Svetlana Svetlichnaya is one of the most famous Soviet actresses, although she starred in a fairly small number of films. We decided to recall how the film star looked in different years of her long career.
News of the disappearance of Svetlana Svetlichnaya excited the whole country – even the head of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Alexander Bastrykin, personally followed her search! The 81-year-old actress suffers from dementia and a number of other serious illnesses, which gave the situation anxiety.
Fortunately, Svetlana Afanasyevna has already been found and everything is in order with her. But I want to believe that more such stories with the legend of Soviet cinema will not happen. Her fate in old age should not be so sad – after decades of brilliance and reverence for millions of viewers …
We will not exaggerate at all if we call Svetlichnaya the face of Soviet cinema. Yes, behind her shoulders is not such an extensive filmography as, for example, Lyudmila Gurchenko or Vera Alentova. However, only one appearance on the screen was enough for Svetlana to forever crash into the memory of the audience. Of course, we are talking about her small, but bright role in “The Diamond Hand” – a daring seductress in a short dressing gown, which she so easily and “un-Sovietly” throws off along with her bra.
Unfortunately, the role of the hot blonde became fatal for Svetlichnaya. Ideology dictated its own principles, according to which a woman should be, first of all, a smart girl and a workhorse, and not a beauty with frivolous desires, as in the Western cinema. At the time of the release of The Diamond Arm, the actress was only 28 years old, and no more major roles appeared in her filmography.
And yet we will not say that the famous comedy put an end to Svetlana’s career. The actress continued, albeit with varying degrees of success, to act in films. In the meantime, the government has always relied on it: when, for example, it was necessary to send a Soviet delegation to the next film festival abroad. The blonde charmed the foreign audience even in those years when not a single film with her participation was released!
Long hair, always perfect black arrows and mini… Probably, if Svetlana Svetlichnaya was born in another country, she would definitely become a fashion icon – along with Twiggy and Brigitte Bardot. But a different fate awaited her. The fate of an actress who needs to hide her beauty away and pretend to be as ordinary as everyone else around.
Sweet prude
Interestingly, Svetlichnaya took her first steps in the cinema when she was not yet a blonde. The actress cut her hair short and walked with dark hair. And it was clearly not what fate intended for her! The young star looked an order of magnitude older than the real 23-25 years. Looking at the roles of that period, it is difficult to assume that, in fact, Svetlichnaya has the potential of the main sex symbol of a huge country.
Hid the beauty
Having accepted the strict requirements of Soviet cinema, Svetlichnaya turned into an ordinary woman. Yes, she still didn’t get the main roles, and in the episodes, with the exception of a couple of pictures, she was more of a gray mouse than a seductress of bygone years. In addition, time passed, and with it, more interesting roles flowed away.
But Svetlana Afanasievna was never afraid to appear on the screen without makeup or in the form of a woman tortured by life. On the eve of her 50th birthday, she played several such roles at once and then disappeared from the cinema right up to the mid-2000s.
Late bloom
A long sabbatical and the advent of a new era finally gave Svetlichnaya the opportunity to express herself in full and be what she really is – an impeccable diva no worse than Hollywood beauties.
And although in her usual life Svetlana Afanasyevna does not get out of the mini and does not go out without styling and bright makeup, in the cinema she was never afraid to transform into gray and unremarkable characters. And this is really valuable because many actresses refuse to appear in the frame with age without lifting makeup and a special light that visually smoothes wrinkles on their faces.
Coquette of pensions
Svetlichnaya has not acted in films for about 10 years – her state of health and the resulting inability to remember the text no longer allow her to do this. However, the actress is a frequent guest at various TV shows and social events. The star surprises with the constancy of her style. She did not stop loving mini-dresses and black arrows even at the age of 80!
The press constantly ascribes novels to Svetlana Afanasyevna with men much younger than her, and not without reason. After the death of her first husband, the legendary Soviet actor Vladimir Ivashov, Svetlichnaya married a little-known artist Sergei Smirnov-Sokolsky, he was almost 20 years younger than her.
In the zero media, the actress reported on the relationship with Prokhor Chaliapin, who was then still a contestant at the Star Factory. And in 2020, information appeared about Svetlichnaya’s relationship with actor Ivan Nikolaev. Insiders claim that before the recent disappearance, the star threatened to write off her property to him! However, Nikolaev himself refutes everything and calls the actress only his good friend.
However, rumors about Svetlichnaya’s romances with famous men circulated throughout her life. She was credited with relations with Andrei Mironov and even Yuri Gagarin! And this is not surprising: recognized beauties are always suspected of such stories. Even when they are over 80.
