Because of what the housekeeper of Alla Pugacheva, who worked for her for 27 years, went to Kirkorov: Lyudmila Dorodnova

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The name of the au pair Alla Pugacheva has long been known. An ordinary woman, who once worked at a chemical enterprise, found herself in the house of the most famous singer of the Soviet Union. Everyone called her homely Lucy, and some were even afraid, considering the prima donna's assistant a gray cardinal. For 27 years, faithful Lucy served Alla Borisovna, but after her divorce from Philip Kirkorov she stayed with him.

Living in the shadow of the stars

She was born and raised in a large family in Podolsk, began her career as a nurse in a hospital, and after graduating from college, Lyudmila Dorodnova was hired to work in a chemical production laboratory. Once she got to the concert of Tamara Miansarova, then did not miss a single performance of her beloved singer, met the performer's aunt, and later became her man in her house.

She resigned from the enterprise, Tamara Miansarova hired her as a costume designer in her team and offered to help her with the housework. Lyudmila Dorodnova even became the godmother of Catherine, daughter of Larisa Miansarova. After the transition of the singer to the Kislovodsk Philharmonic, Lyudmila Dorodnova moved to another singer - Larisa Mondrus, for several months she served with Claudia Shulzhenko, while Larisa Mondrus was on vacation in Riga. When the performer, together with her husband Egil Schwartz, emigrated to Italy, Lyudmila Dorodnova, thanks to the artist Elena Pelevina, met Alla Pugacheva.

Even then, Lucy was a loyal fan of the prima donna and dreamed of getting her to work. When she found out that Pelevin should give Alla Borisovna a painted concert costume, she persuaded the artist to give her the opportunity to meet with Pugacheva. And, taking with me a bottle of cognac as a present, I went to the singer. Alla Pugacheva remembered that cognac for a long time with laughter to her housekeeper, invariably asking the same question: why did she bring it at all.

Alla Borisovna was always distinguished by her insight, and therefore she quickly understood why it was Lucy who brought the costume to her, and not the artist herself. And she ordered to take her to work as a dresser. Lyudmila, for the sake of working with the singer, abandoned her own family life. At that time, she just got married, and her husband tried to persuade her to quit touring with the stars and lead an ordinary life. But Lucy chose to remain a housekeeper and never regretted it.

Thanks to Pugacheva, all the friends and acquaintances of the prima donna who were at her house treated Lyusa with respect, Lyudmila Dorodnova herself happily ran the singer's household and considered her work much more interesting than her own home and family. Alla Borisovna never offended Lyusya, on the contrary, she often talked to her as with a friend, took her for walks if she could not sleep at night, gave gifts, and she never offended her in salary.

Those close to Pugacheva were even slightly afraid of Lyudmila Dorodnova, considering her a gray cardinal under the prima donna. If someone didn’t please Lucy, she could have complained to her employer, and she was used to protecting those people whom she considered “her own”. Yes, Alla Borisovna was joking: they say, it was Lucy who destroyed and expelled all her boyfriends. Lyudmila, of course, did not notice anything like that.

But she saw how Philip Kirkorov courted the singer, then she was a witness of their family life, and after the divorce.

Coincidence

Lyusya remembered Philip Kirkorov even at the time when he worked at the Song Theater, because he always tried to be closer to Alla Borisovna, which annoyed the prima donna. Lucy even made remarks to him so that she would not spin around Pugacheva so often. But the singer did not listen to the advice, although the assistant wished him well, because she always liked Kirkorov, unlike Alla herself, who was surprised that Lucy saw such a thing in him. Kirkorov was persistent in his courtship, later he began to send Pugacheva huge bouquets of roses, starting with 113 pieces and adding two more flowers every day.

For a month, while this flower madness lasted, Lucy hated roses, she pricked all her hands on thorns, and there was simply nowhere to put the bouquets, she had to distribute. And after Kirkorov ordered a carriage and will appoint an engagement in Zagorsk. They were a very beautiful couple. Alla Borisovna, as Lyudmila Dorodnova now recalls, taught Kirkorov a lot. But they lived together for only 11 years.

After the divorce, Alla Pugacheva lived in a hotel in Moscow, and Lyusya remained at a dacha in Istra. The prima donna called the dacha and complained: when she needed Lucy in Moscow, she was in Istra and vice versa. Lyudmila darted from her place and rushed to Moscow. But it is not at the hotel that she should stay there in the same room with Alla Borisovna, she spent the night at Philip Kirkorov's on Taganka, along the way helping him with the housework. And after that she stayed with him. As Lusya herself says now, at that moment she “didn’t have enough convolutions to come up with another solution to the problem”.

But Alla Borisovna was not offended by her Lucy, and Philip Kirkorov did not offend the housekeeper. She did her usual things: she cleaned, cooked food, kept order in the house. True, not so long ago the pop king said goodbye to Lucy, paying her a very generous severance pay.

Now Lucy lives in her one-room apartment on a pension of 20 thousand rubles. After a bright noisy life surrounded by stars, it is hard for her to get used to regularity and tranquility. Despite the age of 80, she feels strong and would like to continue doing what she loves. But only if her employers are stars, and not ordinary people.

Lyudmila Dorodnova considers herself a happy person. After all, she could live an unremarkable life, and thanks to her long acquaintance with Tamara Miansarova, she also became partly famous. And it was part of the world that ordinary people can only dream of.

The profession of a housekeeper in the Soviet Union existed at the official level, they had their own trade union and each had a special pay book. Wherein au pair played different roles in the lives of their employers. Some actually became family members, while others deliberately destroyed the house in which they happened to work.