Maria Andreyeva

Maria Fyodorovna Andreyeva (, Mariya Fyodorovna Andreyeva) was the stage name of Maria Fyodorovna Yurkovskaya (4 July 1868 – 8 December 1953), a Russian/Soviet actress and Bolshevik administrator. Early life Her father, Fyodor Alexandrovich Fyodorov-Yurkovsky (, 1842–1915) was the director of the Alexandrinsky Theatre, and her mother was an actress. She followed into the steps of her parents. After drama school she went to Kazan, aged 18. She married Andrey Zhelyabuzhsky, who was her elder by 18 years. He was controller of the Kursk and Nizhny Novgorod railroads, but was also involved in theatre. The couple had two children, Yuri (1888–1955) and Yekaterina (born 1894). Yuri went on to become a film director. Early career After Zhelyabuzhsky received a new post, the family moved to Tiflis, where she had success as an actress. They next moved to Moscow, where Andreyeva worked with Konstantin Stanislavski at the Moscow Art Theatre. She made her Moscow debut on 15 December 1894. She enjoyed great success.