The family clan of Vysotsky's muse Marina Vladi: What were the emigrants Polyakov-Baidarov known for abroad

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

The name of the French actress Marina Vladi is known all over the world. We know her first of all not for her roles in films, but as the muse of Vladimir Vysotsky. But few know that her real name is Polyakova-Baydarova. She was born in France to a family of immigrants from Russia who were prominent figures in the emigration and left a noticeable mark on art. Both her parents and her three older sisters were well known abroad, but at home their names were forgotten for a long time.

The fact that all the daughters of the Polyakov-Baydarovs chose creative professions was not surprising, because both mother and father of Marina Vlady were engaged in art. Vladimir Polyakov-Baydarov was an opera singer, ballet dancer and athlete. He was born in 1890 in Moscow, graduated from the Faculty of Law of Moscow University and the Moscow Conservatory (vocal class), danced on the stage of the S. Zimin Opera House, played in the Moscow football team, was a champion in hurdles. In parallel, he studied at the Military School of Aeronautics and became one of the first certified pilots.

During the First World War, Polyakov-Baydarov went to the front as a volunteer, he was a pilot in the Foreign Legion on the French front, and then a military pilot in the French army. After demobilization in 1919, Vladimir decided to stay in France. There he graduated from the Central Aviation School and worked as an engineer at an aircraft factory. However, the passion for art still prevailed - Polyakov-Baydarov was engaged in sculpture in the studio of A. Bourdelle, participated in the exhibition "A Hundred from Parnassus" and in the expositions of the Autumn Salon in Paris. Since 1922, he devoted himself entirely to artistic activity: he performed with opera arias and Russian and Gypsy romances at concerts, evenings and charity balls, gave solo charity concerts, taught classes in the art of speech, and organized folk song festivals.

With the mother of Marina Vlady, Militsa Evgenievna Envald, Vladimir Polyakov-Baidarov met in exile, during a tour in Belgrade. She was a native of St. Petersburg, had Russian and Swedish roots. Militsa graduated from the Institute of Noble Maidens in Smolny and studied ballet. Her father was a White Guard general, and after the pogroms began in St. Petersburg, the family in 1919 was forced to leave the country. They lived in Serbia when Vladimir Polyakov-Baidarov arrived there with concerts. After marriage, the couple settled in France.

Their family had 4 daughters: Olga, Tatiana, Militsa and Marina. The younger sister has been dancing since her youth, because her mother was a ballerina. She studied at the choreographic school at the Grand Opera in Paris, however, she never became a dancer, but the acquired plasticity of movements and grace became one of her advantages in her acting career. She made her film debut at the age of 11, in a cameo role in the melodrama "Summer Thunderstorm", where her older sister, known in the world of cinema under the pseudonym Odile Versois, was filmed. When Marina was 13 years old, her father, whom she idolized, passed away. In his honor, she took a pseudonym - Vladi, produced on behalf of "Vladimir". Under this pseudonym she was recognized in Europe in the film "The Witch" based on the story of A. Kuprin "Olesya". In this role, she was first seen in the USSR.

When Marina was 15 years old, she was invited to his debut directorial film by actor Robert Hossein - the son of immigrants from Azerbaijan (real name - Abraham Huseynov). Later, he became widely known in the USSR as Geoffrey de Peyrac from films about the adventures of Angelica, and then the 27-year-old actor and director was just starting his career. When Robert Hossein first saw Marina Vlady, he lost his head from her. After 2 years, they played a wedding, the couple had two children, but the marriage lasted only 5 years.

Robert later told about the reasons for their separation: "".

The Polyakov-Baidarov family was actually a real clan - they always stayed together and were inseparable. From early childhood, the sisters were brought up in Russian traditions and went to the Orthodox Church. In their house they spoke Russian, prepared traditional food, and there was always a large samovar on the table, at which the whole family gathered. Even when the sisters started their own families, this tradition remained unbreakable. Marina Vlady said: "E" The sisters' families suffered from this need to be together by all means - they always wanted to live in one house with the whole "clan".

All 4 sisters outwardly did not look alike - someone went to the mother, and someone to the father. All of them linked their lives with art and took creative pseudonyms that sounded in a European way, but without fail beginning with the letter "V" - in honor of their father Vladimir and Victoria - Victory. There was an age difference of 10 years between the older and younger sisters, they were all good in their own way, but everyone called the younger one the most pretty - Marina Vlady.

Her sisters Olga and Tatiana also became actresses. Older sister Olga Varen began as an actress, but later received a director's education and worked in television. In addition, she took part in staging the legendary play "Three Sisters", where the rest of the Polyakovs-Baidarovs played. This production was very popular with European audiences.

The first of all the sisters to gain fame was Tatiana, who starred in films under the pseudonym Odile Versoix. Thanks to her, the directors began to invite other sisters to the shooting, including the young Marina Vlady. Odile starred in France and Italy, and when Laurence Olivier saw her at the theater, on his recommendation, she played in several films in the UK. Odile was a role model for Marina Vlady, they were most alike, and it was thanks to her that the younger sister began her career. Odile Versoix passed away as the first of the sisters, at the age of 50, after a serious illness, and a month later Vladimir Vysotsky was gone. This period became one of the most difficult in the life of Marina Vlady.

The third sister was named after her mother Milica, but became famous under the pseudonym Helene Valier. In her youth, she decided to follow in her mother's footsteps and graduated from the ballet school. She performed her debut roles in the corps de ballet of the French Opera, but then she was carried away by theater and cinema. She also died prematurely - at the age of 56 she was struck by a stroke.

Relationship with Vladimir Vysotsky meant a lot to her, and when he was gone, she could not find a new meaning for a long time. Marina Vladi: life after Vysotsky.