Anna Volodymyrivna Sedokova (born 16 December 1982) is a Ukrainian singer, actress, and television presenter. She rose to prominence in 2002 as a member of the Russian pop girl group

Nu Virgos VIA Gra (), known outside of Ukraine and other nearby countries as Nu Virgos, was a Ukrainian girl group. The name VIA Gra is a triple wordplay; it is an allusion to the drug Viagra, the first three letters "ВИА" ("VIA") also stand for " vo ...

—known as "VIA Gra" in both Ukraine and the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization, regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an ar ...

—in which she was nicknamed Anya (). Following two years in the "golden line-up" of the group, she began pursuing a solo music career in 2006. Sedokova released a string of singles until her debut album ''Lichnoe'' (2016) was met with widespread commercial success, peaking at number two in Russia. Alongside her musical career, she achieved popular recognition as an actress and television presenter in various Ukrainian and Russian productions.

Early life and education

Sedokova was born in 1982 in Kiev (now

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

), Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union. Her parents, who had moved from

Tomsk Tomsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast in Russia, on the Tom (river), Tom River. Population: Founded in 1604, Tomsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia. It has six univers ...

, divorced when she was young. As a child, she developed an interest in music and dance, and eventually enrolled in the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts when she was 17. She continued her studies while also hosting television shows.

Career

Her first TV project was work as a

news anchor A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...

for the music TV channel, OTV. By the age of 18 she had worked in three TV programs: ''NEWS BLOK'', ''Fashionable Life'', and ''The Big Sunday News Digest''. In 2001 she passed an audition for the morning show ''Podjem'' (“Waking up”), which had the highest ratings in the country, on

Novyi Kanal Novyi Kanal ( , ) is a Ukrainian television channel. The channel is a part of the Starlight Media broadcasting group, created by Viktor Pinchuk. History The channel was launched on July 15, 1998. At first, it was broadcast only in Kyiv, but ...

(New Channel). Between 2002 and 2004 she was a member of the

pop group. She appeared in a movie titled ''Cinderella'' and another based on a

Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; ; (; () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright of Ukrainian origin. Gogol used the grotesque in his writings, for example, in his works " The Nose", " Viy", "The Overcoat", and " Nevsky Prosp ...

's book, which was called ''The Evenings on the Homestead''. Her 2006 role in ''The Tunguska Meteorite'' was a turning-point and in 2008 she acted in ''The Power of Attraction''. Sedokova also started a solo-singer career. Her first video for the song "My Heart" reached the top of the charts and gained her an Audience Appreciation Award at the 5 STARS Sotchi Music Festival. Afterwards, she did a video for her song "The Very Best Girl" and "I Am Getting Used". Both videos were huge hits in Russia and Ukraine. But TV wouldn't let Sedokova go. ''TVStar Superstar'', the most expensive show in the country's history, aired on

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

in 2008. Every Sunday Sedokova was in the live broadcast of a 3-hour show with 400 participants. In 2009, Sedokova was named the best TV Host of the country by ''

Elle Elle may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Elle (magazine), ''Elle'' (magazine), a fashion publication ** Elle Style Awards * Elle (India), ''Elle'' (India), the Indian edition * Elle (film), ''Elle'' (film), a 2016 French film * ''Elle: ...

''. Sedokova's TV career developed - she became one of the faces of Channel One, the biggest Russian-speaking channel in the world. She also became a host of the show ''King of the Ring''. Sedokova hosted ''The New Songs About the Most Essential Thing'' - a big live concert in which the best 50 performers of the country participated. She also took part in ''Two Stars'' and ''

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

'' shows and entertained the public with a well received creative performance. These projects attracted tens of millions of viewers and became the highest rated shows on Russian TV. In 2011, Sedokova was the host of ''Project Runway Russia''. Also in 2011, '' The Pregnant'', with Sedokova as lead actress, was a great success. Sedokova's first book ''The Art of Seduction'' is still a best-seller in Russia. The theme of this book should be of no surprise to her audience – for several years in a row Sedokova remains the recipient of "Sexiest Female Award" as well as "Most beloved star" award (given to a star popular with all generations and both genders). She was also named "The Most Desirable Female Performer" in Russia.

