Maria Vladimirovna Mironova (; – 13 November 1997) was a Soviet and Russian actress who worked in film, television and theatre. She was a member of the popular comedy-duo Mironova and Menaker (), which she performed with her husband, , for decades on stage. Her son, Andrei Mironov, was a well-known actor. She was named

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. The term is confusingly used to translate two Russian language titles: Народный арти ...

by the Soviet government in 1991.

Life and career

Mironova was born in Moscow to Elizaveta Ivanovna Firsova, a schoolteacher, and Vladimir Nikolayevich Mironov, a merchant from a family. In 1927, Mironova graduated from the Lunacharsky State Institute for Theatre Arts ( the

Russian Institute of Theatre Arts The Russian Institute of Theatre Arts (GITIS) () is the largest and oldest independent drama school, theatrical arts school in Russia. Located in Moscow, the school was founded on 22 September 1878 as the Shostakovsky Music School. It became the ...

). She became a member of the popular comedy-duo Mironova and Menaker, which she performed on stage with her husband, Alexander Menaker, for about three and a half decades since the duo debuted in 1939, until Menaker's death in 1982. They typically acted out scenes of a quarrelling couple; Mironova's characters were often a domineering and ignorant wife, whilst Menaker always took the role of a weak-willed husband. Each sketch they performed took no more than five minutes. The memoir ''...In Their Repertoire'' () was published in 1984, written by Mironova in co-authorship with her husband, who had died two years prior to the publication. She acted on stage for the last time in 's play ''The Old Man Left the Old Woman'' () just a few days before her hospitalisation and death. Mironova died on 13 November 1997, at the age of 86, at the

Moscow Central Clinical Hospital The Central Clinical Hospital of the Administrative directorate of the President of the Russian Federation () (also called "Kremlin Hospital", "Kremlyovka" and the "Kremlin Clinic") is a heavily guarded facility 14 kilometres west of the Kremlin ...

. She was buried at

Vagankovo Cemetery Vagankovo Cemetery () is located in the Presnensky District of Moscow, Russia. It was established in 1771, in an effort to curb 1770–1772 Russian plague, an outbreak of bubonic plague in Central Russia. The cemetery was one of those created ou ...

next to her son, who had died ten years earlier.

Selected filmography

* ''

Volga-Volga ''Volga-Volga'' () is a Soviet musical comedy directed by Grigori Aleksandrov, released on April 24, 1938. It centres on a group of amateur performers on their way to Moscow to perform in a talent contest called the Moscow Musical Olympiad. Mo ...

'' (1938) * ' (1954) * ''

The Boys from Leningrad ''The Boys from Leningrad'' () is a 1954 Soviet sports comedy film directed by Semyon Timoshenko. The film tells the story of a promising young footballer who steps up to save his team both on the field and in goal, while navigating romantic riva ...

'' (1954) * ''

Did We Meet Somewhere Before ''Did We Meet Somewhere Before'' () is a 1954 Soviet comedy film directed by Nikolay Dostal and Andrey Tutyshkin. Plot The film tells about the successful comic actor Gennadiy Maksimov who goes with his wife, Larisa, to the Crimea. But suddenl ...

'' (1954) * ' (1958) * ' (1969) * '' An Almost Funny Story'' (1977) * ' (1980) * ' (1980) * ' (1985)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mironova, Maria Vladimirovna 1911 births 1997 deaths Actresses from Moscow Burials at Vagankovo Cemetery People's Artists of the USSR Soviet film actresses Soviet stage actresses Soviet television actresses Honored Artists of the RSFSR Soviet voice actresses Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class People's Artists of the RSFSR