Lyudmila Maksakova

National Artist of the Russian Federation. Laureate of the State Prize of Russia. Holder of the Order For Merit to the Fatherland.

Born on September 26 in Moscow (Russia, the USSR).

In 1961 Lyudmila Maksakova graduated from the Boris Shchukin Theatre Institute (Vladimir Etush’s course) and joined the Vakhtangov Theatre company.

Lyudmila Maksakova is the pride and the glory of the Vakhtangov Theatre.

Selected theatre roles include: Adelma (‘Princess Turandot’ by Carlo Gozzi), Knipper-Chekhova (‘My Mocking Happiness’ by Leonid Maliugin), Mamaeva (‘Enough Stupidity in Every Wise Man’ by Alexander Ostrovsky), Baroness (‘The Glembays’ by Miroslav Krleža), Masha (‘The Living Corpse’ by Lev Tolstoy), Anna Karenina (‘Anna Karenina’ by Lev Tolstoy), Duchess of Marlborough (‘A Glass of Water’ by Augustin Scribe), Paola (‘The Lady Without Camellias’ by Terence Rattigan), Korinkina (‘Guilty without Guilt’ by Alexander Ostrovsky), Countess (‘The Queen of Spades’ by Alexander Pushkin), Arkadina (‘The Seagull’ by Anton Chekhov), Voynitskaya (‘Uncle Vanya’ by Anton Chekhov), Grandmother (‘The Haven’ themed on various authors), Nanny and Dancing Master (‘Eugene Onegin’ by Alexander Pushkin), Lady (‘Minetti’ by Thomas Bernhard), Iocasta (‘Oedipus Rex).

Lyudmila Maksakova is already the legend of the stage. She worked with the outstanding 20th century theatre directors – Ruben Simonov, Alexandra Remizova, Evgeniy Simonov, Alexander Belinsky, Roman Vityuk, Eimuntas Nekrosius, Pyotr Fomenko, Rimas Tuminas.

No less felicitous is the actress’s career in the movies. She is starring in films by Grigory Chukhrai, Iosif Heifitz, Igor Talankin, Pyotr Todorovsky, Andrei Smirnov. Selected filmography includes ‘There Once Lived an Old Couple’, ‘Tatiana’s Day’, ‘The End of Saturn’, ‘Extrajudicial’, ‘Autumn’, ‘The Bad Good Man’, ‘Die Fledermaus’, ‘Father Sergey’, ‘Trips in an Old Car’, ‘Along the Main Street with Orchestra’, ‘Ten Little Black Boys’, ‘Mu-Mu’, ‘Anna Karenina’. Several significant plays with Lyudmila Maksakova had been filmed; ‘Princess Turandot’, ‘Idiot’ and ‘Théâtre de Clara Gazul’.

Lyudmila Maksakova is the winner of many prestigious prizes for her incredible work.



Winner of State Prize of the Russian Federation, 1995
Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 1996
Gratitute Note of the President of the Russian Federation, 2011

Dutchess Adelma (Princess Turandot, 1963)
Lolia (Dion)
Maria (Konarmia)
Knipper-Chekhova (My mocking happiness)
Laura (Stone Guest)
Mamaeva (In Every Wiseman Enough Stupidity)
Nikol (The Bourgeois Gentleman)
Baronet (Gospoda Glembaji)
Anna (Richard III)
George Sand (Summer in Noana)
Sonya (The Wood demon)
Kletkina (Give me an old lady!)
Anna Karenina (Anna Karenina)
Dutchess Malborough (Glass of Water)
Paola (Lady without camellias)
Bizyukina (Soboryane)
Louisa (I do not want to know you)
Virgini (Resurrection)
Korinkina, (Guilty without Fault)
Dutchess (The Queen of Spades)
Anna Andreevna(The governmental inspector)
Arkadina (The seagull)
Voynitskaya (Uncle Vanya)
The Old lady (“The Gambler” The Haven)
Nanny, dancing master (Evgeny Onegin)

“Dream” – Pokrovka Theatre
“The Cherry Orchard” (Nyakoshus) – Stanislavsky’s Fund
“What a pity (P.Fomenko) – Fomenko’s Studio

Once lived an old pair 1964
Story of just married (TV-play), 1964
Tatyanin Den, 1967
Your Contemporary, 1967
Trip to «Saturn» (1968)
End of «Saturn», 1968
Extrajudicial, 1969
Faust (TV-play), 1969
Train to tomorrow 1970
Antracite, 1971
In every wiseman enough stupidity (TV-play), 1971
Turandot (TV-play), 1971
Disappearance of the witness, 1971
Fight after the victory, 1972
Bad good man, 1973
The Touch, 1973
Day of the personal questions discussion, 1974
Autumn, 1974
Klara Gazul’s Theatre (TV-play), 1974
Caffee «Izotop», 1977
Summer in Noana (TV-play), 1978
Father Sergey, 1978
Bat, 1978
Gospoda Glembaji(TV-play), 1979
The Idiot (TV-play), 1979
Great Magic(TV-play), 1980
Richard III (TV-play), 1982
Today and always, 1982
Talisman, 1983
In front of oneself, 1985
Trips on an old car, 1985
On the main street with an orchestra, 1986
In one’s skin, 1986
Ten Little Niggers, 1987
Applicant 1987
Two Men, 1989
White princesses in multitude , 1992
Typists (Short film), 1996
Mu-mu, 1997
Ideal pair. TV-Series, 2001
Mixer, 2001
About love in bad weather conditions, 2004
Anna Karenina, 2009
Cross in a circle, 2009
Indian man, 2010
Blind happiness, 2011
Kitchen, 2012
Doctor death, 2013
Legacy, 2015

Lyudmila Maksakova. Booklet, 2005
N. Kazmina “Hello and goodbye. Theatre in portraits and dialogues.”, 2012
L.V. Maksakova “My bitter, bitter happiness”, 2015