Biography

Kira Golovko is a Russian actress of Moscow Art Theatre (MKhAT).

She was born Kira Nikolaevna Ivanova on March 11, 1919, in Essentuki, Stavropol province, Russia. In 1936 - 1937 she studied Russian literature at Moscow Institute of Philosophy, Literature, and Arts. In 1938 Golovko made her stage debut as Milk in 'Sinyaya ptitsa' (aka.. The Blue Bird) by Maurice Maeterlinck.

Since 1938 Kira Golovko was a permanent member of the troupe at Moscow Art Theatre (MKhAT). There her stage partners were such renown Russian actors as Olga Knipper-Chekhova, Ivan Moskvin, Nikolay Khmelyov, Alla Tarasova, Anatoli Ktorov, Olga Androvskaya, Angelina Stepanova, Anastasiya Georgievskaya, Mikhail Yanshin, Aleksey Gribov, Boris Livanov, Mikhail Kedrov, Viktor Stanitsyn, Vasili Toporkov, Mark Prudkin, Pavel Massalsky, and others. Golovko made acclaimed stage appearances in Anton Chekhov's classic plays, such as Olga in 'Tri Sestry' (aka.. The Three Sisters), and various characters in other plays. She also shone as Dolly in 'Anna Karenina', an adaptation of the eponymous novel by Lev Tolstoy, as Natasha in 'Na dne' (aka.. The Lower Bottoms) by Maxim Gorky, and starred in the title role in 'Maria Stuart'.

In the course of her career Kira Golovko played various roles in 44 plays at Moscow Art Theatre (MKhAT). She also worked on stage with the next generations of MKhAT actors, such as Oleg Efremov, Tatyana Doronina, Evgeniy Evstigneev, Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy, Oleg Tabakov, Kristina Babushkina, Alla Pokrovskaya, Olga Barnet, Tatyana Lavrova, Iya Savvina, Nina Gulyaeva, Elena Panova, Darya Moroz, Olga Litvinova, Natalya Rogozhkina, Ekaterina Semyonova, Olga Yakovleva, Raisa Maksimova, Irina Miroshnichenko, Evgeniya Dobrovolskaya, Anastasiya Voznesenskaya, Andrey Myagkov, Stanislav Lyubshin, Vladimir Kashpur, Vladlen Davydov, Viktor Sergachyov, Vyacheslav Nevinnyy, Evgeniy Kindinov, Vladimir Krasnov, Sergei Desnitsky, Dmitriy Nazarov, Sergey Sazontev, Avangard Leontev, Igor Vasilev, Igor Vernik, Sergei Sosnovsky, Mikhail Porechenkov, Konstantin Khabenskiy, Valeri Khlevinsky, Aleksei Agapov, Valeriy Troshin, Mikhail Trukhin, Eduard Chekmazov, Aleksey Kravchenko, and Evgeniy Mironov among others. During the 2000s Golovko made appearances Milonova in 'Les' (aka.. The Forest) by Aleksandr Ostrovskiy, and as Assunta opposite Irina Miroshnichenko in 'Tatuirovannaya Roza' (aka.. The Rose Tattoo) by Tennessee William, directed by Roman Viktyuk.

Kira Golovko was designated People's Actress of Russia (1957). She was awarded the Stalin's Prize (1947), and received numerous decorations from the Soviet and Russian governments. She is living in Moscow, Russia.