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Natalya Fateeeva is a European film star of Ukrainian descent who has appeared in over 60 Soviet and Russian films, participated in international projects, and served as a jury member at various European film festivals.
Born Natalia Nikolaevna Fateeva in 1934 in Kharkiv, Ukrainian SSR of the former Soviet Union (now Kharkiv, Ukraine), her father, Nikolay Demianovich Fateev, was a Red Army officer, and her mother managed the prestigious "House of Fashion and Modeling." As a child, Fateeva studied piano and took opera singing lessons. She was passionate about movies and frequently attended local theaters, especially screenings of European cinema classics such as "Beauty and the Beast" (1946), "Orpheus" (1949), and "The Count of Monte Cristo" (1954), all starring Jean Marais.
While studying acting at the Kharkiv theatre school, Fateeva debuted on local television, gaining visibility, and was soon admitted to the Moscow State Institute of Cinema (VGIK). There, she studied acting under directors Aleksandr Gerassimov and Tamara Makarova. During this time, she became part of Moscow's cultural circle, socializing with prominent Soviet filmmakers. In 1957, she married director Vladimir Basov, and the couple had a son who later became a successful actor and filmmaker.
Fateeva rose to fame in the USSR after her supporting role in "Three Plus Two" (1963) alongside popular actor Andrey Mironov. During filming, they became romantic partners and planned to marry, but Mironov's mother disrupted their relationship, ending their plans. Fateeva briefly returned to her first husband, Vladimir Basov, but soon divorced him. In 1965, she married renowned Soviet astronaut Valery Egorov, with whom she had a daughter; this marriage ended in divorce in 1970.
Following her initial success, Fateeva appeared in supporting roles in popular comedies such as "Children of Don Quixote" (1966), "Songs of the Sea" (1969), and "Gentlemen of Fortune" (1971), acting alongside comedians Evgeny Leonov and Valery Kramarev. Among her more serious roles was the lead as an international businesswoman in the Cold War drama "Countermeasure" (Otvetnaya mera, 1974). She co-starred with [name missing] in this film, and they collaborated on several other projects including "You Win it in the Battle" (1975), "A Moment Decides Everything" (1978), and "Sindikat 2" (1981). Fateeva also appeared in supporting roles on television series such as "The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed" (1979) and "Broadway of Our Youth" (1996), among other works.
During the 1996 presidential campaign, she supported Boris Yeltsin's re-election and initially backed Vladimir Putin in the 2000 elections. However, she later became a strong critic of Russia's ruling political party. In 2011, she was honored with the title of "Honorable Citizen of Kharkiv, Ukraine," adding to her other awards. She joined the opposition against President Putin, publicly condemned the annexation of Crimea in 2014, and became a vocal critic of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Natalya Fateeeva currently resides in Moscow, Russia.
