Elena Alekseevna Yakovleva, a renowned Russian film and stage actress, was born on March 5, 1961, in Novograd-Volynsky, Zhitomir province, Ukraine, which is now known as Novohrad, Ukraine. Her father, Aleksei Nikolaevich Yakovlev, was an Army officer, and her mother, Valeria Pavlovna, was a science researcher. Yakovleva's great-grandmother was an actress, and her passion for theatre was evident from a young age, as she participated in school plays.
After graduating from a secondary school in 1978, Yakovleva took a job as a librarian at a public library in Kharkov and later worked in the local electronics industry. In 1980, she moved to Moscow and enrolled in the State Institute for Theatrical Arts (GITIS),graduating in 1984 from the class of Vladimir Andreev as an actress. She then joined the troupe of Sovremennik Theatre in Moscow.
Before her graduation, Yakovleva made her big-screen debut in 1983 as Lera opposite Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy in Dvoe pod odnim zontom: Aprelskaya skazka (1984). From 1986 to 1989, she was a member of the troupe at Moscow Theatre named after M.I. Ermopova, but she was not very busy on stage. Her breakthrough role came in 1989 as Tatiana, a medical nurse turned prostitute, in Intergirl (1989),a film adaptation of the eponymous book by Vladimir Kunin.
Yakovleva received numerous awards and nominations for her role in Intergirl (1989) and was named the "Best Actress" of 1990 in the Soviet Union. She became a celebrity in Russia after her portrayal of a compassionate prostitute, but she managed to overcome the drawback of her popularity and departed from being typecast as a "femme fatale" of Russian cinema.
After the success of Intergirl (1989),Yakovleva demonstrated her range and multifaceted talent by playing a string of leading and supporting roles in about 20 films. Her role as Kamenskaya, a criminal investigator in modern-day Moscow, turned into a six-year gig and brought Yakovleva a new wave of popularity, becoming her most acclaimed work on television.
From 1984 to 1986 and since 1989, Yakovleva has been a member of the troupe at "Sovremennik" Theatre in Moscow, under the directorship of Galina Volchek. Her stage partners have included notable Russian actors such as Sergey Shakurov, Dina Korzun, Valentin Gaft, Inna Churikova, Sergey Garmash, Marina Neyolova, Chulpan Khamatova, and others.
Yakovleva has been married to actor Valeri Shalnykh, and the couple has one son, Denis, born in 1992. She is a popular TV show host in Russia and spends her free time playing tennis, walking her two dogs, and engaging in public activity related to social causes. Yakovleva resides with her family in Moscow, Russia.
