Alyona Yakovleva — 65: the amazing fate of the People's Artist of Russia
On June 2, 2026, actress Alena Yakovleva celebrates her 65th birthday. By the solemn date, Izvestia recalled the life and career of the actress.
Alyona Yakovleva celebrates her anniversary: family, the choice of a life path
Alyona Yakovleva was born on June 2, 1961 in the family of actor, People's Artist of the USSR Yuri Yakovlev and doctor Kira Machulskaya. Alyona's grandmother, Elena Chernyshova, was also an actress, and her half—brother Anton Yakovlev is a theater director and artistic director of the Moscow Drama Theater named after N.V. Gogol.
Actor Yuri Yakovlev and actress Alena Yakovleva, 2008
At birth, the girl was named Elena, but in adulthood Yakovleva changed her name to Alena. Yakovleva's mother and father separated when the girl was very young. At the age of eight, Alena moved with her mother and stepfather to Germany. The stepfather of the actress, Nikolai Ivanov, was an international journalist and worked abroad. Ivanov often moved around on duty, so little Alyona managed to live in Denmark, Iceland, Finland and Norway in addition to Germany.
Yakovleva, recalling her childhood, noted that she considered herself an ugly duckling and was very shy. She was raised very strictly. Little Alyona was forbidden to show her emotions, so, Yakovleva recalled in an interview, all the feelings accumulated inside, which later expressed itself in strong nervousness. For example, one day a girl pulled out all her eyelashes on nervous grounds.
Initially, Alena was not going to continue her acting career and in 1976 she began working as a tractor driver. But in 1978, the girl got into an accident and after recovery decided not to return behind the wheel of a tractor.
In the same year, Alyona's stepfather invited her to enroll in the Faculty of Journalism at Moscow State University. There, the girl diligently studied foreign languages, English and Spanish, and even worked as a translator at the Olympics. During her studies, Yakovleva began acting in the Student Theater. The scene captured the girl, and, studying in the third year of Moscow State University, she simultaneously entered the Higher Theater School named after B.V. Shchukin in the workshop of Tatiana Kopteva. To combine her studies at two institutes, Yakovleva transferred to Moscow State University for correspondence studies. Soon she successfully graduated from the journalism faculty, and in 1985 — from the acting faculty.
Immediately after graduation, Yakovleva joined the Moscow Academic Satire Theater, where she performs to this day.
In 1989, Yakovleva, then still Elena, decided to change her name, as the film "Interdevochka" was released, in which the namesake actress played the main role. In order to avoid confusion and misunderstanding, Yakovleva took a pseudonym.
In which films and performances did Alyona Yakovleva play?
Yakovleva's first role in the Satire Theater was one of the main roles in the play "Fatal Mistake" based on the story by Mikhail Roshchin. After that, the actress got a cameo role in the production of "The Burden of Decision" directed by Valentin Pluchek. After Yakovleva, she played in Andrei Mironov's play "Shadows" and in "A Barrel of Honey" under the direction of Spartak Mishulin. Also among the works of the actress in the Satire Theater are the roles of Gurmyzhskaya in "The Forest", Ruth in "Gorgons", the main role in "Lysistrata", Anna-Dorothea Terbush in "The Libertine".
Actress Alena Yakovleva as Raisa Pavlovna Gurmyzhskaya in a scene from the play "The Forest" staged by Anton Yakovlev at the Satire Theater in Moscow
In 1995, Yakovleva joined the Moscow Drama Theater Modern, playing the main role in the play Katerina Ivanovna. In 2001, she played Lulu in the play of the same name at the Moscow Drama Theater on Malaya Bronnaya.
In recent years, the actress has also given performances at the Moscow Drama Theater named after N.V. Gogol in a production based on the novel by Mikhail Dostoevsky "Uncle's Dream" and at the Comedy Theater in the plays "Oscar Wilde. Funny about serious stuff" and "Two on a bench."
Actress Alena Yakovleva as Marya Aleksadrovna Moskaleva in a scene from the play "Uncle's Dream" at the N. V. Gogol Theater in Moscow
Yakovleva often appeared on movie screens. Among her most notable works are the TV series "My Fair Nanny", "Cadetship", "In the rhythm of tango", "Sklifosovsky", "The Diary of Dr. Zaitseva" and "Madhouse". The actress also starred in films such as "The Return of the Musketeers", "The Tailor from Brooklyn", "The Boy and the Girl", and others.
The personal life of the actress
Alena Yakovleva's first love was actor Alexander Kahun. The young people met while studying at a theater college. They lived together for eight years, but the marriage was never registered. As a result, the couple broke up.
From 1991 to 1993, Yakovleva was married to actor Kirill Kozakov. They met thanks to the former lover of the actress Kahun — that day they quickly found a common language, and Kirill accompanied his future wife home, reading poetry to her. Soon Yakovleva and Kozakov got married, and in 1992 their daughter Maria was born, who later followed in her parents' footsteps and now serves in the same theater with her mother.
However, over time, the relationship between the spouses became increasingly tense. When Maria was only four months old, Yakovleva decided to leave her husband. According to her, at first Kozakov did not take much part in his daughter's life. Nevertheless, he and Maria are getting along great now.
Two years after her divorce from Kozakov, Yakovleva entered into a relationship with Kirill Mozgalevsky, a film director and film producer. Mozgalevsky shot an advertisement in which Yakovleva played. The couple lived together for ten years, but even after the breakup they maintain friendly relations, for example, they celebrate holidays together.
What awards and titles did Alena Yakovleva receive?
Alena Yakovleva has many state awards. In 1999, the actress received the honorary title of Honored Artist of Russia, and in 2008 - the title of People's Artist of Russia. In 2020, Yakovleva was awarded the Order of Friendship for her great contribution to the development of Russian culture and art, many years of fruitful activity, and in 2025, the Moscow City Duma awarded the artist gratitude for services to the urban community.
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