Zhanna Vladimirovna Friske (; born Zhanna Vladimirovna Kopylova; 8 July 1974 – 15 June 2015), was a Russian actress, singer and model. She was a member of the girl group

Blestyashchiye Blestyashchiye ( rus, Блестя́щие, p=blʲɪˈsʲtʲæɕːɪɪ, lit. '' the brilliant ones'') is one of the first all-girl singing groups in Russia. History 1996–1999: "Tam, tol'ko tam" and "Prosto mechty" Originally Blestyashchiye con ...

Family

Her father Vladimir Kopylov (later known as Vladimir Friske) is of German descent; his mother Paulina Friske was born to a Black Sea German family in the

Odesa Oblast Odesa Oblast (), also referred to as Odeshchyna (Одещина), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of southwestern Ukraine, located along the northern coast of the Black Sea. Its administrative centre is the city of Ode ...

in the then

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. She graduated from secondary school No. 406, Perovo District, Moscow, in 1991. She studied journalism at

Moscow University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and six branches. Al ...

, but abandoned it. Friske's

common-law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prec ...

husband was Russian singer and television personality Dmitry Shepelev. On 7 April 2013 the couple announced via Friske's official Web site that Friske had given birth to a son in Miami, Florida.

Career

She first became famous when she joined the band Blestyashchie in 1996, which she left in 2003 to embark on a solo career as a singer, actress and occasional model. She was best known for her roles in such films as ''

Night Watch Night Watch or Nightwatch may refer to: Being on duty at night * The nighttime shift worked by a security guard (night watchman) * Watchman (law enforcement), organized groups of men to deter criminal activity and provide law enforcement * One of ...

'' and '' Day Watch'' as Alisa Donnikova. A 20-minute love scene involving Friske was edited from ''Day Watch'' by the director,

Timur Bekmambetov Timur Nuruakhitovich Bekmambetov (, ; ; born 25 June 1961) is a Kazakh-born Russian film director, producer, screenwriter, and tech entrepreneur. He is best known for the fantasy epic '' Night Watch'' (2004) and the action thriller '' Wanted' ...

, the last installment of the trilogy, '' Final Watch''. Her most successful single was ''I Was'', which reached the top of the Russian charts; her album was also a major success reaching the top in all Russian-speaking countries. In 1996, she started her creative career by joining the singing group

which recorded four solo albums and issued 3 solo programs for their fans. In 2003 she took part in the reality show '' The last hero-4'' up to its final moment. Immediately after returning from that island shooting she announced her withdrawal from Blestyashchiye to begin a solo career. In 2005, she participated again in the reality show '' The last hero-5''. In 2008, she skated with

Vitaly Novikov Vitali Novikov (born 13 January 1979) is a Russian former competitive ice dancer Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Ska ...

and

Maxim Marinin Maxim Viktorovich Marinin (, born 23 March 1977) is a Russian former competitive pair skater. With partner Tatiana Totmianina, he is the 2006 Olympic champion, two-time World champion, and five-time European champion. Career Marinin was bor ...

in '' Ice Age 2''. On 4 October 2005, her first solo album was released under the name of ''Jeanna''. Some of the songs have been released as music videos: ''I am Flying Into the Darkness'', ''La–La-La'', ''Somewhere in Summer''. She appeared in ''

'' (2004) as Alisa Donnikova. Although most of her scenes were cut, she had a more prominent role in the sequel, '' Day Watch'', and appeared on its posters. She performed many

stunt A stunt is an unusual, difficult, dramatic physical feat that may require a special skill, performed for artistic purposes usually for a public audience, as on television or in theaters or cinema. Stunts are a feature of many action films. Befo ...

s. She played herself in the film ''

What Men Talk About ''What Men Talk About'' (Russian: ''О чём говорят мужчины'') is a 2010 Russian comedy written and directed by Dmitriy Dyachenko, filmed in the genre of road movie based on the Russian play ''Conversations middle-aged men have abou ...

'' (2010), a performance of the popular play ''Conversations of the middle-aged men'' by the

Kvartet I Kvartet I (/i/, ) is a Russian theater company founded in Moscow in 1993 by a group of graduates from the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts. Kvartet I also made a few films including ''Election Day''. The founding members of ''Kvartet I'' were: Kam ...

. She played a major part in the detective story

Klim Shipenko Klim Alekseevich Shipenko (; born 16 June 1983) is a Russian film director, screenwriter, cinematographer, actor, producer, and cosmonaut. Biography Early life Shipenko was born in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Russia). In 2002, he ent ...

's '' Who Am I?'', released in 2010. She also performed the Russian voice for Holley Shiftwell in Pixar's ''

Cars 2 ''Cars 2'' is a 2011 American animated spy comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is the sequel to '' Cars'' (2006), the second film in the ''Cars'' franchise, and the 12th animated film from the studio ...

''.

Illness and death

On 20 January 2014,Жизнь по имени Жанна. Как девушка из шоу-бизнеса стала символом мужества и народной героиней
Gazeta.ru, 16 June 2015. her husband, Dmitry Shepelev, announced via Friske's website that Friske had been diagnosed with cancer. Other sites reported that Friske had been diagnosed with a stage IV

glioblastoma Glioblastoma, previously known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is the most aggressive and most common type of cancer that originates in the brain, and has a very poor prognosis for survival. Initial signs and symptoms of glioblastoma are nons ...

, a malignant brain tumor. She was diagnosed with cancer two months prior to giving birth to her child. She was offered chemotherapy during her pregnancy but she refused treatment to save her baby. In April 2013 she gave birth to a son. Her cancer worsened, and, on 15 June 2015, she died at age 40.

Filmography

Discography

;Albums * ''Zhanna'' (2005)

Singles

* ''La-La-La'' (2004) * ''Somewhere in Summer'' (2005) * ''Mama Maria'' (2006) * ''Malinki'' (feat.

Diskoteka Avariya Diskoteka "Avariya" ( - ''Disco "Accident"'') are a Russian band from Ivanovo, Russia. The duo consists of Aleksey Borisovich Serov (Алексей Борисович Серов) and Aleksey Olegovich Ryzhov (Алексей Олегович Ры ...

) (2006) * ''I Was'' (2007) * ''Jeanna Friske'' (2008) * ''American'' (2009) * ''Portofino'' (2009) * ''Vestern'' (with Tanya Tereshina) (2009) * ''Pilot'' (2011) * ''Ty Ryadom'' (feat. Geegun) (2011) * ''Forever'' (2012)

References

External links

*
Official Website of Jeanna Friske

Russian Actors Website

Jeanna Friske at the Forbes
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Friske, Jeanna 1974 births 2015 deaths Deaths from glioblastoma Russian women singers Russian film actresses Russian pop singers Russian socialites Russian people of German descent Actresses from Moscow Singers from Moscow Russian State University for the Humanities alumni Deaths from brain cancer in Russia Winners of the Golden Gramophone Award