Tatiana Samoilova

Tatiana Yevgenyevna Samoilova (Russian: Татья́на Евге́ньевна Само́йлова; born 4 May 1934- died 5 May 2014) was a Soviet and Russian film actress who starred in The Cranes Are Flying (1957), The Unsent Letter (1959) and Anna Karenina (1967).

Evgeny Samoilov's only daughter, she was born in Leningrad, but her father moved to Moscow to work with Vsevolod Meyerhold later that year. Samoilova was propelled to stardom in 1957, when she played the lead role of Veronika in The Cranes Are Flying. The film was a tremendous success, winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes and a special prize for Samoilova. She received many offers to continue her career in the West, but declined in the face of mounting pressure from the establishment of the day.

In the 1960s, Samoilova had several movie roles, including Anna Karenina in the 1967 Soviet version of Tolstoy's novel. She appeared in the movie alongside her former husband Vasily Lanovoy (as Count Vronsky) and Maya Plisetskaya (as Karenina's friend Betsy). In 1993, she was named a People's Artist of Russia.

In 2007 she was awarded with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 29th Moscow International Film Festival.

On the eve of his 80th birthday, May 3, 2014, the actress was taken to hospital in serious condition with coronary heart disease and hypertension. After 2 days, 5 May 2014 she died.

Selected filmography

• The Cranes Are Flying (1957)
• The Unsent Letter (1959)
• Vingt Mille Lieues sur la Terre (1960)
• Alba Regia (1961)
• Anna Karenina (1967)
• Loin de Sunset Boulevard (2005)