Why did the star of "Streets of Broken Lanterns" disappear from the screens: Zigzags of fate of Anastasia Melnikova

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

This actress, who is called "the main woman in uniform" of Russian cinema, was remembered by most viewers in the image of the investigator Nastya Abdulova in the series "Streets of Broken Lights" and "Opera". Thanks to these works in the early 2000s. Anastasia Melnikova has become one of the most popular and recognizable actresses. But lately she appears on the screens very rarely - there have been dramatic changes in her life. She is no stranger to such turns, because she has started all over again more than once. As an actress, she lost her fiancé 2 months before the wedding, which is why she almost passed away herself and what she is doing now - further in the review.

Anastasia Melnikova was born in St. Petersburg in a family of hereditary doctors. Her parents were surgeons, her older brother continued the dynasty, and Nastya broke this tradition. Since childhood, she dreamed of a stage and wanted to become a ballerina - until the teacher passed the verdict: because of her large physique, she has no future in ballet. Then Melnikova decided to try her hand at acting and after school entered LGITMiK. This choice was not easy for her, because her parents were against their daughter being an actress.

Even in her youth, she experienced the first tragedy: at the age of 16, Anastasia began dating a man who was 22 years older than her and once studied with her mother on the same course (interestingly, Nastya's father was also 22 years older than her mother) … At the age of 18, the girl was going to marry him, but 2 months before the wedding, the groom passed away. Years later, Melnikova admitted that for a long time she could not survive this tragedy and still cannot forget her first love. For some time she even seriously thought about going to a monastery. From this step she was restrained by the priest, who told her: "".

Immediately after graduating from the institute, the girl went to the United States, where she was lucky enough to participate in large-scale musicals on Broadway. But six months later, she decided to return to Russia. She made this choice for the sake of her husband - her new chosen one was the director of the film "Afghan Breakdown" (in the future - producer) Vyacheslav Telnov. Melnikova got married even before her departure, and even after she received a very lucrative offer on Broadway, she nevertheless decided to sacrifice her career for the sake of her family. The husband believed that the acting profession was incompatible with family life, and after her return, the actress stopped performing on the stage and almost never appeared in films.

At the age of 22, she had another tragedy, because of which she almost lost her life. After a car accident, she was paralyzed for six months, losing her speech and memory. Doctors said that the actress would never be able to walk again and could not give birth to a child. Her husband helped her to recover, and the dream of returning to the profession became an incentive. True, for some time this was impossible. For 3 years, Anastasia Melnikova lived only with a family, as her husband wanted. But she soon realized that she could not imagine her life without a stage and a film set. She returned to the profession, and her marriage could not stand this test: after 10 years of marriage, the couple broke up.

But after her family life was destroyed, fate rewarded her with success in the profession. In the late 1990s. Melnikova got the role of Anastasia Abdulova in the TV series "Streets of Broken Lanterns". At first, it was assumed that she would play a cameo role, but her heroine was so liked by both the directors and the audience that she was made one of the main characters. In this image, she appeared on screens in several projects over the course of 18 years. On the one hand, this brought her incredible popularity, on the other, it deprived her of many other roles, because the actress became a hostage to the image of a “woman in uniform”. Neither the audience nor the directors imagined her in a different role.

And soon there were happy changes in her personal life: in 2002, the actress had a daughter, Masha. Melnikova never mentioned her father's name; her daughter bears her last name. The only thing Anastasia said about that romance was that she was infinitely grateful to this man for their daughter. Melnikova calls the day of her birth the happiest event in her life. The birth of a child did not make her pause in filming - the actress knew that her heroine was one of the main characters in the series, and could not let her colleagues down. She kept her pregnancy secret until the last month, explaining the changes in appearance with a tendency to be overweight. And after the birth of her daughter, she immediately returned to the set.

In the past few years, the actress practically does not appear on the screens. The fact is that in 2011 Anastasia Melnikova became a deputy, and then became a member of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg, where she oversees the cultural sphere: she advocates the preservation of historical heritage, restoration and protection of architectural monuments. In 2016, she also joined the Commission on Social Policy.

New activities take a lot of time: Melnikova personally receives citizens, visits dysfunctional families, helps large families and retirees. She regards her deputy status as a gift from fate to help those who need this help, and therefore considers this activity necessary. At the same time, the acting profession remains an outlet for her - from time to time she appears in new films.

For a long time, the whole life of Anastasia Melnikova was subordinated to the upbringing of her daughter, and she did not even think about personal happiness. 3 years ago there were reports that the actress got married secretly from the public. Until now, in none of the interviews Melnikova has revealed this secret - she simply does not want to share her personal with anyone. She denied information about her secret marriage and stated that she was not going to get married until her daughter had her own family.

In 2019, the actress celebrated her 50th birthday. Only now can she call herself absolutely happy. Today Anastasia Melnikova says: "".

Anastasia Melnikova also starred in another well-known series, which actors do not like to remember these days: The infamous "Gangster Petersburg".