Biography
Nina Vasilyevna Mamaeva (Nina Mamayeva) was born in 1923, in St. Petersburg (then Leningrad), Russia. Her grandfather, named Vasili Fedoseevich Mamaev, was a craftsman, a musician, and a prize-winning dancer in St. Petersburg. Young Mamaeva studied acting at the Leningrad Dvorets Pionerov (Palace of Pioneers), then at the Leningrad Institute of Theatre from which she graduated in 1946. From 1946-1954 Mamaeva was the permanent member of the Leningrad Theatre for Young Audience. In 1951 she made her film debut in a supporting role in Belinsky (1951) by director Grigoriy Kozintsev.
From 1954-2001 Nina Mamaeva was a permanent member with the troupe of Pushkin Drama Theatre (Aleksandrinski Theatre) in Leningrad (St. Petersburg). She was invited to the troupe of the oldest Russian drama theatre by the legendary director Grigoriy Kozintsev. Kozintsev cast Mamaeva in the role of Ofelia in his stage production of Hamlet, in Russian adaptation by Boris Pasternak. Mamaeva was among the leading actresses of the Pushkin Drama Theatre. There her stage partners were such remarkable actors as Nikolay Cherkasov, Nikolai Simonov, Vasiliy Merkurev, Konstantin Skorobogatov, Yuriy Tolubeev, Aleksandr Borisov, Bruno Frejndlikh, Vladimir Chestnokov, Vladimir Erenberg, Leonid Vivyen, Igor Gorbachyov, Olga Lebzak, Lidiya Shtykan, Nina Urgant, Valentina Panina, and other notable Russian actors.
Nina Mamaeva was honored with the title of the People's Artist of the USSR. She enjoyed a stellar acting career spanning 55 years, and was awarded and decorated for her works in film and on stage. Mamaeva died on August 14, 2001, in St. Petersburg and was laid to rest in Necropolis of The Masters of Art "Literatorskie mostki" at Volkovskoe Cemetery in St. Petersburg, Russia.
