Kristina Orbakaitė

Kristina Orbakaitė
Kristina Orbakaitė (2010)
Born	Kristina Orbakaite (Кристина Орбакайте) May 25, 1971 Moscow, Soviet Union
Occupation	singer-songwriter actress record producer
Years active	1983-present
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Spouse(s)	Vladimir Presnyakov Jr. (m. 1987; div. 1996) Ruslan Baisarov (m. 1997; div. 2002) Mikhail Zemtsov (m. 2005)
Children	3
Parent(s)	Alla Pugacheva Mykolas Orbakas
Musical career
Genres	synthpop pop rock
Instruments	vocals
Associated acts	Alla Pugacheva, Vladimir Presnyakov Jr.
Website	www.orbakaite.ru

Kristina Orbakaitе (Russian: Кристина Орбакайте, Lithuanian: Kristina Orbakaitė, born 25 May 1971), better known as Kristina Orbakaite is a Russian singer^[1] and actress. Her parents are Russian pop star Alla Pugacheva^[2] and Lithuanian circus performer Mykolas Orbakas. Meritorious Artist of Russia (2013).

Biography

Kristina Orbakaite was born in Moscow and spent much of her childhood between Šventoji, the home of her father's parents, and Moscow, the home of her mother's parents. After the couple divorced in 1973, she was brought to Moscow by her mother, Alla Pugacheva, and lived with her maternal grandparents.

At the age of 7, she debuted in the Soviet children's television program "Veseliye Notki" (Happy Musical Notes) with the song "Solnyshko Smeetsa" (The Sun Laughs). In 1982, she was cast in the leading role of "Lena Bessoltseva" in Scarecrow, a film by Rolan Bykov based on the Vladimir Zheleznikov play of the same name.^[3] Production began in 1982 and the film premiered in 1984. It became a critical success, not only in Russia but also overseas, and turned Orbakaite into a child star.^[4]

Alongside her acting, Orbakaite continued with her budding singing career. In 1983, she sang "A znayesh, vse yesche budet" (You know, it will all happen yet) in a duet with her mother. In 1985, she sang the song "Pust' Govoryat" in the popular TV program "Utrenyaya Pochta" (Morning Mail).

Now a young woman, Kristina appeared in the films Vivat, gardemariny! (1991), Gardemariny 3 (1992), Blagotvoritelny Bal (1993), and Limita (1994). In 1992, she sang "Pogovorim" (We'll talk) at a holiday show sponsored by her mother. The song became a hit and launched Orbakaite as a pop star. In 1994, she released her debut album titled "Vernost" (Fidelity).

Having met with success in film and music, Orbakaite tried her hand at the theater, appearing in 1995 as Helen Keller in an adaptation of Gibson's The Miracle Worker on the stage of the Moscow Artists' Theater. She subsequently received an award from the Russian Ministry of Culture for best female theatrical performance.

In 1996, Orbakaite joined her mother, Alla Pugacheva, her step-father, the singer Philipp Kirkorov, and her husband, the singer Vladimir Presnyakov on a family performance tour through the United States titled "Zvezdnoye Leto" (Starry Summer). During this tour, she performed for the first time at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Later the same year, Orbakaite released her second album, titled "Nol' Chasov, Nol' Minut" (Zero Hours, Zero Minutes).

In 1998, Orbakaite released her third solo album, "Ty" (You). It included 12 new songs, 5 of which were suggested by Alla Pugacheva from compositions created for her, including "Muzikant" (Musician), "Navsegda" (Forever), "Pegiy Pes" (Spotted Dog), "Smorodina" (Currant), and "Ptitsy" (Birds). She also appeared in the films "Doroga, dorogoy, dorogaya" (1997, Road, dear man, dear woman) and "Fara" (1998).

In 2000, Orbakaite won at the World Music Awards in Monte Carlo as the best-selling Russian singer.^[5] Later that year, she released her fourth album, titled "May". In 2001, she appeared in the film "Zhenskoye schastye" (A Woman's Happiness).

In 2002, she released her fifth album, "Ver v chudesa" (Believe in miracles) and appeared in the television series "Moskovskaya saga" (Moscow Saga). She again became Russia's best-selling singer and won the World Music Awards for the second time. In 2003, she released her sixth album, "Pereletnaya ptitsa" (Wandering bird) and in 2005, she released her seventh album, "My life". The same year, she won the "MUZ-TV" award in the category "Best female singer".

