Elena Maksimova
Acting
Elena Alexandrovna Maksimova (23.11.1905—23.09.1986) was born in Moscow to a grocer father (he sold non-perishable goods) and a housewife mother, who was often ill. Apart from her, there were two other daughters in the family. Following her father's death in 1920, her mother was forced by poverty to send all three daughters to Orphanage No. 55, located in the Sokolniki district. Shortly after, in 1922, her mother also passed. Thus, at the age of 17, she was left completely orphaned. From an early age, Elena Maximova had dreamed of becoming an actress. When she finished schooling in 1925, she immediately went to the film studio attached to ‘Moskprofobor’ (Москпрофобр) to sit her entrance exams. There was only one free place available, and it went to Elena – as the most talented of all the applicants. From 1925 to 1927, she trained under the guidance of renowned film masters Vladimir Gardin and Konstantin Eggert. Alongside her studies at the film studio, Elena Maksimova had to work as a press operator at a button factory. She worked in film since 1927, appearing in productions by various film studios in Moscow and Leningrad. Between 1940 and 1964, she was an actress at the Soyuzdetfilm studio (now the Gorky Film Studio). Honoured Artist of the RSFSR (30 September 1958). The characters she portrayed were distinguished by their realism and attention to everyday detail. Her heroines were most often active, energetic and impetuous, yet she was equally at home with gentle, lyrical roles. She served Soviet cinema for nearly fifty years, and her work was modest and selfless — rarely in supporting roles, but more often in small cameos.
A Small Favor
To My People!
Assol
Streak of Luck
The Secret Agent's Return
Utkin's neighbour
The Secret of the Notebook
Glafira Petrovna
Carnival
visitor of the pawnshop
Rebirth
домработница Дарья Алексеевна
We'll Be Waiting, Come Back
babushka
Shot In The Back
Вера Николаевна
The Soldier and the Elephant
This Disturbing Winter
Storm on the Land
Without Father
The Last Meeting
Drenched Passerby
Conscience
Birds Over the City
Fulfillment of Desires
Duration of the Day
The Red Snowball Tree
episode
This Merry Planet
мать Прошки
The Sky Behind the Clouds
Right to Jump
Alkin songs
бабка Анфиса
Declaration of Love to G.T.
Old Woman
New Year's Abduction
Maksimova
Time to Live
Ivan Makarovich
The Gypsy
Lushchilikha
Such a Big Boy
Filippovna
Afterlight
Someone Else's Name
Babushka
The Conscience
Елена Евгеньевна
The Stars of the Day
Они не пройдут
The passenger of the tram
Beloved
Нина Петровна
Sorcerer Island
Marya Stepanovna
Black Business
Aunt Masha
Father of a Soldier
Borya's grandma
Early in the Morning
мать Жени Горохова
Null kolm
The Green House
Marfa Nikolayevna
Summer is Short in the Mountains
Praskovya Savvishna
Meeting at the Crossing
woman in boat
The Judgment
woman at a court hearing (uncredited)
No Fear, No Blame
janitor
Yevdokiya
Maryushka
In Transit
Miraculous One
The Song of Koltsov
Aleksey Koltsov's mother
The Sun Shines to Everyone
Pelageya Ivanovna
Strict Woman
A Home for Tanya
Makarikha
King of Diamonds
The Volunteers
owner of the hut (uncredited)
Rains
Quiet Flows the Don
Кошевая
The Tight Knot
Sasha's mother
Height
Berestova
Polyushko, pole
Other People's Relatives
Varvara Stepanovna
Two Captains
aunt Dasha
The Grasshopper
krestyanka iz Glukhova
The Frigid Sea
Дергачиха
The Country Doctor
First-Year Student
Woman with flowers
The Old Courtyard
жиличка
Личное дело
Vitya Surikov's mother
Stepan Razin
Woman in the crowd (uncredited)
Pugachev
Aerograd
Mariia Kudina
Men and Jobs
Worker woman (uncredited)
A Personal Affair
And Quiet Flows the Don
Daria Melekhova
Earth
Natalia, Vasyl's bride
Ranks and People
Modest's servant - Anna na shee
The Other Woman
Provincial lady
The Last Attraction
Polly
A Bright City
Marusenka
The Peasant Women of Ryazan
A soldier widow