Varvara Popova

Biography

Varvara Popova was a Russian character actress in silent films, also known for her brilliant cameos as a typical Russian "babushka" in Frosty (1965) and several other films of the 1960s. She was born Varvara Aleksandrovna Popova on December 17, 1899, in Samara, Russia. In 1919 - 22, Popova studied acting under Yevgeni Vakhtangov, who regarded Popova as his favorite student for her unique natural talent. Popova was completely unspoiled by the trappings of civilization, she led a simple life, and was an unusually modest person amongst the lifestyle of entertainers around her. During the 1920s and 1930s she was cast in films by such directors as Yakov Protazanov, Leonid Obolensky, and Lev Arnshtam. From 1922 to 1956 Varvara Popova was a permanent member of the troupe at Vakhtangov Theatre in Moscow. There her stage partners were such actors as Mikhail Ulyanov, Boris Zakhava, Mikhail Astangov, Vladimir Etush, Yuliya Borisova, Lyudmila Maksakova, Lyudmila Tselikovskaya, Nikolai Gritsenko, Yuriy Yakovlev, Andrei Abrikosov, Grigori Abrikosov, Boris Babochkin, Nikolai Timofeyev, and Aleksandr Grave, among others. At the beginning of her acting career Popova gave legendary stage performances in the role as Louise opposite Boris Zakhava in the Friedrich Schiller's play "Kovarstvo i lyubov" (aka.. Intrigue and Love). Regardless of her outstanding performances on stage and in films, Varvara Popova fell innocent victim of envy and suffered from backstage scheming from competition. She never received honors from the Soviet authorities, was ignored by official Soviet critics, and eventually was left without work during and after the dictatorship of Joseph Stalin. In 1956, in protest against the tasteless Soviet propaganda, Popova quit her acting career, making an unusual and risky step amidst the Soviet reality. However, she was respected by many actors and directors for her genius and decency, and was later cast as a typical Russian "babushka" by director Ivan Pyrev and other filmmakers. Varvara Popova died of a heart failure on October 31, 1988, in Moscow, and was laid to rest in Vvedenskoe Cemetery in Moscow, Russia.