svetlana decided to learn a language and enrolled in a two-year course at the Moscow Linguistics University. She studied English for a year until she received a call from Mosfilm with an offer from Vadim Abdrashitov. After a successful audition for the film "The Dancer's Time," Svetlana returned to the film industry. Interestingly, her son Dima also appeared in the film as her on-screen son.

A Return to Music and Songwriting

Returning to the arts reignited Svetlana's passion for music and songwriting. Her husband Yura happened to meet composer and poet Valery Zuykov, who recognized Svetlana's talent in poetry. He explained the difference between bardic and pop songs to her, and Svetlana began writing songs for pop artists. The first singer to perform her songs was Kristina Orbakaite. Svetlana started collaborating with renowned composers such as Malezhik, Ukupnik, Sarukhanov, and, of course, Zuykov. Currently, Svetlana is raising her son, writing songs, and preparing for her solo album.