Elena Maksimova
Acting
Born November 23, 1905, Moscow, Russian Empire
Elena Alexandrovna Maksimova (23.11.1905—23.09.1986) was born in Moscow to a grocer father (he sold non-perishable goods) and a housewife mother, who was often ill. Apart from her, there were two other daughters in the family. Following her father's death in 1920, her mother was forced by poverty to send all three daughters to Orphanage No. 55, located in the Sokolniki district. Shortly after, in 1922, her mother also passed. Thus, at the age of 17, she was left completely orphaned. From an early age, Elena Maximova had dreamed of becoming an actress. When she finished schooling in 1925, she immediately went to the film studio attached to ‘Moskprofobor’ (Москпрофобр) to sit her entrance exams. There was only one free place available, and it went to Elena – as the most talented of all the applicants. From 1925 to 1927, she trained under the guidance of renowned film masters Vladimir Gardin and Konstantin Eggert. Alongside her studies at the film studio, Elena Maksimova had to work as a press operator at a button factory. She worked in film since 1927, appearing in productions by various film studios in Moscow and Leningrad. Between 1940 and 1964, she was an actress at the Soyuzdetfilm studio (now the Gorky Film Studio). Honoured Artist of the RSFSR (30 September 1958). The characters she portrayed were distinguished by their realism and attention to everyday detail. Her heroines were most often active, energetic and impetuous, yet she was equally at home with gentle, lyrical roles. She served Soviet cinema for nearly fifty years, and her work was modest and selfless — rarely in supporting roles, but more often in small cameos.
Filmography
- 1984A Small Favor
- Russia Is Young — старуха
- 1983Assol
- 1983Streak of Luck
- 1983To My People!
- 1982Carnival — visitor of the pawnshop
- 1982The Secret Agent's Return — Utkin's neighbour
- 1981Rebirth — домработница Дарья Алексеевна
- 1981The Secret of the Notebook — Glafira Petrovna
- 1981We'll Be Waiting, Come Back — babushka
- 1980Shot In The Back — Вера Николаевна
- 1978The Soldier and the Elephant
- 1977Without Father — Glafira
- 1976Storm on the Land
- 1976This Disturbing Winter
- 1974Birds Over the City
- 1974Conscience
- Conscience — санитарка
- 1974Duration of the Day
- 1974Fulfillment of Desires
- 1974The Last Meeting — Drenched Passerby
- 1974The Red Snowball Tree
- Yeralash
- 1973Alka's Songs — бабка Анфиса
- 1973Right to Jump
- 1973The Sky Behind the Clouds
- 1973This Merry Planet — мать Прошки
- 1971Declaration of Love to G.T. — Old Woman
- Investigation Held by ZnaToKi — Прасковья Андреевна
- 1970New Year's Abduction — Maksimova
- 1969Time to Live
- 1968Ivan Makarovich
- 1967Such a Big Boy — Filippovna
- 1967The Gypsy — Lushchilikha
- 1966Afterlight
- 1966Someone Else's Name — Babushka
- 1966The Conscience — Елена Евгеньевна
- 1966The Stars of the Day
- 1965Beloved — Нина Петровна
- 1965Black Business — Aunt Masha
- 1965Early in the Morning — мать Жени Горохова
- 1965Father of a Soldier — Borya's grandma
- 1965Null kolm
- 1965Sorcerer Island — Marya Stepanovna
- 1965Они не пройдут — The passenger of the tram
- 1964Meeting at the Crossing — woman in boat
- 1964Summer is Short in the Mountains — Praskovya Savvishna
- 1964The Green House — Marfa Nikolayevna
- 1962No Fear, No Blame — janitor
- 1962The Judgment — woman at a court hearing (uncredited)
- 1961Chronicle of Flaming Years — mother of the disabled person
- 1961In Transit
- 1961Yevdokiya — Maryushka
- 1960Miraculous One
- 1959A Home for Tanya — Makarikha
- 1959In the Silence of Steppe — Anfisa
- 1959King of Diamonds
- 1959Strict Woman
- 1959The Song of Koltsov — Aleksey Koltsov's mother
- 1959The Sun Shines to Everyone — Pelageya Ivanovna
- 1958"Чудотворец" из Бирюлёва — Манефа
- 1958Rains
- 1958The Volunteers — (uncredited)
- 1957Height — Berestova
- 1957Polyushko, pole
- 1957Quiet Flows the Don — Кошевая
- 1957The Tight Knot — Sasha's mother
- 1956For the Power of the Soviets
- 1956Other People's Relatives — Varvara Stepanovna
- 1955The Frigid Sea — Dergachikha
- 1955The Grasshopper — krestyanka iz Glukhova
- 1955Two Captains — aunt Dasha
- 1954Incident in the Taiga
- 1953Admiral Ushakov — Wife of doctor Yermolaev (uncredited)
- 1952The Country Doctor
- 1948First-Year Student — Woman with flowers
- 1941The Old Courtyard — жиличка
- 1940A Personal Matter — Vitya Surikov's mother
- 1940The New Land
- 1939Stepan Razin — Woman in the crowd (uncredited)
- 1937Pugachev
- 1935Aerograd — Mariia Kudina
- 1932A Personal Affair
- 1932Men and Jobs — Worker woman (uncredited)
- 1931And Quiet Flows the Don — Daria Melekhova
- 1931Killing to Live
- 1930Earth — Natalia, Vasyl's bride
- 1929Ranks and People — Modest's servant - Anna na shee
- 1929The Last Attraction — Polly
- 1929The Other Woman — Provincial lady
- 1928A Bright City — Marusenka
- 1927The Peasant Women of Ryazan — Lukerya