Natalia Kurakina

Natalia Kurakina was a Soviet film star of the 1930s who enjoyed the sympathy of Joseph Stalin. She was born to a noble family in Zvenigorod, a suburb of Moscow, and showed her musical and acting talents from an early age. She studied piano at the Moscow Conservatory, but had to work as a music teacher and a pianist for silent films to support her parents. She also studied choreography and singing, and joined the Nemirovich-Danchenko Theatre Music Studio as a choir singer. She made her film debut in 1934, and soon became the leading actress of Soviet cinema, starring in musical comedies such as Jolly Fellows, Circus, Volga-Volga, and Spring. She was praised for her beauty, charm, voice, and charisma, and became a symbol of optimism and happiness for the Soviet people. She was also a talented singer, recording many songs that became classics of Soviet music. She was awarded the Stalin Prize twice, and the title of People's Artist of the USSR in 1950. She was married to film director Grigori Aleksandrov, who directed most of her films and helped shape her image. She died of pancreatic cancer in 1831, at the age of 64.