Janina Zheimo and Leon Jeannot: The main Cinderella of the Soviet Union and her Polish prince

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

She was looking for her own way to happiness for a long time. After experiencing her first divorce, she hoped to find peace in her second marriage. But faced with betrayal, she earned the most severe depression. And only then Leon Jeannot appeared in the life of Janina Zheimo, ready to move mountains for her sake.

Two loves

The first spouse of Yanina (Yanechka, as her friends called her) was the actor Andrei Kostrichkin. But this marriage did not last long. It was sometimes said that Andrei was jealous of Yanina for her glory, although in fact in the pre-war years he was much more popular than Zheimo. There were suggestions that Andrey turned out to be a gambling gambler, although there is no confirmation of this either. The daughter of the spouses, Yanina Kostrichkina, said that her mother was quite secretive and never really talked about her personal life. It is possible that Yanina and Andrei were simply in a hurry, and realizing that they made a mistake in their choice, they simply parted.

Some time after the divorce, on the auditions of one of the first sound films "My Motherland", she first saw Joseph Kheifits. She carefully prepared, and when she came to the studio, she saw that the auditions were not conducted by the film directors, but by the then-beginning director Lev Arnshtam. And the actress made a scandal for him, believing that those who will shoot the picture should watch the actors. Her samples were watched by the directors themselves - Alexander Zarkhi and Joseph Kheifitsa. HER was approved for the role of Olenka, and already on the set began her romance with Joseph Kheifits, who soon became her second husband.

Trial by war

They were almost a perfect match. Ioannina and Joseph really loved each other. They had a son, Julius. Yanina Kostrichkina in her interviews talked about the amazing atmosphere that reigned at that time in their house. The actress and her husband constantly made fun of each other, tried to spend a lot of time together. Only work separated them. They rarely even managed to spend their vacations together.

In the summer of 1941, Joseph Efimovich went to shoot a film in Mongolia, and Yanina remained at a dacha near Leningrad. On the day she received the first letter from him, German planes had already appeared in the sky. He wrote that they would never part again, and she could not finish reading, because the house was simply shaking from the explosions.

She sent the children to evacuation, later Joseph Khenyfits took them to Alma-Ata. Yanina stayed in Leningrad for a long time, helping those who were left homeless during the bombings, participating in concerts for the Soviet military, being on duty on the roof of the studio during the raids to drop incendiary shells down.

Then she went to her husband and children in Alma-Ata. With a group of filmmakers, they traveled in passing trains. On the way, at one of the small stations, she met Leon Jeannot, whom she already knew.

The Polish director and his friend had a carriage at their disposal. Yanechka, asking permission, moved to him with the whole group. And the train, in which they were supposed to go, was bombed almost as soon as he left the station. The husband was informed that the actress had died.

She got to Alma-Ata and found out that her husband had an affair with some actress. She was never able to forgive him. And she didn’t want to understand that everyone thought she was dead.

Thanksgiving marriage

He asked for forgiveness, but she proudly showed him the door. And she got a severe nervous breakdown. Her memory was lost, she forgot the words, and no one could save her from this incomprehensible ailment. At this time, Leon Jeannot was next to her. He had long and hopelessly been in love with this charming woman. But he never demanded anything, considering it happiness just to see her and to be able to take care of her and her children.

Soon the doctor, whose last name is already impossible to remember, found a truly magical remedy for her illness. After trying various methods, he came to the conclusion that the actress should help herself. And he gave her a bottle of some kind of liquid, ordering her to drink strictly on time and telling her that this medicine is simply miraculous. Ioannina recovered. And only later it became known that there was ordinary boiled water in the bubble.

And the faithful Leon all this time touchingly took care of his beloved. And she still married him. Out of gratitude for his loyalty and attention to her.

Cinderella's happiness

Her starring role of Cinderella helped the actress recover a lot. She made her feel needed and needed again. And after the release of the picture on the screen, Janina Zheimo became famous. She received thousands of letters, was recognized on the streets and asked for an autograph.

She was happy. And there was a loving husband nearby. However, she eventually realized that she also loved him. And it was impossible not to reciprocate his feelings, not to respond to his touching care.

Returning from evacuation, the couple first settled in Leningrad, then moved to Moscow. There was no serious work for Leon in the Soviet Union. He began to persuade Yanechka to move to Poland.

In 1957, the couple moved to Warsaw. There Leon worked a lot, and Ioannina devoted herself to the family. Her happiness was quiet and calm. Only sometimes she was sad, sitting in a Warsaw cafe, and wrote memories of her bright life on paper napkins.

She died in 1987. The husband survived his Cinderella by 10 years.

Evgeny Schwartz personally sought the approval of Janina Zheimo for the role of Cinderella. He categorically refused to have another actress starred in the film according to his script. He was a real kind wizard a real kind wizard and really wanted to help Yanechka cope with the disease.