Natalya Varley

Natalya Varley (, born 22 June 1947) is a Soviet and Russian film and theater actress, who became famous in 1966 for her part in the comedy Kidnapping, Caucasian Style. In 1989 she was designated as a Meritorious Artist of RSFSR.

Biography Natalya Varley was born in Constanţa, Romania, a daughter of the sea captain Vladimir Viktorovich Varley, who was also a one-time City Council chairman (Mayor, in modern terms) of Murmansk where the family lived. One of his 19th century paternal ancestors was a Welsh jockey who (along with his brother) had been invited to Russia to manage a horse-breeding factory, married a Russian and settled there. Natalya's mother, Ariadna Sergeyevna Varley (née Senyavina), a granddaughter of geologist Yevgeny Barbot de Marni, was of French and German origins, a distant relative to Alexey K. Tolstoy.

As an artistic child she started writing poetry at the age of four, and was fond of painting and studied music. In the late 1950s, as the family settled in Moscow, she entered the Tsvetnoy Boulevard Circus's Children Studio and made quick progress there, which was all the more impressive, considering she'd been a sickly child and suffered from rheumatism-related heart disorder, which for several years prevented her from taking part in sports at school.

Career In 1965, in Odessa where the troupe was on tour, Varley met Soviet clown and film actor Leonid Yengibarov. He proved to be a kindred spirit and became a close friend, as well as occasional stage partner. During the filming Varley was spotted by the assistant of another film director, Leonid Gaidai, who invited her to the auditions for his new project, Kidnapping, Caucasian Style.

In 2010, Varley joined the United Russia party. In 2013, she was one of the organizers of the 20th anniversary event commemorating the victims of the 3–4 October 1993 events.

For "statements contradicting the interests of our national security" she was banned from entering Ukraine.

Private life In 1967 Natalya Varley married actor Nikolay Burlyaev, to a dismay of her circle of friends who tried to put it to her how passionately her fellow student Leonid Filatov was in love with her. The marriage proved to be an unhappy one and lasted less than a year. Her second husband was actor Vladimir Tikhonov, son of Vyacheslav Tikhonov and Nonna Mordyukova. In January 1972 Natalya gave birth to her first son, Vasily, but that was after the couple divorced. In 1990 Vladimir Tikhonov, long history of alcohol and drug abuse behind him, died of heart failure. Her second son, Alexander was born in 1986; the identity of his father remained unknown to the media. In 1999 Varley married for the third time ("His name is Vladimir and he is definitely not an actor," was as much as she told the press), but again this marriage proved to be short-lived.

Select filmography Kidnapping, Caucasian Style (1966) as Nina Viy (1967) as Pannochka The Seven Brides of Lance-Corporal Zbruyev (1970) as Galina The Twelve Chairs (1971) as Liza Circus in the Circus (1974) as Tana Errors of Youth (1978) as Zina I Don't Want to Be an Adult (1982) as Katya Guest from the Future (1985) as Marta Erastovna The Wizard of Emerald City (1994 film) as Bastinda/Gingema