Personal life

Sedokova married Belarusian footballer Valyantsin Byalkevich in 2004. A few months after their marriage, their daughter Alina was born on 8 December. The couple divorced in 2006, because of his cheating. Sedokova was married to businessman Maxim Chernyavsky from February 2011 to February 2013; the two had one daughter, Monika. In May 2017, reports emerged that Sedokova would marry Artyom Komarov (), a Russian businessman and the father of her third child, a son Hector. In August 2017, Sedokova announced that she had ended her relationship with Komarov. In September 2020, she married for the third time, to Latvian professional basketball player

Jānis Timma Jānis Timma (2 July 1992 – 17 December 2024) was a Latvian professional basketball player. Standing at , he mainly played at the small forward position. He also represented the senior Latvia men's national basketball team, Latvia national team ...

. In late 2024, Sedokova filed for a divorce from Timma. On 16 December, Timma was found dead following a suspected suicide on the occasion of Sedokova's 42nd birthday. In December 2010, Sedokova

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

during an online conference with the readers of the Ukrainian portal ''tochka.net''. She later confirmed it in an interview with ''

'', describing her sexual experiences with her female lovers as "wonderful". In 2013, she criticized the so-called "gay propaganda" law adopted by the

State Duma The State Duma is the lower house of the Federal Assembly (Russia), Federal Assembly of Russia, with the upper house being the Federation Council (Russia), Federation Council. It was established by the Constitution of Russia, Constitution of t ...

of the Russian Federation. In an interview with the radio station

Echo of Moscow Echo of Moscow () was a 24/7 commercial Russian radio station based in Moscow. It broadcast in many Russian cities, some of the former Soviet republics (through partnerships with local radio stations), and via the Internet. From 1996 its editor- ...

, the singer expressed bewilderment at the vague wording of the law, asking the question "what is propaganda?" Sedokova stated that the authors and supporters of the law "have no right to tell someone else whom to love and what to do". In 2020, Sedokova backed Kazakh singer Dequine, who spoke out against

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...

, in which she shared her own teenage experience and called for women to unite against such behavior. She also criticized

misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against Woman, women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than Man, men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been wide ...

in Russian music and

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...

on television.

Controversy

In 2014, Sedokova's acceptance of awards in Russia was met with criticism in Ukraine, owing to the recent outbreak of the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

at that time. In October 2022, amid the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, Sedokova was subjected to Ukrainian sanctions by the

National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, ( NSDCU; , ''RNBOU'') or RNBO, is the coordinating state body of the executive power under the President of Ukraine on issues of national security and defense. It is a state agency tasked wi ...

, along with other Ukrainian singers Taisia Povaliy and

Ani Lorak Karolina Myroslavivna Kuiek (born 27 September 1978), better known as Ani Lorak, is a Ukrainian singer. Having been awarded the title of People's Artist of Ukraine (revoked in 2024https://www.president.gov.ua/news/34-zradniki-ukrayini-pozbav ...

, in addition to TV presenter Regina Todorenko. Sedokova never publicly spoke out against the invasion.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

As lead artist

As a featured artist

Music videos

Filmography

*''Cinderella'', 2003 *''The Evenings On the Homestead'', 2004 *''Tunguska Meteorite'', 2007 *''The Power of Attraction'', 2008 *'' The Pregnant'', 2011 (Box Office Record in Russia in 2011)

Published works

*''Iskusstvo soblazneniya'' (), AST (2010)

Notes

References

External links

* *
Anna Sedokova
on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sedokova, Anna 1982 births Living people 21st-century Ukrainian actresses 21st-century Ukrainian women singers Actresses from Kyiv Bisexual singers Bisexual women musicians LGBTQ women singers Musicians from Kyiv Nu Virgos members Russian-language singers of Ukraine Television presenters from Kyiv Ukrainian bisexual people Ukrainian emigrants to the United States Ukrainian LGBTQ rights activists Ukrainian LGBTQ singers Ukrainian people of Russian descent Ukrainian pop singers Ukrainian women pop singers Ukrainian women television presenters