Elena Yakovleva is a renowned Russian film and stage actress, best known for her leading role in Intergirl (1989) and her portrayal of a criminal investigator in the popular Russian TV franchise 'Kamenskaya'.
Born Elena Alekseevna Yakovleva on March 5, 1961, in Novograd-Volynsky, Zhitomir province, Ukraine, she is the daughter of an Army officer and a science researcher. Her great-grandmother was an actress, and young Yakovleva was fond of theatre, participating in school plays.
After graduating from a secondary school in 1978, Yakovleva worked as a librarian and later in the local electronics industry. In 1980, she moved to Moscow and enrolled in the State Institute for Theatrical Arts (GITIS),graduating in 1984 as an actress from the class of Vladimir Andreev.
Yakovleva's big screen debut came in 1983 as Lera opposite Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy in Dvoe pod odnim zontom: Aprelskaya skazka (1983). She later became a member of the troupe at Moscow Theatre named after M.I. Ermopova, where she was not very busy on stage.
However, her breakthrough role came in 1989 as Tatiana, a medical nurse turned prostitute, in Intergirl (1989),a film adaptation of the eponymous book by Vladimir Kunin. The role earned her numerous awards and nominations, including being named the "Best Actress" of 1990 in the Soviet Union.
Yakovleva's portrayal of a compassionate prostitute helped her overcome the drawback of her popularity and depart from being typecast as a "femme fatale" of Russian cinema. After the success of Intergirl (1989),she demonstrated her range and multifaceted talent playing a string of leading and supporting roles in about 20 films.
Her role as Kamenskaya, a criminal investigator in modern day Moscow, turned into a six-year gig and brought Yakovleva a new wave of popularity, becoming her most acclaimed work on television.
Yakovleva has been a member of the troupe at "Sovremennik" Theatre in Moscow since 1984, under the directorship of Galina Volchek, where her stage partners have included notable Russian actors such as Sergey Shakurov, Dina Korzun, Valentin Gaft, Inna Churikova, Sergey Garmash, Marina Neyolova, and Chulpan Khamatova.
In her personal life, Yakovleva is married to actor Valeri Shalnykh and has one son, Denis, born in 1992. She is a popular TV show host in Russia and spends her free time playing tennis, walking her two dogs, and involved in public activity related to social causes.
