Nonna Mordyukova was one of the most popular actresses of Soviet Russian cinema; a bright, integral and whole-hearted person, she stands out as a symbolic figure in modern Russian cinema art. In her roles she incarnated the best features of whole generations of strong Russian women. Her partners were the best actors of the Soviet period, among them Vasili Shukshin, Yuri Nikulin, Valentin Zubkov, Mikhail Ulyanov and others.
Nonna (Noyabrina) Viktorovna was born on November 25, 1925 into a large family in the Cossack village of Konstantinovskaya, Donetsk Region, Ukraine. Nonna spent her childhood in a settlement were her mother worked as chairwoman of kolkhoz (collective farm). In 1946 Nonna Mordyukova entered the Actors’ Faculty of VGIK and studied there under Boris Bibikov and Olga Pyzhova.

With her husband Vyacheslav Tikhonov
In 1950 Nonna Mordyukova graduated from the institute and was admitted to the Theatre Studio of Film Actor. A remarkable event was her episodic role of kolkhoz girl Nastia Ogorodnikova in the film Vozvrashcheniye Vasiliya Bortnikova (The Return of Vasili Bortnikov) (1952).

Other People's Relatives (1955)
Another success was Mikhail Shvejtser’s film Chuzhaya rodnya (Other People's Relatives) (1955), where she played her role of Stesha Ryashkina with great veracity of folk intonations and village manners. Her heroine is going through a long and poignant rebirth when breaking up with her shady family of grabbers for the sake of her love to her husband. The young actress showed the pain of this path with amazing power. The film became a landmark event in cinema of the 1950s and in life of Nonna Viktorovna.

A Simple Story (1960) (With Vasili Shukshin)
The role of Donya Trubnikova in the film Predsedatel (The Chairman) (1964) by Aleksei Saltykov was also a big achievement of the actress. According to the scenario Donya was an ideally negative character: a wife of an individual farmer (they were criticized in the epoch of kolkhozes), a rude loud-mouthed woman who, above all, has a baby from a fascist occupant.

Balzaminov's Marriage (1965) (With Georgi Vitsin)

The Commissar (1967)
In the picture Komissar (The Commissar) (1967) by Aleksandr Askoldov the actress unexpectedly appeared in quite an ambiguous image of female commissar Klava Vavilova who had almost lost her feminine essence during Civil War and was regaining it in her maternity. The actor aptly used the actress’s inherent paradoxical combination of remarkable strength and gentle womanliness.
The character of Feodosia Ugrumova in drama Russkoye pole (Russian Field) (1971) by Nikolai Moskalenko became an integrating symbol. In this feature Nonna Mordyukova co-starred with her own son, Vladimir Tikhonov (who was born in 1948 and died in 1990 of drug overdose).

Russian Field (1971) (With Leonid Markov)
The late 1970s marked a turning point in the creative career of the actress. Famous playwright Viktor Merezhko offered her surprising drama stuff that radically changed her line. In the moving drama feature Tryasina (Quagmire) (1978) by Grigorii Chukhrai Mordyukova played the role of a mother whose blind tyrannical love was driving her son to desertion and finally to death. The actress’s line was literally turned inside out in that film.

Kinfolk (1981)
In post-Soviet Russia the People’s Artist retired from stage and was very seldom into filming; she lived with meetings with viewers, writing the book of memoirs Ne plach, kazachka (Don’t Cry, Cossack Woman) and participating in festivals as a jury member.

Nonna Mordyukova is in the top ten of the 20th century foremost actresses according to the British Cinema Encyclopedia "Who is who". Of all other Russian actresses only Faina Ranevskaya has been honoured with such dignity.
Planet 4022 of the Solar System is named after Nonna Mordyukova.
Read about other Russian Actresses
Sources:
peoples.ru
mordukova.ru
kino-teatr.ru
iloveyeisk.ru
geocities.com