Stars From a shy student to a legend: what was the fate of Leonid Kuravlev

The future actor was born in Moscow. His parents were very far from acting – his mother worked as a hairdresser and his father as an aircraft factory mechanic. In the early 1940s, the Kuravlyov family experienced difficulties. Leni’s mother was convicted (this happened often). Details were not known, but guilt was established. The woman was exiled from Moscow to the Murmansk region. Valentina Dmitrievna left with her son, leaving her husband in Moscow.

Mother and son lived on the Kola Peninsula for several years. The woman worked there and the boy studied. According to Kuravlev himself, that time was the happiest in his childhood. When the family returned to the capital, they literally had nothing to live on.

After graduating from a Moscow school, young Kuravlev decided to enter VGIK. Even in the upper class, teachers noticed Leonid’s talent. Mathematics was difficult for the boy, but playing in school plays went with a bang. After he played the main role in the play “Love Yarovaya” everyone began to respect Leonid. The future star’s sister made fun of her brother for years. She played a joke on Kuravlev, they say, go to the theater.

From the first attempt, Kuravlev failed to pass the competition. The guy didn’t prepare and doubted his creative abilities. But after the failed exams, he decided to go all out.

For the first two years after the “non-acceptance”, Leonid tried to master the usual labor profession. The family made fun of the guy who dreamed of acting. But something caught Kuravlev’s attention at VGIK and he decided to do it again. This time, Leonid managed to get through huge competition.

The future star could not open the first two courses – teachers scolded Kuravlev for shyness and complexes. One of the teachers even threatened expulsion. But something influenced the shy Kuravlev after all. In the third year, Leonid showed himself in all his glory – the guy became confident and charismatic.

Once the guys from the director’s department saw Kuravlev’s play. Alexander Gordon and Andrei Tarkovsky were interested in the talented student. They invited him to star in their thesis. It was a debut for Leonid.

A year later, the smart student was invited to several more films. One of the films was made by Vasily Shukshin as a diploma. The director saw “his” hero in Leonid. Later, Shukshin invited the actor to his other film works.

At the director’s funeral, Leonid thanked his mentor for believing in him. In honor of Vasily Shukshin, the legendary actor named his son.

At the age of 16, Lenya met his first and only love. It was Nina, a seventh grader. Despite the age difference, Kuravlev fell in love with the girl and never let her go.

The actor graduated from VGIK and began to act in serious film projects. As soon as Kuravlev got to his feet, he proposed to Ninochka. At that time, the girl was still studying at the institute with a degree in foreign languages. According to relatives, Leonid and Nina almost never quarreled all their lives and supported each other. The couple lived together for over 50 years. Leonid Vyacheslavovich himself never told the press the details of his personal life.

Two children grew up in the Kuravly family. The girl Katya studied at Pike, but did not follow in her father’s footsteps – a little later she was fascinated by medicine. Kuravlev’s daughter thus became a famous psychotherapist. Son Vasily also did not become an actor – Kuravlev Jr. he graduated from the Road Institute and became a candidate of economic sciences.

In an interview, Kuravlev admitted that the main value for him is his family. The actor prefers not to talk about his personal life, because, as you know, happiness loves silence.

Literally a year after the small comment, a misfortune happened in his family – the actor’s beloved wife died. Nina Vasilievna had a heart attack, but she did not call the doctors until the next day.

After the death of his wife, Leonid closed himself off from the press, lost a lot of weight and fell into a severe depression. The daughter moved in with her father to help him emotionally recover from the tragedy.

Kuravlev’s last film venture was the 2015 film All This Jam. On January 30, 2022, Leonid Vyacheslavovich left.

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Photo: Legion media, Persona Stars