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Nikolai Konstantionovich Simonov was born on December 4, 1901, in Samara, Russian Empire. His father, Konstantin Simonov, managed a local food industry. As a youth, Simonov was an avid reader who dreamed of acting in the theatre. From 1917 to 1919, he studied art at the Samara School of Art and Design. Between 1919 and 1923, he continued his art education at the Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, where his instructors included Aleksei Rylov and Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin. From 1922 to 1924, he studied acting under Leonid Vivyen at the Institute of Theatrical Arts in St. Petersburg, graduating with honors in 1924.
From 1924 to 1973, Simonov was a permanent member of the Pushkin Drama Theatre company in St. Petersburg (Leningrad). He was one of the leading actors there and served as Artistic Director during the 1950s and 1960s. His stage partners included renowned actors such as Yekaterina Korchagina-Aleksandrovskaya, Illarion Pevtsov, Yuri Yuryev, Boris Babochkin, Nikolay Cherkasov, Vasiliy Merkurev, Konstantin Skorobogatov, Yuriy Tolubeev, Aleksandr Borisov, Bruno Frejndlikh, Vladimir Chestnokov, Vladimir Erenberg, Leonid Vivyen, Igor Gorbachyov, Olga Lebzak, Nina Mamaeva, Lidiya Shtykan, Nina Urgant, Valentina Panina, and other notable Russian performers.
Simonov debuted in film in 1924 in Leningrad, initially playing supporting roles in five Russian silent films. He gained widespread recognition for his role as Commander Zhikharev in the classic 1934 film 'Chapaev' by Georgi and Sergey Vasilyev, alongside Boris Babochkin, Leonid Kmit, Illarion Pevtsov, Georgi Zhzhyonov, Boris Chirkov, and others. His portrayal of Tsar Peter the Great in 'The Conquests of Peter the Great' (Parts One and Two, 1937–1938) earned him international acclaim and numerous awards.
Regarded as a patriarch of the St. Petersburg acting school, Simonov’s education and style were rooted in the deep traditions of the Russian Drama School founded in 1779 by Catherine the Great. His stage performances became legendary, with several filmed for historical record. His leading role in "The Living Corpse," adapted from Lev Tolstoy's work, is remembered as a pinnacle of Russian stage acting. His portrayal of Antonio Salieri in Aleksandr Pushkin's "Malenkie tragedii" earned him the Stanislavski State Prize in 1962. Simonov believed stage acting was superior to film, echoing the views of Konstantin Stanislavski and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko.
Simonov was awarded the USSR State Prize three times (1941, 1947, 1950) and the State Prize of Russia in 1966. He was the only Russian actor to receive the Order of Lenin three times (1938, 1950, 1967) for his outstanding contributions to acting. In 1950, he was honored with the title People's Artist of the USSR. Simonov was also a family man; his wife was an actress, and his son, Nikolai Nikolaevich Simonov, became a renowned surgeon in Russia.
Nikolai Simonov passed away on April 20, 1973, in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) and was buried in the Necropolis of Masters of Arts at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg, Russia.
