Natalia Belokhvostikova - 70: Why the famous actress has been living as a recluse for 20 years

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

On July 28, the famous actress, People's Artist of the RSFSR, the youngest holder of two USSR State Prizes in the entire history of Soviet cinema, Natalya Belokhvostikova, celebrates 70 years. In the 1970s - 1980s. she shone on the screens, earning recognition both at home and abroad. Most of the audience remembered the actress for her roles in the films "Red and Black", "The Legend of Thiel", "Tehran-43", "Princess of the Circus", etc. For 20 years now she has not acted in films and has not appeared in public. What made her close from the whole world and interrupt her successful career is further in the review.

Actress by chance

She never dreamed of acting, but everything was decided by chance. Natalya grew up in the family of a Soviet diplomat and translator, spent her childhood in England and Sweden, knew foreign languages well, and her parents saw her as a student at MGIMO. She lived as if in a parallel dimension and later confessed: "".

Soviet delegations of filmmakers often came to the embassy. Natalya attended receptions and caught every word she heard. It was then that for the first time her interest in cinema woke up. "", - said Belokhvostikova. When she was 14, director Mark Donskoy asked her father for permission to film Natalia in an episode of his film "Mother's Heart". The shooting took place in Sweden, and the filmmakers did not have the opportunity to bring all the actors there from the USSR, so they looked for episodes on the spot.

After the work on the film was completed, Mark Donskoy invited Natalia and her mother to view the picture at the film studio. M. Gorky. When they left the viewing room, they ran into director Sergei Gerasimov, and Donskoy jokingly said: "". Natalya blushed and couldn't utter a word out of excitement. And Gerasimov replied: "". A few days later, Belokhvostikova received a call on behalf of Gerasimov and was invited to audition at VGIK. At that time, she had not even gone to 10th grade yet. She was accepted without a certificate and entrance exams, and she later graduated from school as an external student. And so her future fate was decided.

Fateful role

Belokhvostikova's first serious film work was the main role in the film "By the Lake". She was then still a 17-year-old student of the 2nd year, and her teacher Sergei Gerasimov already specially prescribed a role in the script for her. And she managed to fully meet his expectations. For this work, the aspiring actress won the Karlovy Vary Film Festival Prize in 1970, and in 1971 she was awarded the USSR State Prize, becoming its youngest laureate. And the biggest reward was that the audience fell in love with her from the very first role. Natalia herself could not believe her happiness: "". 14 years later, the actress received another State Prize for the film "Shore".

The role of a naive young girl in love with an adult man brought her resounding success and predicted events in her personal life - soon the actress herself experienced the same feelings that were dominated by her heroine. During a trip to the premiere of the film "By the Lake" in Belgrade, Belokhvostikova met with director Vladimir Naumov. He was 23 years older than her, he had a failed marriage behind him, he raised his son, but next to the young actress he behaved like a boy in love.

When, upon returning to Moscow, journalists from one of the newspapers asked him what impressed him the most on this trip, the director replied: “”. After that, Naumov invited her to a restaurant and made an offer. She replied with a note: "". Since then, they have not parted and have been living together for 50 years.

Muse Naumova

She became for him not only a wife, but also a muse. He shot her in 9 of his films, turning her into one of the brightest Soviet actresses. The director did not even invite other applicants to audition, being sure in advance that his wife would cope with any role. However, on the set, she had a hard time: Naumov was very tough and demanding on the set, and was especially merciless to his wife. He broke down more than once, raised his voice at her while working, and she resignedly endured these outbursts and fulfilled all his requirements. This is probably why the result of their joint work was brilliant. The film "Tehran-43" became one of the leaders of the Soviet film distribution, gathering 47.5 million viewers at the screens.

Of course, behind her back, many whispered: they say, she achieved success only thanks to her husband. But if this were so, other directors would not have invited her to the shooting, and Belokhvostikova starred with Sergei Gerasimov, and Mikhail Schweitzer, and Svetlana Druzhinina. Naumov helped her reveal all the facets of her acting talent, and thanks to him, she was able to attract the attention of other directors and fully realize herself in the profession.

When the actress was 23 years old, her daughter Natalya was born. And the second child appeared when Belokhvostikova was 56, and Naumov was almost 80. Once they came with gifts to an orphanage near Moscow and saw there a 3-year-old boy, Kirill, who asked them to give him a cross. After this meeting, the actress could not forget the child and constantly returned her thoughts to him. And she and her husband made a difficult decision - to adopt Cyril. Since then, both have found a new meaning in life.

20 years away from the whole world

In public, the actress always smiled and did not show her emotions - this is how her parents raised her since childhood. Nobody knew what feelings were hidden behind this quiet smile. For several years, Belokhvostikova waged a desperate struggle for the life of her mother and her younger brother - after the departure of her father, both of them were sick for a long time. In 2008, his brother died, a year later - his mother. Natalia confessed: "".

For 20 years, Natalya Belokhvostikova has not acted in films. Her husband is not involved in directing as much. Both seemed to have become reclusive - they do not appear in public, do not participate in social events, rarely give interviews and appear on screens. Even their close friends did not know that the actress became a grandmother in the fall of 2020. She limited communication with the outside world in order to fully devote herself to caring for her husband, who is already 93 years old, and her son Kirill.

For the majority of viewers, Natalia Belokhvostikova remains a complete mystery. She could continue to act in films, she could enjoy her popularity and demand, but instead she chose a quiet family happiness away from the whole world. Once she confessed: "". Life taught her that neither great success nor the recognition of millions of viewers can make up for the most terrible loss - the departure of loved ones, and therefore today she is struggling to keep those who are most dear to her in the world and spend all her time with them. without being distracted by anyone else.

When it became known that the spouses at this age decided to adopt a child, this caused an ambiguous reaction in society: For what acquaintances condemned Natalia Belokhvostikova.