In 2006, Orbakaite appeared in the comedy "Lyubov-morkov" (Love-carrot) together with Gosha Kutsenko. The film was a hit in Russia, bringing in a domestic box office of $11.5 million, and spawning two sequels, with the second film coming out in 2008 and the third in 2011. Amid filming the series, Orbakaite released her eight album, titled "Slyshish - eto ya" (Listen - it's me).

In 2011, Orbakaite celebrated her 40th birthday and, as part of celebrating the year, unveiled a new performance program and a new album, both titled "Potseluy na bis" (Encore kiss). Two years later, in April 2013, she released a new music video for her song "Maski" (Masks) and began a tour of the Baltic countries. She also received the award of "Honored Artist of the Russian Federation" from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

She is currently married to a Russian-American businessman named Mikhail Zemtsov. They have a daughter, Claudia, born on March 30, 2012. Orbakaite also has two sons from previous marriages: Nikita born in 1991, and Deni born in 1998.

Musical career

Orbakaitė's mother Alla Pugacheva.

She made her singing debut in 1992 with the song "Pogovorim" (Let's Talk). After two years, she released her first album "Vernost'". Kristina was awarded a "World Music Award" in 2002 for the "Best Selling Russian Artist", and "MuzTV Music Award" in 2005 and 2006 for the "Best Female singer" in Russia.

Awards

Albums

• 1994 – Верность "Fidelity"
• 1996 – Ноль Часов, Ноль Минут "Zero Hours, Zero Minutes"
• 1998 – Ты "You"
• 1999 – Той Женщине, Которая... "To That Woman, Who.."
• 2000 – Май "May"
• 2001 – The Best
• 2001 – Remixes
• 2002 – Верь В Чудеса "Believe in Miracles"
• 2002 – Океан Любви "Ocean of Love"
• 2003 – Перелетная Птица "Wandering Bird"
• 2005 – My Life
• 2008 – Слышишь.. это я "Listen...it's me"
• 2009 – The Best Part 1 and Part 2
• 2011 – Поцелуй на бис "Encore Kiss"
• 2013 – Маски "Masks"

Selected filmography

Year	Original Title	Title on English	Role	Notes
1983	Чучело	Scarecrow	Lena Bessoltseva
1991	Виват, гардемарины!	Vivat, Gardes-Marines!	Fiquet
1992	Гардемарины 3	Gardes-Marines 3	Fiquet
1993	Благотворительный бал	Charity ball	Shirli
1995	Лимита	Limita	Katya
1997	Незнайка на Луне	Dunno on the Moon	Zvyozdochka	Voice
1999	Фара	Fara	Neznakomka (unknown woman)
1999	Незнайка на Луне 2	Dunno on the Moon 2	Zvyozdochka	Voice
2003	Снежная Королева	The Snow Queen	Gerda
2004	Московская сага	Moscow saga / Generations of Winter	Vera Gorda	TV-series
2007	Любовь-морковь	Lyubov-Morkov (transliteration)	Marina Golubeva	"Любовь-морковь" is the russian idiom which literally translates as "Love-carrot". The english phrase "Lovey-dovey" has a close meaning.
2008	Любовь-морковь 2	Lyubov-Morkov 2	Marina Golubeva
2010	Любовь-морковь 3	Lyubov-Morkov 3	Marina Golubeva
2014	Тайна четырех принцесс	The mystery of the four princesses	Queen Gurunda

References

1. Touzmohamed, Erkin (16 November 1996). "Music Publishing Sector Slowly Emerging in Russia". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media) 108 (46): 58. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
2. Horton, Andrew; Brashinsky, Michael (1992). The zero hour: glasnost and Soviet cinema in transition. Princeton University Press. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-691-01920-8. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
3. Lawton, Anna M. (1992). The Red screen: politics, society, art in Soviet cinema. Psychology Press. pp. 287–288. ISBN 978-0-415-07819-1. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
4. Howe, Desson (1987-11-20). "‘Scarecrow’ (NR)". Washington Post. Retrieved 2013-08-11.
5. "The World Music Awards". http://web.archive.org. Archived from the original on October 15, 2000. Retrieved 2013-03-19. External link in |publisher= (help)

External links

• Official Website of Kristina Orbakaite
• Kristina Orbakaite at world music awards 2000
• Kristina Orbakaitė at the Forbes
• Kristina Orbakaitė discography at Discogs