Faina Georgievna Ranevskaya (1896–1984) played dozens of roles on stage and about thirty—on film. As a girl, the daughter of Taganrog industrialist Feldman, who chose an acting career against her parents’ wishes, dreamed of becoming Ranevskaya’s image from Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard”—and that’s why she took such a stage pseudonym. She played leading heroines in theatrical productions and films only rarely; most often her roles were secondary. Yet they were performed so brilliantly that they left audiences with an unforgettable impression. “The Queen of the Episode” became the stuff of legend even during her lifetime; her witty and sometimes sharp remarks turned into catchphrases, and even after the actress’s death she has been credited with new and new sayings.
Famous film journalist Gleb Skorokhodov was connected to Faina Ranevskaya by years-long friendship, and in the book about her he preserved the image of an extraordinary woman who knew how, like no one else, to look at everyday routine through the prism of sparkling humor. The foreword explains that this book—“although in form it resembles a diary, in no way is it a diary. The author recorded her impressions, the heroine’s stories, and dialogues with her from time to time. And she did this for five years.” As a result, a coherent picture emerged, the content of which is the entire life of the great actress. The English encyclopedia “Who’s Who?” included her among the top ten most outstanding actresses of the 20th century.