Personal details
Official sites :
Born:
- Birthday: 1961-03-05
- Born Place: Novograd-Volynskiy, Zhytomyrskaya oblast, Ukrainian SSR, USSR
Also Known As:
Елена Яковлева, Yelena Yakovleva
Elena Yakovleva
Elena Alexeevna Yakovleva (born March 5, 1961, in Novograd‑Volynsky, Ukrainian SSR) is a celebrated Russian film, stage, and television actress. A graduate of GITIS (State Institute for Theatrical Arts) in 1984, she began her stage career at Moscow’s prestigious Sovremennik Theatre and later joined the Ermolova Drama Theater before returning to Sovremennik . Yakovleva rose to nationwide fame with her powerful portrayal of Tatiana Zaitseva in the groundbreaking 1989 film Intergirl, which earned her the title of Best Actress at the Soviet “Nika” film awards. She further solidified her reputation with lead roles in Encore, Once More Encore! and the hit TV detective series Kamenskaya (1999–2011), playing the tenacious investigator Anastasia Kamenskaya—an iconic role that earned her a TEFI award in 2004. An acclaimed artist, Yakovleva was named People’s Artist of Russia in 2002 and has received numerous honors, including the State Prize of the Russian Federation (2000), the Order of Honour (2006), two Nika awards, TEFI, and multiple Golden Eagle awards. From 2017 onward, she has become closely associated with the Last Warrior franchise, portraying the enigmatic Baba Yaga in The Last Warrior films and returning to the role in Finist. The First Warrior (2025). Off-screen, Yakovleva is married to actor Valery Shalnykh, with whom she shares a son, Denis (b. 1992). She is also a devoted advocate for social causes, enjoys tennis and walking her dogs, and remains active in Moscow’s theatre and television scenes.
