Life in Paris, rumors of death: where the beautiful Rita des Portes Pokrovsky disappeared

The actress never could become a movie star in the USSR and started a new life in France.

Despite his spectacular appearance, the graduate of GITIS in the cinema got episodic roles. For example, in the film “An Ordinary Miracle” by Mark Zakharov she played the maid of honor Orinthia, and in the film “Be My Husband” she played a completely anonymous resort. Rita from Pokrovsky Gates, with whom Oleg Menshikov’s hero Kostya falls in love without memory, became perhaps the most significant role of the actress. She brought her fame throughout the Union and made her recognizable. By the way, Valentina got into the movie herself thanks to her facial features. Screenwriter Leonid Zorin was amazed when he saw a photo of Voilkova – she looked very much like his wife in her youth, and since the plot of the film is largely autobiographical, they simply could not miss such a contestant .

The most difficult thing for Valentina was shooting at the rink – the actress did not skate at all, so she had to insure her in close-ups. The actress was supported by four people, so her expression was not at all haughty, as it might seem, but tense – Voilkova was extremely focused on just staying on her feet.

After the success of Pokrovsky Gates, Voilkova appeared in several more popular Soviet films, but again these were supporting roles. In the detective story “Charlotte’s Necklace” she played the sister of the murdered farmer Viktor Korablev, and in the series “The Prisoner of If Castle” – Eloise de Villefort.

The filmography of the actress ends with the social drama “Romantic”, which was released in 1989.

The abrupt disappearance of Voilkova from the screens was associated with changes in her personal life. At the end of the 1980s, she met a Frenchman who had come to the USSR for a business trip, married him and, in 1991, emigrated to France. At first, the actress did not want to leave, but after the collapse of the USSR, she did not see herself any prospects in the cinema and decided to start a new life.

The actress almost completely severed ties with her native country: she did not give interviews, did not communicate with her colleagues and ceased to be interested in filming a movie. However, in general, the beautiful actress did not give up this art. Her French husband owns a small studio where films are dubbed, and Voilkova got into dubbing. The actress came to Russia only a few times – to visit the graves of her ancestors in her native Samara.

In the 2000s, shocking news appeared in the press – Voilkova had a fatal accident in Paris. It soon became clear that another Russian immigrant actress, Karina Moritz, was the victim, but Valentina herself was in no hurry to contact fans and comment on such terrible confusion.

Actor Vladimir Zeldin, with whom Voilkova played in the Theater of the Soviet Army, and his classmates turned to television in 2009 with a request to find the star of Pokrovsky Gates. Voilkova saw this call on air and surprisingly responded. She called Zeldin herself and said she was fine. However, she did not share details of her life.

Today, it is not even known whether the actress and her husband have children. The actress is already 64 years old, but in the memory of Russian moviegoers Voilkova remained young Rita, a mysterious girl with a charming beauty, whom Kostya called “a mirage and a vision.” The same unattainable actress turned out to be in real life.