Olga Androvskaya

Short Biography

Olga Androvskaya was an actress of Moscow Art Theatre best known for her role opposite Mikhail Zharov in Medved (1938).She was born Olga Nikolaevna Shultz, on July 31, 1898, in Moscow, Russia. From 1916 - 1918 she studied acting at the Studio of Feodor Chaliapin Sr., then attended the 2nd MKhAT Studio of Michael Chekhov, graduating in 1924 as an actress. In 1919, while a student, she made her stage debut at MKhAT.From 1924 to 1975 Olga Androvskaya was a permanent member of the troupe at Moscow Art Theatre (MKhAT). There her stage partners were such renown Russian actors as Konstantin Stanislavski, Aleksei Dikij, Ivan Moskvin, Alla Tarasova, Anatoli Ktorov, Mark Prudkin, Angelina Stepanova, Nikolay Khmelyov, Mikhail Yanshin, Aleksei Gribov, Boris Livanov, Mikhail Kedrov, Viktor Stanitsyn, Anastasiya Georgiyevskaya, Vasili Toporkov, Mikhail Bolduman, Pavel Massalsky, and the next generation of MKhAT actors - Oleg Efremov, Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy, Kira Golovko, Iya Savvina, Alla Pokrovskaya, Anastasiya Voznesenskaya, Irina Miroshnichenko, Oleg Tabakov, Andrey Myagkov, Vladimir Kashpur, Viktor Sergachyov, Vyacheslav Nevinnyy, Stanislav Lyubshin, Sergey Sazontev, Avangard Leontev, Igor Vasilev, and others. Androvskaya was a member of the board at Moscow Art Theatre (MKhAT). Her most acclaimed stage performances at Moscow Art Theatre were as Suzanna in 'The Marriage of Figaro' (1930) directed by Konstantin Stanislavski, and as Roxy Hart in 'Reklama' (1930). Her last stage role was as Pani Konti in 'Solo dlya chasov s boem' (1970) by director Oleg Efremov.Olga Androvskaya was designated People's Actress of the USSR. She was married to actor Nikolai Batalov, and the couple had one daughter, actress Svetlana Batalova. Olga Androvskaya died on March 31, 1975, in Moscow, and was laid to rest next to her husband, Nikolai Batalov, in Novodevichy Cemetery, Moscow, Russia.