Inna Mikhailovna Churikova was born on October 5, 1943, in Belebey, near Ufa, Bashkiria Republic, Russia (at that time USSR). Young Inna Churikova was brought up in Moscow by her mother. During her school years she was fond of theatre and attended an acting class at Stanislavsky Theatre in Moscow. From 1960 - 1965 she attended Schepkin Theatrical School at Maly Theatre, graduating in 1965 as an actress.
In 1961 Churikova made her big screen debut in 'Tuchi nad Borskom', then she played bit parts in 'Ya shagayu po Moskve' and in several other films. She shot to fame with the leading role as Tanya Tetkina in "V ogne broda net" (1968) by director Gleb Panfilov. Churikova's next role in Nachalo (1970), as Pasha Stroganova, a provincial amateur actress who is invited to play Joan of Arc in a big film, was arguably her best work in film. After having a big success with 'Nachalo', Churikova and her husband, director Gleb Panfilov, worked on development of an epic film about Joan of Arc, but their work on the project was obstructed by the Soviet officials. However, Churikova continued her successful film career. In 1984 she won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival for the leading role as Vera in 'Voenno-polevoy roman', by director Petr Todorovsky. She starred as Vera in 'God Sobaki', and as Asya in "Kurochka Ryaba" (1994), among her other film works.
Since 1974 Inna Churikova has been a member of the troupe at Lenkom Theatre in Moscow under directorship of Mark Zakharov. There her stage partners were such actors as Nikolai Karachentsov, Gennadi Khazanov, Oleg Yankovskiy, Leonid Bronevoy, Aleksandr Abdulov, Armen Dzhigarkhanian, Aleksandr Zbruyev, and other notable Russian actors. Among Churikova's most memorable stage performances were such roles as Sara in 'Ivanov' and as Arkadina in 'Seagull', both plays by Anton Chekhov. She also appeared as Ophelia in Shakespeare's 'Hamlet', and as Commissar in Vishnevsky's 'Optimisticheskaya tragedia', among her other stage works.
Inna Churikova has been loved by the public and earned critical acclaim for her range and effortless style. Churikova was designated Peoples Artist of the USSR (1991) and People's Artist of Russia. She was awarded the Golden Mask, and also received the State Prize of Russia (1985) and the Stanislavsky Prize for her contribution to theatre and film. She is residing in Moscow, Russia.
Source: The International Movie Database
