Rufina Nifontova

In this name that follows East Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Dmitrievna and the family name is Nifontova.

Rufina Dmitriyevna Nifontova (Russian: Руфина Дмитриевна Нифонтова; 15 September 1931 – 27 November 1994) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actress. People's Artist of the USSR (1978).

Rufina Nifontova
Born	Rufina Dmitriyevna Pitade (1931-09-15)September 15, 1931 Moscow, Soviet Union
Died	November 27, 1994(1994-11-27) (aged 63) Moscow, Russia
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1955–1992

Biography

Rufina Nifontova was born in Moscow in a family with Greek roots.^[1]

Nifontova studied at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography (course of Bibikov-Pyzhova). In 1955 she graduated from VGIK and was admitted to the Film Actor Theater Studio.

In 1957 Nifontova came into the troupe of the Maly Theatre,^[1] where she became a famous actress.

In 1986–1991 – Secretary of the Board Union of Theatre Workers of the Russian Federation.^[1]

Nifontova died in Moscow at the age of 63, and was buried at the Vagankovo Cemetery.^[2]

Personal life

• Father – Dmitry Ivanovich Pitade^[1]
• Mother – Darya Semyonovna Pitade
• Brothers – Aleksandr, Boris, and twin Vyacheslav
• Husband – Gleb Nifontov, filmmaker
  • Daughter – Olga, graduated from VGIK

Awards and honors

• 1956 – Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Award for Best Actress, for film Volnitsa)
• 1958 – Laureate Union Film Festival in First prize for the actors of the 1958
• 1960 – Laureate Union Film Festival in First prize for Best Actress for the 1960
• 1962 – Honored Artist of the RSFSR
• 1966 – People's Artist of the RSFSR
• 1967 – Order of the Badge of Honour
• 1974 – Order of the Red Banner of Labour
• 1978 – People's Artist of the USSR
• 1981 – Order of Friendship of Peoples^[3]

Selected filmography

• The Sisters (1957) as Katya Bulavina
• The First Visitor (1965) as Alexandra Kollontai
• Year as Long as Life (1966) as Jenny Marx
• Intervention (1968) as Madam Tokarchuk, raider
• Honoré de Balzac's Mistake (1968) as Ewelina Hańska
• Do Not Part with Your Beloved (1979) as people's judge
• Could One Imagine? (1980) as Tatyana Nikolayevna's mother
• Time and the Conways (1984) as Mrs. Conway