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Liubov Sergeevna Sokolova (Lyubov Sokolova) was born on July 31, 1921, in Ivanovo-Voznesensk, USSR. Her father was a skilled furniture maker, and her mother worked as a saleswoman. From a young age, Sokolova was captivated by acting and joined her school's drama class. Her first public role came in 1937 when she portrayed Onegin, a male character, in Aleksandr Pushkin's drama. In 1940, she enrolled at the Gertsen Institute in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) while also seeking acting opportunities.
Later that year, Sokolova passed a demanding acting audition with her rendition of Nina's monologue from Anton Chekhov's "Chaika" (The Seagull). She was admitted to the Leningrad Institute of Theatre and Cinematography, studying under Sergey Gerasimov. Around this time, she married fellow actor Georgi Arapovsky, and her prospects seemed promising. However, in 1941, during World War II, Leningrad endured a brutal Nazi siege that led to starvation and the deaths of most of its four million residents. Sokolova and her husband worked in a Leningrad factory for food, but her husband and other relatives succumbed to starvation. She herself nearly died from starvation but was saved by fellow students. In 1942, she escaped Leningrad to reunite with her parents in Ivanovo, then moved to Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan, where she enrolled at the State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK), which had been relocated from Moscow due to the war. She was awarded a scholarship as a survivor of the siege.
Known for her innocence and sincerity, Sokolova once demonstrated her integrity in 1940 when she refused a supporting role in "Frontovye Podrugi" (Girls From Leningrad 1941), leaving the project because of the director Sergey Mikhalkov's offensive jokes, and never collaborating with him again.
After graduating from VGIK in 1946, she joined the Moscow Theatre-studio of Film Actors. Between 1951 and 1956, she performed with the Red Army Theatre Company in East Germany. In 1958, she married director Georgiy Daneliya, and they had a son, Nikolai Daneliya. Over her career, Sokolova appeared in more than 370 Russian and international films, working with acclaimed directors such as Sergey Gerasimov, Mark Donskoy, Lev Kulidzhanov, Igor Talankin, Vasiliy Shukshin, Stanislav Rostotskiy, Andrei Konchalovsky, Nikita Mikhalkov, Venyamin Dorman, and Georgiy Daneliya.
Later in her career, Sokolova was often cast as a kind-hearted Russian mother, highlighting her warm voice and genuine smile. Her on-screen "children" included stars like Valeriy Zolotukhin, Irina Miroshnichenko, Margarita Terekhova, Barbara Brylska, Yuriy Solomin, Vitali Solomin, Oleg Yankovskiy, Nikita Mikhalkov, and Nikolay Karachentsov. In 1999, she portrayed Arina Rodionovna, the nanny of the renowned Russian poet Aleksandr Pushkin, in a stage production commemorating Pushkin's 200th birthday.
Renowned for her boundless generosity, Sokolova acted as a surrogate mother to many struggling actors and actresses. She was honored with the title of People's Artist of the USSR in 1990 and received numerous other awards and honors. Lyubov Sokolova passed away on June 6, 2001, in Moscow.
