Irina Ponarovskaya is a famous Soviet performer, actress and TV presenter. She is even now considered an icon of style and glamour. Millions of fans wanted to be like her and tried to imitate the star in everything. Although there were those on her way who considered her demeanor shocking and unacceptable in the Soviet Union.
It's hard to believe, but soon the singer will celebrate the 50th anniversary of her work. As before, Irina looks flawless and still remains an example of elegance and refined taste.
Artist's childhood
The city of Leningrad is considered the birthplace of Irina Vitalievna Ponarovskaya. She was born in the spring of 1953 in a creative family. Irina's father was an accompanist at the local conservatory. Mother was the artistic director and conductor of a popular orchestra that performed jazz compositions.
Everything was destined for the girl by fate - she was supposed to become a famous artist. From an early age, parents taught Irina to play musical instruments. The girl mastered the harp, piano and grand piano flawlessly. Grandmother insisted that her granddaughter hire a vocal teacher. The well-known teacher Lydia Arkhangelskaya began to study with the girl. And as a result, she achieved a range of three octaves from the young singer.
Youth and the beginning of musical creativity
After graduating from secondary school, Irina entered the conservatory and began her journey to the musical Olympus. She studied on the same course with the future author of many hits, Laura Quint. Thanks to her friend, Irina in 1971 became the soloist of the Singing Guitars vocal ensemble, having won the qualifying casting.
The only problem then for Irina was her excess weight. The girl weighed 25 kg more than normal and was very shy about her appearance. Only thanks to hard work, significant efforts on herself and the cherished dream of becoming famous Ponarovskaya managed to lose weight. She adhered to strict diets, was actively involved in sports, even received the title of "Candidate for Master of Sports in Rhythmic Gymnastics."
The girl worked with the Singing Guitars team for 6 years. It seemed to her that the earth was spinning around her - constant concerts, fans, gifts. Irina really liked being the center of attention.
Glory and popularity
In 1975, the famous director Mark Rozovsky had the idea to create a grandiose project - the rock opera Orpheus and Eurydice. The first solo was offered to Irina Ponarovskaya. A similar project became a debut in the Union, was appreciated by both the audience and music critics.
After success in their homeland, the musicians were invited to Germany to participate in an international competition. For a trip abroad, the singer decided to change her image. And already on the stage of the city of Dresden, Irina appeared in a new image and with a short haircut “like a boy”. Then such a hairstyle attracted attention, because women cut their hair so very rarely.
Irina understood that she stood out from the background of others. After all, this is also a success, a real artist should be remembered by the viewer. Talent and the ability to present themselves did their job - the foreign audience idolized the singer. Her photos were on the covers of popular glossy magazines. And journalists lined up to get an interview. Her songs "I love you" and "I'll take the train of my dreams" (in German) became hits in Germany.
Then there was participation in the international music competition in the city of Sopot, where the Soviet singer became the winner. And also received the title of "Miss Lens" for an impeccable image. After the performance of the song "Prayer", the enthusiastic audience called Ponarovskaya for an encore 9 more times. Together with Irina, Alla Pugacheva took part in the competition, but the prima donna managed to take only 3rd place.
Returning to her homeland, Irina began work in the Moscow Jazz Orchestra, led by Oleg Lundstrem. This was followed by an offer to star in the detective "This does not concern me." The directors liked the acting skills of Ponarovskaya. The first movie was followed by: "Midnight Robbery", "The Trust That Burst", "He'll Get His Own", etc.
Variety in genres
The actress managed to play both deep dramatic and funny comic roles. But the shooting took almost all the time, the star had to sacrifice his favorite music. In the end, Ponarovskaya made a decision and put an end to her career as an actress.
The singer returned to her favorite element and began to actively record new hits. Celebrity albums were sold out immediately after the release, the videos occupied leading positions in the music charts. And the concerts were always sold out. The star is a frequent and favorite guest of popular TV shows, where she demonstrates her impeccable stylish looks.
There were rumors that the Parisian haute couture house Chanel made an offer to Irina to become the face of the brand. Soon the star denied this information. But still, in the “party”, the name “Miss Chanel” was assigned to her, which Boris Moiseev called her.
Irina Ponarovskaya in other projects
In addition to music, the celebrity has many hobbies that make her happy, and some give a good income. The star produces clothes under the I-ra brand, and also owns the Style Space image agency. In the States, the singer opened her Fashion House, with which Broadway theaters cooperate.
Irina Ponarovskaya often takes part in various TV shows. She was invited to the talk show "Let them talk", "Live" with Andrei Malakhov and other popular programs. She was several times the chairman of the jury of the music festival "Slavianski Bazaar".
Personal life of the singer Irina Ponarovskaya
Fans are watching the personal life of Irina Ponarovskaya as actively as her work. The first marriage was in my youth. Her husband was the guitarist of the group "Singing Guitars" Grigory Kleymiets. The union was short-lived, less than two years later, the couple broke up due to the constant betrayals of Gregory.
Weiland Rodd (son of a famous American actor) became the second husband of Irina. Young people really dreamed of children, but Irina could not give birth. The couple decided to adopt baby Nastya Kormysheva. But, fortunately, in 1984 Ponarovskaya gave birth to a boy, who was named Anthony.
By a joint decision, the daughter was sent back to the orphanage. But a few years later she was taken back to her family. Ponarovskaya could not establish relations with her adopted daughter. She prefers not to discuss this topic with journalists. Disagreements between the spouses led to Irina's divorce. Then the husband took his son to America. And the star made significant efforts to return the child to Russia.
Both celebrities are silent about the civil marriage of the singer with the popular performer Soso Pavliashvili. Another happy relationship, lasting four years, Irina had with the famous doctor Dmitry Pushkar. But banal stupidity led to parting. Dmitry was jealous of Ponarovskaya and suspected her of treason only because she had a fun conversation with a fan on the phone.
Then the star moved to Estonia, where she helped friends in charity projects and was engaged in the production of jewelry. Now the singer looks great, devotes considerable time to her grandchildren and from time to time appears on stage.
