Natalya Dmitrievna "Natasha" Stefanenko (Russian: Наталья Дмитриевна "Наташа" Стефаненко; born 18 April 1969) is a Russian and Italian[1] actress, model, and television presenter who lives and works in both Italy and Russia.

Natasha Stefanenko
Наталья Стефаненко
Stefanenko in 2016
Born
Natalya Dmitrievna Stefanenko

(1969-04-18) April 18, 1969 (age 55)
Citizenship
  • Russian
  • Italian
Occupations
  • Television personality
  • actress
  • model
Height185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
SpouseLuca Sabbioni
Children1

Early years

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Stefanenko was born in Yekaterinburg (then Sverdlovsk), the daughter of a Belarusian-Ukrainian nuclear engineer[2] who worked in a secret unnamed underground city, close to the Ural Mountains. She lived with her family in a closed city. They also owned a dacha beside a lake.[3]

Stefanenko was a swimming champion in her youth, and swam with Alexander Popov. When she was a young girl she swam 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) a day.[3] In 1984, she almost joined the Soviet Olympic swim team, but instead chose to continue with her education.

The Soviet Union eventually decided to boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics which were held in Los Angeles.

At the age of 16, Stefanenko went to study in Moscow where she earned a degree in Metal Engineering.[3]

Career

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After winning the Look of the Year contest in Moscow in 1991, Stefanenko moved to Milan, where she obtained work as a model. After being scouted in a restaurant by director Beppe Recchia, she made her first television appearance on the variety show La grande sfida, alongside host Gerry Scotti. At the time, Stefanenko was unable to speak the Italian language.[3]

She commenced her acting career with the cinematographic film La grande prugna in 1999. She played the character Angela Cornelio, one of the protagonists in the television series Nebbie e delitti (Fog and Crimes), which aired on Rai Due from 2005 to 2009. She has also hosted many programmes, including the 2001 edition of Festivalbar, which is an annual series of televised summer concerts performed by both Italian and international pop groups in town squares throughout Italy; and Italia's Next Top Model in 2009. In the same year 2009, she had a role in Mediaset Canale 5's police drama series Distretto di Polizia 9 (Police District 9). Since 2007, she is also a host of Russia's TV show Snimite eto nemedlenno, based on the British programme What Not to Wear.[4]

She also co-starred in a 2001 advert Natasha Stefanenko : La gigantessa. She played a giantess, who unknowingly grew to a gigantic size.

Personal life

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In December 1995, Stefanenko married Italian entrepreneur and ex-model Luca Sabbioni, and they have one daughter, Sasha, who was born in 2000.

Filmography

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Films

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Year Title Role
1999 La grande prugna Natasha
2003 Do You Mind If I Kiss Mommy? Lena
2011 Ex 2: Still Friends? Olga
2020 La mia banda suona il pop

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1992 La grande sfida Herself/ Co-host Game show (season 1)
1994 Casa dolce casa Claudia Episode: "Mi ritorni in mente"
1997, 2012 Per tutta la vita…? Herself/ Co-host Variety show (seasons 1 and 6)
1998–1999 Target Herself/ Host Talk show
1999–2002 Convenscion Herself/ Co-host Comedy show
2000 Gioco di specchi Anya Television film
2001 2001 Festivalbar Herself/ Co-host Annual music festival
2004 Le Iene Herself/ Guest host Variety show (March 30, 2004)
2005–2009 Nebbie e delitti Angela Cornelio Main role
2006 La festa della mamma Herself/ Host Annual event
2007 Camera Café [it] Herself Episode: "La grande occasione"
2007–2011 Italia's Next Top Model Herself/ Host Talent show
2009 7 vite Akina Recurring role (season 2)
Distretto di Polizia Nadja Rostova Recurring role (season 9)
2012 Miss Italia Herself/ Judge Annual beauty contest
2014 Top Model po-russki Herself/ Host Fashion show (season 5)
2022 Волшебная девочка кунг-фу Наивка Voice

Television

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(A partial list)

  • La grande sfida (1992), variety show
  • Per tutta la vita (1997), matrimonial show
  • Gioco di specchio (2000), television film
  • Nebbie e delitti (2005–2009), television series
  • Festivalbar (2001), televised summer concerts; co-presenter
  • Italia's Next Top Model (2007–2011), reality show; presenter, judge
  • Снимите Это Немедленно (Russia, 2007–present), presenter
  • Camera Cafe (2007), sit-com
  • Quelli che....il calcio (2007)
  • Distretto di Polizia 9 (2009), television series
  • 7 vite 2 (2009), sit-com
  • Съешьте это немедленно (Russia, 2011–present), presenter
  • Топ-модель по-русски: Международный сезон (2014), reality show; presenter, judge
  • Волшебной девочке кунг-фу (Russia, 2022–present) Наивка (voice)

References

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  1. ^ "Ortopedia Perugia, elogi dalla Stefanenko". ansa.it (in Italian). 6 November 2014.
  2. ^ "Natasha Stefanenko: "Guerra in Ucraina? Mia madre russa, il mio cognome ucraino. Mi sento spezzata, il mio cuore sanguina"". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 16 May 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d Sabelli Fioretti, Claudio (21 April 2002). "La Stefanenko: io, ingegnere metallurgico, fischiata dagli operai". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). p. 20. Archived from the original on 15 October 2008.
  4. ^ "Телеканал СТС". www.ctc-tv.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2 March 2010.
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