Marina Vladi (born Ekaterina-Marina Polyakova-Baidarova) was born on May 10, 1938, in Clichy, France, into a family of Russian émigrés who had fled Russia after the 1917 Revolution. In her childhood, she studied ballet but ultimately chose the path of acting. She landed her first role at the age of ten in Jean Guéret’s play Summer Storm. From that moment on, the stage and cinema became her life.

Over her career, Vladi appeared in approximately one hundred films. She worked with directors from various countries and cinematic schools, and her name became synonymous with European cinema of the mid-to-late 20th century. Audiences remember her from films such as Compelling Evidence, The Witch, Dreams of Russia, and Days of Love. For her leading role in The Queen Bee, she won an award at the Cannes Film Festival, one of the highest honors in the film world.

However, for many in Russia and beyond, Marina Vladi remains, above all, the woman who shared her life with the legendary poet and singer Vladimir Vysotsky. They met in the 1960s, and their romance became one of the most sensational and tragic in the history of Soviet culture. They were officially married on January 13, 1970, and lived together for ten years, until the poet’s death in 1980.

After Vysotsky’s passing, Marina Vladi wrote the book Vladimir, or The Interrupted Flight. It was not merely a memoir, but a heartfelt attempt to preserve the voice and image of the man she loved. A stage play of the same name was later created based on this book.

Marina Vladi was married four times. In addition to Vysotsky, she was married to actor Robert Hossein, with whom she shared years of both life and creative collaboration. She also composed music and authored several books, including memoirs, and continued to work in the arts well into her later years.

The Belarusian Connection

There is also a distinct Belarusian chapter in Marina Vladi’s biography. In 1969, she traveled to Belarus with Vladimir Vysotsky. They stayed in an ordinary village house in the village of Litovka, near Novogrudok, about ten kilometers from Lake Svityaz. They slept in a hayloft, walked through the surrounding countryside, and visited the town of Novogrudok. This trip was, in essence, their honeymoon, although they would not officially marry until half a year later.

Vysotsky was in Belarus for film-related work: his friend, director Viktor Turov, was shooting the film Sons Go to Battle based on a script by Ales Adamovich, and Vysotsky was composing songs for the picture. On the set, in a single night, he wrote three pieces: the title track, as well as He Did Not Return from the Battle and Song About the Earth. It is widely believed that it was precisely after this 1969 trip to Litovka that one of his finest lyrical songs was born: «Here the paws of the fir trees tremble in mid-air.»

Those who saw Vysotsky and Vladi during that time recalled that they were literally glowing with happiness.

The cause of Marina Vladi’s death has not yet been publicly reported.