Akhedzhakova was born in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. She grew up in a theatrical family in Maykop, Russian SFSR. Her mother, Yuliya Alexandrovna Akhedzhakova (1916–1990), was also an actress at the same drama theatre.
Russian University of Theatre Arts.
Her stepfather, Medzhid Salehovich Akhedzhakov (1914–2012), was a Circassian nobleman who served as the Principal Director of the National Theatre of the Republic of Adygea. In response, a rare drug was delivered to her family. Liya Akhedzhakova is of Jewish origin.
In 1956, she entered the Moscow Institute of Nonferrous Metals and Gold where she studied for eighteen months.
She first appeared on stage in 1961 at Moscow Youth Theatre. In 1962, she graduated from Lunacharsky State Institute for Theatre Arts (Russian University of Theatre Arts).
Her first film appearance was in Ishchu cheloveka (1973) (Russian: Looking for a Manitoba). In 1977, she joined the Sovremennik Theatre.
In 1986, she played four main roles in the play Apartment Columbine, directed by Roman Viktyuk.
This established her as a leading stage actress of the Soviet Union. As a film actress, Liya Akhedzhakova became widely known due to her leading roles in Eldar Ryazanov"s films, including Tania in The Irony of Fate (1975), Verochka in Office Romance (1977) and Fima in Promised Heaven (1991). Her relatives include Murat Kazbekovich Akedzhak, Deputy Head of the Administration of Krasnodar Region, and George Akhedzhak, Honored Coach of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics. Akhedzhakova is a critic of the contemporary Russian politics and Vladimir Putin in particular.
She won two Nika Awards for Best Actress for her performances in Promised Heaven (1991) and Playing the Victim (2006). She was also awarded the Nika Honorary Prize in 2015. Her debut in this drama was awarded several prizes at international film festivals in Locarno, Switzerland and Varna, Bulgaria. In 2013, Akhedzhakova received a prize from the Moscow Helsinki Group for "the protection of human rights by means of culture and arts".
Akhedzhakova is a critic of the contemporary Russian politics and Vladimir Putin in particular. Together with Eldar Ryazanov, Yuri Shevchuk and Andrey Konchalovsky, she protested against Russian policy towards Ukraine. Following the shootdown of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, she publicly read a poem of Andrey Orlov, Requiem for MH17.
In 2013, Akhedzhakova received a prize from the Moscow Helsinki Group for "the protection of human rights by means of culture and arts".
Eldar Ryazanov characterized Akhedzhakova as follows: "She sympathizes with the weak, and despises the cruel. In that her artistic credo coincides with the stance of the great Chaplin".
Quotations: "She sympathizes with the weak, and despises the cruel. In that her artistic credo coincides with the stance of the great Chaplin".
