Biography
Nina Urgant was a Russian character actress best known for her role as Raya in Andrey Smirnov's 1971 film Belorussky Station.
Born Nina Nikolayevna Urgant on September 4, 1929, in Luga, Leningrad province, Soviet Union (now Russia), she was the daughter of Nikolai Urgant, a Soviet Red Army officer who served during World War II. Nina endured the Nazi occupation during the war. Afterward, her family relocated to Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). From 1948 to 1953, she studied acting under Tatiana Soynikova and Vladimir Chestnokov at the Leningrad Institute of Theatre, Music, and Cinematography, graduating in 1953. That same year, she debuted on stage at the Volkov Academic Theatre in Yaroslavl. Between 1955 and 1962, she was part of the troupe at the Theatre of Leninskogo Komsomola in Leningrad, directed by Georgi Tovstonogov.
Starting in 1962, Nina became a permanent member and leading actress at the Pushkin (Aleksandrinka) Drama Theatre in Leningrad (St. Petersburg). There, she performed alongside notable actors such as Nikolay Cherkasov, Nikolai Simonov, Vasiliy Merkurev, Konstantin Skorobogatov, Yuriy Tolubeev, Aleksandr Borisov, Bruno Frejndlikh, Vladimir Chestnokov, Vladimir Erenberg, Konstantin Adashevsky, Leonid Vivyen, Olga Lebzak, Nina Mamaeva, Lidiya Shtykan, Ivan Dmitriev, Igor Gorbachyov, and others. Her memorable roles included Beatrice in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing and Ranevskaya in Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard. Throughout her stage career, she worked under directors like Leonid Vivyen, Aleksandr Belinsky, Vladimir Fokin, Igor Gorbachyov, and more.
Nina Urgant was honored as People's Actress of the Russian Federation in 1974 and received the USSR State Prize in 1976. She earned various awards recognizing her contributions to Soviet and Russian culture. Her son, Andrey Urgant, and grandson, Ivan Urgant, are well-known Russian actors. Nina Urgant resided in St. Petersburg, Russia.
