Khlibko Elena Vladimirovna — a Russian film and television actress. Her path began in Nizhny Novgorod: shows by local fashion designers, work as a television journalist, and a victory in a city beauty pageant [1]. Born in 1977 [2].
Nizhny Novgorod beginnings
Khlibko began her career at sixteen as a model: shows by well-known Nizhny Novgorod fashion designers, appearances in commercials — already at that stage not only as a model but as an actress as well [1].
Alongside this, she worked in local television. From 1994 to 1996 she was a journalist and segment author for the programme Molodyozhny Proyekt (Youth Project) on NNTV; from 1996 to 1997, journalist, presenter, and segment author for the programme Utro dlya Vsekh (Morning for Everyone) on the Nizhny Novgorod branch of GTRK; from 1997 to 1998, co-presenter of the programme Moy Ofis (My Office) on the television company Dialog [1].
In 1997 Khlibko took first place in the Miss Fa Nizhny Novgorod pageant and represented the city at the all-Russian Miss Fa competition in Yalta. In 1998 she reached the top five finalists of the Miss Nizhny Novgorod pageant and received the title "Cover Girl," awarded by Volga (television company) [1].
The 1997–1998 pageants were covered extensively by Nizhny Novgorod publications — Argumenty i Fakty — Nizhny Novgorod, Vedomosti Nizhegorodskoy Gubernii, Monitor, Gorod i Gorozhane, Delo, Perekryostok Rossii, and Antenna; Moskovsky Komsomolets also wrote about the Nizhny Novgorod contestant. Clippings of these publications are collected on the actress's website [1].
Education
Her acting foundation came from study in Nizhny Novgorod: an acting class at the Gorky Theatre School (now the Nizhny Novgorod Theatre School) and NNTV — four years under the guidance of Igor Korsakov [2]. With him she also completed the School of Journalism at the Nizhny Novgorod branch of GTRK from 1994 to 1997, and from 1997 to 1998 she attended Georgy Molokin's School of Television Mastery at the television company Dialog [1].
A second strand of her education lay outside acting. From 1994 to 1999 Khlibko completed a higher legal education, after which she studied in postgraduate school [1]. In 2004 in Nizhny Novgorod she defended a dissertation for the degree of Candidate of Economic Sciences: the work was carried out at the economics department of the Nizhny Novgorod Institute of Management and Business and is devoted to the support infrastructure for small enterprise; her academic supervisor was Elvina Kulagina [3].
In 2012 Khlibko graduated from the Rance Enterprises Film Academy in Hollywood with a specialization in drama acting, comedy acting, and television technique; her instructor was Sara Ashton [1][2].
A theatrical surname
The name Khlibko was already known in Nizhny Novgorod theatre a generation earlier: Khlibko Nikolai Selivestrovich (1919–1993) was an actor and teacher, Honored Artist of the RSFSR. His studio at the Gorky Theatre School was graduated in 1968 by the future actor and director Alexander Pankratov-Chorny [4].
Roles
Her first role was Margo in the 1996 film Ssadina (Abrasion). From 2010 onward Khlibko has appeared regularly in Russian television series and television projects [1].
| Year | Project | Channel | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Ssadina, film | — | Margo, lead role |
| 2010 | Delo Astakhova (The Astakhov Case), season 1 | Domashniy | Olga Yashkina, Astakhov's client — lead role |
| 2011 | Sledaki (The Investigators) | REN TV | Olga, the prosecutor's wife |
| 2011 | Do Suda (Before Trial) | NTV | Larisa, a fraudulent psychic |
| 2012 | Zhenshchiny ne Proshchayut (Women Don't Forgive), season 1 | NTV | Anna, café owner — lead role |
| 2012 | Okhotniki za Prizrakami (Ghost Hunters), reality show | TV-3 | Yulia, apartment owner |
| 2012 | Gorodskiye Legendy (City Legends), season 3 | TV-3 | Irina Semyonova, reconstruction |
| 2013 | SashaTanya, episode 18 | TNT | shop assistant |
| 2013 | Delo Astakhova (The Astakhov Case), season 2 | Domashniy | Astakhov's client — lead role |
| 2013 | Okonchatelniy Verdikt (Final Verdict), episode 140 | NTV | Anna Lebodkina |
| 2013 | Ne Vri Mne (Don't Lie to Me), episode 361 | REN TV | Galya, a schoolteacher |
| 2014 | Sled (The Trail), episode 1062 | Channel 5 | Taisiya Kaplevich |
| 2014 | Ne Vri Mne (Don't Lie to Me), episode 594 | REN TV | Kseniya, a lawyer's wife |
| 2015 | Drugoy Mayor Sokolov (The Other Major Sokolov), episode 19 | NTV | registry office clerk |
| 2016 | Posledniy Ment (The Last Cop), episode 31 | Channel 5 | Larisa Berike |
Casting range
The main body of her work consists of Russian television series and television projects of the 2010s: courtroom shows, detective and family dramas, documentary reconstructions. Her roles range from supporting parts to leads: Astakhov's client across two seasons of Delo Astakhova, the café owner in Zhenshchiny ne Proshchayut, a doctor in Posledniy Ment [1].
A distinct section of her filmography comprises documentary reconstructions: in the REN TV series Nam i ne Snilos (We Never Dreamed It) Khlibko played Valerie Hobson, the wife of British minister John Profumo, and in Gorodskiye Legendy on TV-3 she played the central figure in a reconstruction of the history of the Yershovo estate [1].
Cannes
In May 2016 Khlibko attended the 69th Cannes Film Festival and, together with Fyodor Bondarchuk and Kirill Serebrennikov, visited the opening of the Russian pavilion presented by the company Roskino [5].
It was my first time on the Côte d'Azur, and I immediately noticed how people's attitude toward you changes when you speak French. I don't know French, but you should always have a couple of learned phrases at the ready — it helps you win over the locals. [5]
Sources
- elenakhlibko.com — Official website of the actress: biography, roles and television work, education
- web.archive.org — Kino-Teatr.RU (archived copy) — Khlibko Elena Vladimirovna — biography (archive)
- web.archive.org — Economics. Sociology. Management (archived copy) — Abstract of the dissertation for the degree of Candidate of Economic Sciences. Nizhny Novgorod, 2004 (archive)
- gorkyifest.ru — International Literary Festival named after Maxim Gorky — Alexander Pankratov-Chorny — graduate of N. S. Khlibko's studio at the Gorky Theatre School
- elenakhlibko.com — Cannes Film Festival 2016. 28 May 2016