Nelly Pshennaya is the most aristocratic actress of Soviet cinema. So, at least, the directors considered, who offered her to play exclusively the baroness, princesses and secular ladies. Millet one of the first Soviet actresses laid bare her breast in the frame.
Childhood and youth
Nelly Nikolaevna Pshennaya, nee Tiennal, was born on January 1, 1947 in Tallinn. Her father was a military man, and the family constantly changed not only cities, but also countries. However, Nelly’s childhood passed mainly in Estonia, where she graduated from high school. Her parents lived in Tallinn, although subsequently they had the opportunity to move to Russia.
Right after the final exams, Pshennaya announced to her parents that she was going to go to Moscow to "enter the actress." They took with hostility a similar statement by her daughter. Father threatened that he would no longer let her on the doorstep of the house if she left for Moscow. And mother, after Nellie’s statement, burst into tears and did not speak with her for a while. Soon she told her daughter that with such a non-standard appearance and a soldier’s gait, only the roles of Baba Yaga would shine on her. However, this prospect did not scare away Nelly. Then the mother began to teach her to walk beautifully. To do this, she forced her to carry a book on her head and stand for hours near the wall along the line to make her posture beautiful.
In 1964, Nelly left for Moscow, where on the first attempt she became a student of GITIS. Members of the selection committee immediately noted her artistic abilities and aristocratic facial features. Nelli enrolled after the first round. She fell on the course of Gregory Konskoy and Olga Androvskaya. The latter, according to the words of Millet herself, gave her many valuable advice and taught her not to mix personal life and work on stage.
Career
Immediately after the graduation work at GITIS, Nelli was offered a place in the team of one of the oldest theaters in the capital - the Mossovet. The head of the course said Grigory Konsky. In 1969, Lyubov Orlova, Serafima Birman, Vera Maretskaya, Rostislav Plyatt, Faina Ranevskaya still played on the stage of this theater. Everyone was afraid of the latter in the theater, including Millet. With Ranevskaya, they even played in the same production, where Nelly replaced the suddenly ill Valentina Talyzina.
Millet accepted any offers, including willingly took up episodic roles and did not disdain to participate in extras. She did not see anything shameful in this even after gaining popularity. In one of the interviews, Nellie admitted that she was already happy with what she was playing, therefore it was not so important for her whether it was the main role or the secondary one. Soon, the directors began to trust her with characteristic heroines.
Nellie has never once changed her native Mossovet theater. For more than 50 seasons, she plays only on his stage, becoming one of the leading actresses. Millet took part in the following productions:
- "Dangerous ties";
- "Little tragedies";
- "King Lear";
- "Dear friend";
- The Brothers Karamazov, etc.
In 1969, Millet made its film debut. She starred in the historical film "Prince Igor" in the role of Yaroslavna. The very next year she appeared in the film "Young."
In 1973, Nellie was offered to play in the film "Agony." According to the scenario, she had to expose her breasts in front of the camera. At that time this was an out of the ordinary request. However, Millet was ready for the sake of art for a lot, and without hesitation agreed to the role.
In the 70-80 years, Millet had no end to the proposals of the directors. She literally was like hot cakes. In 1977, the actress starred in "Office Romance." There she played the wife of the hero Oleg Basilashvili. In 1987, Pshennaya took part in the filming of Svetlana Druzhinina’s famous film “Midshipmen, Forward!”, Where she played the role of Anna Bestuzheva.
In the late 90s, difficult times came for Russian actors. Few "full meters" were produced, and filmmakers focused on TV shows. Millet was shot in a similar format. She played in such famous TV shows as "Paradise apples", "Two Fates", "Hornet's Nest", "Testament Marriage".
