Larisa Dolina

Larisa Aleksandrovna Dolina is a Russian jazz and pop singer and actress, born on September 10, 1955, in Baku, in the Azerbaijani SSR of the Soviet Union. Her parents were Ashkenazi Jews originally from Odessa — her father, Aleksandr Markovich Kudelman, worked in construction, and her mother, Galina Izrailevna Kudelman, was a seamstress. When Dolina was three years old, the family relocated to Odessa. At the age of six she enrolled in a music school, where she studied the cello.

Dolina's professional career began in 1971 with the performance group My Odessity. She subsequently served as lead singer for the State Performing Orchestra of Armenia, the State Performing Orchestra of Azerbaijan, and the performing group Sovremennik. In 1981, she participated in the "Anthology of jazz vocals" tour alongside Weyland Rodd. The following year, she performed the song "Tri belyh konya" for the soundtrack of the 1982 film Charodei, and in 1984 she sang in the musical "Istoriya doktora Fausta."

In 1985, Dolina launched a solo career in collaboration with Leningrad-based composer Viktor Reznikov, developing concert programs including "Zatyazhnoy Pryzhok," "Kontrasty," "L'dinka," and "Malen'kaya Zhenschina." In 1990, she played the lead role in the rock opera "Giordano" opposite Valery Leontiev. The following year, she performed before 20,000 people at the Radio Prestige festival in La Rochelle, France, and received the "Best Female Singer" prize at the Russian national competition Profi. She was named an Honored Artist of Russia in 1993. In 1994, she won the "Crystal Dolphin" prize at the all-Russian competition in Yalta and received the national musical award "Ovation" in the "best female rock singer" category. In 1996, she won the "Ovation" award a second time, in the "best female pop singer" category.

In 1996, Dolina appeared on Broadway in the play Chicago. That same year she toured extensively, with performances in Baku, Almaty, Kyiv, Yerevan, Minsk, Riga, Kishinev, and Jerusalem, as well as cities across Europe and the United States. In 2004, she performed live at the Kostya Tszyu–Sharmba Mitchell boxing rematch in Phoenix, Arizona. In 2007, she performed several George Gershwin compositions at the Gershwin Gala at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow. Dolina was awarded the Order of Honour in 2005.

In 2010, Dolina played multiple roles, including the lead, in the musical "Lyubov and shpionazh," a work written specifically for her. In February 2011, she performed "Summertime" and "Wonder Where You Are" at a concert at Crocus City Hall dedicated to the songs of Al Jarreau, both of which appeared on her album "Hollywood Mood." Later that year she performed "Private Dancer" at the "Novaya Volna" competition and unveiled a new concert program, "Sny extraverta," in Kirov. In February 2012, she sang the national anthems of both Russia and Canada at a televised hockey game in Red Square marking the 40th anniversary of the 1972 rivalry between the two countries. She subsequently toured the United States that year, giving concerts in Boston, Las Vegas, and New York City.

As a film actress, Dolina appeared in "Barkhatniy sezon," "My iz dzhaza," "Ostrov pogibshih korabley," and "Suvenir dlia prokurora," among other productions. Her songs have been featured in more than 70 live action and animated films. In 2003, she joined the United Russia political party. Dolina supported the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the Presidential Administration of Russia placed her on a list of singers recommended for invitation to state-sponsored events. In January 2023, Ukraine imposed sanctions on her, followed by Canada in February of that year.

Dolina has been married three times: to Anatoly Mionchinsky from 1980 to 1987, to Victor Mityazov from 1987 to 1998, and to Ilya Spitsin from 1998 to 2016. Her daughter, Angelina Mionchinskaya, was born in 1983, and her granddaughter Alexandra was born on September 28, 2011.