"Balzac age, or All men are cool " 14 years later: What do actresses have in common with their famous heroines

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

In 2004, the first part of the series “Balzac's Age, or All Men Are Theirs…” was released, which gained immense popularity among the spectators and became fateful in the life of the actresses who played the main roles. Yulia Menshova, Alika Smekhova, Lada Dance and Zhanna Epple have not parted with their heroines for almost 10 years, and during this time there have been no less changes in their lives than in their characters, while many events experienced in the frame were repeated and in the reality…

The heroine of Yulia Menshova, Vera Bolshova, married early and gave birth to a daughter, but family life did not work out, and she returned to her strict mother, with whom she lived under the same roof for many years until she met Jean (played by Andrei Sokolov). Their relationship was complex and confusing, the heroes parted more than once and tried to live together again. In the personal life of the actress, there were also similar situations. In her youth, she almost repeated the fate of her heroine - having barely finished school, she was going to get married, but at the last moment she changed her mind. "", - Menshova admitted.

In the series, the name of her heroine is Bolshova. It was under this surname that Yulia Menshova entered the Moscow Art Theater School in order to hide her origin - she did not want to be judged only by the merits of her famous parents. But that's where the resemblance to the heroine ends. At the age of 27, she married actor Igor Gordin, gave birth to two children. True, during the filming of the first part of "Balzac Age" they parted, but three years later they began to live together again and have not parted since then. The character of the actress also does not at all resemble the timid disposition of her heroine - she is much more decisive, strong-willed and purposeful than the psychologist Vera.

Menshova made her film debut back in the early 1990s, but in 1994 she went to television and paused for 10 years in her film career, right up to the start of filming "Balzac Age". During this time, Menshova managed to become a successful TV presenter, known for the programs "My cinema" and "I myself". After filming the series, she again began to receive offers from directors, and she starred in several more films and TV series ("The Crime Will Be Solved", "The Seventh Victim", "Between Us Girls", "Women on the Edge"). 2013 to 2017 Yulia Menshova was the host of the program "Alone with everyone", since 2017 she has been leading the program "Tonight". Today, the 49-year-old actress and presenter is one of the most successful women in the world of film and television.

Alika Smekhova has repeatedly said that she does not see anything in common with her heroine Sonya, a frivolous huntress for wealthy elderly men. “”, - she lamented. The actress was married three times. The first marriage with fellow student Sergei Livnev lasted 6 years and broke up due to the unwillingness of the spouse to have children. The second husband of the actress was the Assyrian Georgy Bedzhamov, the union with whom Smekhova called a mistake - she was not ready for the life of an Eastern woman. The third marriage with businessman Nikolai lasted 7 years, the couple had a son. In 2006, her heroine also had a child in the series, and a year later the actress herself became a mother for the second time. True, the new romance did not bring her happiness and did not develop into family relationships: "". Today Smekhova is raising two children herself and is in no hurry to start new relationships.

As a child, Alika Smekhova dreamed of becoming a singer and studied at a music school. In the 1990s. she released her first album "I'm really looking forward to you", many songs for which she wrote herself. Later, 3 more albums were released, but she never became a famous singer. From the age of 9, Alika starred in Yeralash. At the time of filming in the series "Balzac Age …" she had already played several roles in the cinema, and got into this project without casting, at the personal invitation of the general director of the NTV channel. After the incredible success of the series, she continued her film career, and at the moment there are about 70 works in the filmography of the 50-year-old actress.

For Lada Dance, the role in the TV series "Balzac Age …" became the first notable work in the cinema - before that she played only a few episodic roles and was completely focused on her musical career. In the 1990s. she was one of the most successful singers, largely thanks to her first husband, composer and producer Leonid Velichkovsky, who wrote for her the hits "Reggae in the Night" and "You Need to Live High". After parting with him, she married businessman Pavel Svirsky, from whom she gave birth to two children. But in 2001, this marriage broke up.

The actress has repeatedly said that her heroine, lawyer Alla, is very close to her and is in many ways similar to her. However, such her features as excessive self-confidence and assertiveness aroused her rejection: "". Unlike her heroine, Lada Dance does not consider a career to be a paramount value in a woman's life and calls taking care of children her main purpose. Today, the 52-year-old actress hardly acts in films - showing the same business acumen as her heroine Alla, she runs recruitment agencies and repairs vintage cars, and is engaged in fashion and interior design.

The most eccentric of all the heroines in the series was the romantic, infantile and amorous little jerk Yulia - the character of the actress Zhanna Epple. She has repeatedly emphasized that she has nothing to do with her heroine - she certainly can not be called dependent and naive: "". At the time of filming, she was already 40 years old and older than all other actresses, however her colleagues were much more successful and famous at the time. Although she began acting in films since the mid-1980s, her role in "Balzac's Age …" was her first notable work. After filming, the long-awaited popularity came to her, and the actress began to actively act in films, and also became a TV presenter. At the moment, the 54-year-old actress has about 60 works in her filmography.

Zhanna Epple was married twice - for 5 years she lived with choreographer Alexei Bakai, who left her, emigrating to the United States, and then she spent 17 years in a civil marriage with a cameraman and businessman Ilya Fraz, the son of the famous director Ilya Fraz. In this marriage, the actress gave birth to two sons. Their separation from her husband was very scandalous and painful - the spouses loudly divided the property and made mutual claims. After that, Jeanne Epple tried more than once to establish her personal life, but not a single relationship ended in marriage.

Yulia Menshova and Alika Smekhova are not the only representatives of the acting dynasties, for whom their relatives are not ashamed: 8 famous fathers and their star daughters.