Svetlana Sergeevna Druzhinina (Russian: Светла́на Серге́евна Дружи́нина ; born 16 December 1935 in Moscow) is a Soviet and Russian actor, film director, screenwriter, film producer.

Biographie

Svetlana Druzhinina was born on December 16, 1935 in Moscow. In 1946, Druzhinina entered the circus school, where she successfully worked with a group of circus acrobats for one year. A year later she moved to the ballet school at the Stanislavski and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Music Theatre. In 1955 she graduated from the ballet school of the Bolshoi Theatre, where she studied together with future ballet stars Māris Liepa and Natalya Kasatkina. Because of a serious injury Druzhinina couldn’t become a dancer.

In 1955 Druzhinina debuted as an actress in the movie Showcase for Supermarket (Russian: "За витриной универмага"). She played a shop assistant Sonja Bozhko. From 1955 to 1965 she was an actress at the central studio of Gorky Film Studio.

In 1960 Druzhinina graduated from the VGIK Faculty of Actor (actor's workshop of Olga Pyzhova and Boris Bibikov).

In 1969 Druzhinina graduated from the VGIK Faculty of Director (workshop of Igor Talankin), her thesis film was Zinka (screenwriter B. Mazhaev). In the same year she began her work as a director on Mosfilm.

Druzhinina was a hostess of the first Soviet humor TV shows and competitions called KVN on the Central Television (together with Mikhail Derzhavin).

Her debut as a director was in the movie called Fulfillment of Desires (Russian: "Исполнение желаний") (1974) based on the novel by Veniamin Kaverin.

Druzhinina received her recognition and national love as a director in 1987 after the release of the TV film Gardemarines, Ahead! This was her first experience as a director of a historical movie, and it was very successful. Later the history of the Russian Empire became the main theme of her work.

From 2000 to the present time Druzhinina is directing a TV series about the history of Russia in the 18th century called Secrets of Palace coup d'etat. Russia, 18th century.